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Free Clinics, jail cooperate to help inmates

By Bill Moss, Published: March 9, 2017

At a time of precious few successes in mental health delivery, Judy Long is celebrating one.

The Free Clinics just received a new report showing that the nonprofit agency provided $277,000 worth of medication to Henderson County jail inmates last year.
Capt. Jim Player, the jail administrator, quantified the value of medication.
“We’ve done it for a while but it’s been gradually growing and this is the first time they have given us a number,” Long said. “I think it was because he realizes now much we’re a benefit to them and he asked his staff to come up with a number that could help tell our story.”
By partnering with The Free Clinics, the jail saved that much money. As important, the drugs, which are predominantly for mental health reasons, help stabilize jail inmates who might otherwise harm themselves or others. The jail, like hospital emergency rooms, ends up with homeless people and others with untreated mental health challenges.
“Because of the relationship we have, we do lot of referrals back and forth for services,” Long said. “The social services worker who’s based in the jail uses our team a lot and he knows it makes a difference when they have their proper medication. It also demonstrates the volume of the number of folks with mental health challenges that end up in our jail because there’s so much fragility in the system and there’s been so many changes and they end up in the services of our detention center.”
Sheriff’s Maj. Frank Stout confirmed Long’s account of the value of the partnership and the need for it at a time when publicly funded mental health delivery has been slashed.
“Really and truly we could not
operate without The Free Clinics,” Stout said. “That money would have come directly out of the taxpayers’ pockets and we don’t have that kind of money in the budget. The Free Clinics has been a saving grace for us here in substance abuse and mental health issues. They have been an incredible partner and a life saver for us. Some of these medications could cost a couple thousand dollars a month.”
No pain meds
Both Long and Stout emphasized that medications for physical pain — such as highly addictive opioids — are not prescribed or even available. The Free Clinics is not licensed to dispense those, Long said.
“Absolutely not,” Stout added. “This is substance abuse and mental health medications. They’re not handing out pain meds. These are psychotropic drugs to be able to stabilize them while they’re here.”
A physician’s assistant and a mental health counselor see inmates and recommend prescriptions to a doctor.
“We are not a mental health facility but far too often with things the way they are in today’s society, budget cuts and reductions, they end up in jail,” Stout said. “That is where The Free Clinics helps us be able to stabilize them while they’re here and keep them safe and keep them from harming themselves or harming others.”
The Free Clinics and law officers cooperate when inmates are released to help them get on a treatment program for substance abuse.
“Probably 60 percent of all our inmates here have substance abuse issues and closer to 80 percent are mental health and substance abuse issues,” he said. “Any time that we have ever needed anything they have truly gone above and beyond to try and help us meet our needs her at the facility. They’re just an incredible partner.”
Working together
Not every inmate stabilized by medications dispensed in jail gets better, Long said, but some do.
Most are “not necessarily able to access appropriate care,” she said. “Ironically, by being in the detention center, they get set up with
some care.” Medical personnel “make referrals and try and establish that care. They get to choose whether to follow up but this gives them the tools to get them in a more stable position.”
The Free Clinics is served by more than 270 volunteers and more than 170 health and community partners to provide medical, mental health, pharmaceutical and specialty care and to address barriers to health. During the 2016-17 program year, TFC provided $9,078,321 worth of care to the community, a return on investment of $8.33-to-1.
Long said she has been grateful to see the clinic’s partnership work, especially when mental health delivery in North Carolina is riddled by dysfunction and gaps.
“Henderson County I would say works very intentionally to make the best use of our varied resources, to find the right partner at the right time and to provide as comprehensive care as we can," she said. "This is the most collaborative and best place I’ve ever worked. People really do work together here.”