By Dan McKay and T.J. Wilham Journal
Albuquerque Journal
NEW MEXICO — Bernalillo County taxpayers are helping pay for the medical care of a protective custody inmate who ended up on life support after a jail guard allowed him to come in contact with other prisoners.
University of New Mexico Hospital spokesman Sam Giammo said the county doesn’t normally pay the hospital specifically for jail inmates. Instead, the hospital uses county tax money set aside for indigent care if the inmate doesn’t have insurance, he said.
County Commission Chairwoman Deanna Archuleta said the county funds about $1 million a year for indigent patients at UNMH.
Most counties across the country have a similar fund, she said, and Bernalillo County taps its general operating budget to pay for it. The operating budget is supported by local property taxes, gross-receipts taxes and other sources.
Speaking generally, Giammo said it can cost “in the neighborhood of $5,000" a day for a patient in intensive care. But the cost for any one individual can vary greatly depending on various factors including what kind of care the patient received.
If the cost for indigent patients escalates beyond the $1 million fund, Archuleta said, the hospital can seek to have patients enrolled in health care plans for the uninsured.
Avery Hadley, 47, was beaten severely two weeks ago while in protective custody at the Metropolitan Detention Center. He was on life support and unconscious last week at UNM Hospital.
But he has improved since then, according to his sister, Nancy Hadley.
“He’s not responding yet, but he is opening his eyes, and he’s not on the ventilator anymore,” Nancy Hadley said.
She said her brother did not have health insurance.
Avery Hadley had been in critical condition for two weeks following the March 12 beating, but he is now considered “serious,” Giammo said Monday. He couldn’t provide more details because of federal privacy regulations.
Sheriff’s detectives told the Journal last week they were waiting to see if Hadley survived before deciding whether fellow prisoner Jesus Cordova, 23, should be charged with murder. Cordova allegedly stomped on Hadley’s head 20 times as he lay unconscious.
It was the second time Hadley had been beaten after a corrections officer allowed other inmates to have contact with him.
A corrections officer last month allowed another inmate access to Hadley’s cell, sheriff’s officials said. That inmate beat Hadley, sending him to the infirmary. The officer was upset with Hadley and did it as revenge, investigators said.
The officer was placed on administrative leave, and detectives have submitted a report to the district attorney recommending prosecution.
There are no plans to charge the jail officer in the more recent beating, sheriff’s detectives said. They believe she had a lapse in judgment when she allowed the inmates to gather.
Jail officials said last week they are conducting an internal investigation.
Copyright 2009, Albuquerque Journal