By Barbara Carmen
The Columbus Dispatch
COLOMBUS, Ohio — Franklin County jail nurses say the private nursing agency slated to replace them is sending temporaries who are late, lazy and larcenous.
“One was fired for stealing pills. One had had her license suspended. And two were fired for fighting,” said Lisa Fisher, a licensed practical nurse who has worked six years at the Downtown jail.
Another temporary nurse arranged for her inmate boyfriend to get a full physical and nonessential medical care at taxpayer expense, nurses told commissioners at an informal briefing Thursday.
A sixth temporary, they reported, unnecessarily sends inmates to the emergency room. Others are sloppy with handling medications, causing waste and risking contamination. And several arrive late, a lapse that that would result in county staff nurses being disciplined.
“We understand finances and saving money,” Fisher told commissioners. “But in the long term, when you look at turnover and medical expenses, it will cost more.”
Maxim Healthcare Services, the agency that supplies the nurses, did not return phone calls requesting comment.
But Franklin County Sheriff Jim Karnes said the jail nurses are “trying to save their jobs. At the last minute, yeah, they’ll come up with this.”
Karnes has been pushing since last November to outsource nursing at both the Downtown and Jackson Pike jails. He figured taxpayers would save $2.5 million over three years if he hired Maxim to replace 54 staff nurses.
Commissioners, urged by the nurses union to reconsider, hired consultants to study the issue. The consultants projected even greater savings -- about $6.5 million within five years.
Commissioners, who must approve large county contracts, plan to ask Karnes about his proposal to privatize during his 2011 budget hearing on Tuesday. He said it’s still a solid idea.
“You have to try anything to save money in these trying times,” Karnes said. “If it doesn’t work, you go back to what you had. Right now, we’re trying to save money.”
Andrea H. Johan, staff representative for the Ohio Labor Council of the Fraternal Order of Police, said many nurses have already quit in anticipation of the layoff. The temporaries Maxim sends as replacements aren’t working out so well, Johan told commissioners.
David Masterson, the sheriff’s finance director, asked commissioners for time to respond to the allegations. Commissioners say they’re still listening to both sides.
“We will be asking quite a few questions,” Commissioner John O’Grady said after the meeting. “It’s not been determined yet if or when we will entertain this contract from the sheriff.”
Commissioner Paula Brooks called the allegations “very colorful” and said she wants to get answers. “But the reality is that (Karnes) has got to run that shop. I certainly hope he’s trying to balance people’s need for jobs with saving money.”
Commissioner Marilyn Brown said she’s concerned about setting a precedent by privatizing the county jail services.
“We need to take a hard look whether there may be short-term gains for long-term losses,” Brown said.
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