Letter to the editor: Loss of expertise at Allegheny County Jail

Regarding the article “Jail Oversight Board to investigate why high-ranking medical administrators keep quitting” (Dec. 4, TribLIVE): Janet Bunts, a seasoned health professional with 26 years’ experience, left her position as health services administrator after only three months, citing “a lack of leadership, lack of orienting new staff, a lack of willingness to change their old ways.” She says this is why employees don’t stay at the jail.

The National Commission on Correctional Health Care (NCCHC), which issued a suicide prevention report for the Allegheny County Jail, last year found the same problem: There is a lack of orientation of new staff, which significantly contributes to staff turnover. The NCCHC report states, “We were told that turnover is high and that some nursing staff quit in the first weeks because they feel isolated.”

The report further states the commission observed or was informed of significant obstacles to nurses’ training, specifically that “Employees can choose not to train other employees, which appears to greatly affect the quality of orientation training for nurses; this causes barriers to staff shadowing … ” and “poor health staff attendance at staff meetings, which are a critical vehicle for training.” The report also states, “We were told it is very difficult to schedule staff training.”

Why is the same problem still prevalent after being identified and called out for remediation over a year ago? Losing an experienced professional like Bunts, whose expertise is sorely needed, is not acceptable.

John Kenstowicz

Morningside