Thursday, June 30, 2011

Well, doesn't that just beat all...

It will never cease to amaze me how people with just a little bit of power think they can roll right over people.  Trust me when I say that most correctional facilities have their share of assholes and Lorne appears to have found a nest of them where he is at. 

Soon I will be posting a letter that was written on Lorne's behalf to the following people, NSP warden, NDOC director, NV state attorney general and the NV ACLU.  It will be a doozy I assure you.

It makes me wonder why the state of NV doesn't do a better job of screening these people out before they get into the system and cost the state of NV millions of dollars in lawsuit settlements.

Way to go NV!!

Tuesday, June 28, 2011

The View from Inside...Lorne's Voice Pt. 2

Tuesday June 21, 2011

I just got an appointment with the institutional dentist on Friday June 17, 2011 at 8:45AM.  I showed up half an hour early because I know that 9 other guys were scheduled for the same time, which usually means, first come, first served.  I was indeed first served.  However, the served part left much to be desired.

After explaining that I had intermittent pain in my top right incisor (the #8 tooth) which was exacerbated by cold and pressure, the lovely, polite dental assistant took an x-ray and then the dentist asked me to wait outside while he helped others.  I waited for awhile and then I was asked to come back into the dental exame room whereupon the dental assistant explained to me that she needed to take another x-ray.  Ever so complinat I sat back down in the nice, comfy dental chair while the dental assistant took another x-ray and then I was sent back outside to wait some more.  After waiting for yet some more unspecified time, I was asked yet again to return to the dental room, whereupon the dental assistant explained to me that she neede to take yet another x-ray.  Once again, I sat back in the nice, comfy dental chair and went back outside yet again for more waiting after she took the third x-ray.

Finally, I was summoned back inside the dental room for a fourth, and what would indeed be, the last time.  The dentist, a rather youngish gent not too far removed from dental school, was quick to explain that he couldn't see anything wrong with the tooth in question but admitted that something indeed was amiss because of the pain I was experiencing.  He went on to mention that there may be a fracture high in the root of the tooth and / or that the tooth in question may be infected.  After asking what my options were, he said that in this situation the general options were to leave it alone, do a root canal or extract it.  Just as I was about to tell him to go ahead and do the root canal, he adds that "root canals are not done here". Seriously?! So, somewhat frustrated now, I told him that I didn't feel like having a tooth pulled when the pain was not constant nor severe and he said that if it was his tooth, he would keep it.  I asked him since he mentioned that the tooth might be infected if I could get something for the infection to which he replied, "No." I then asked about getting a periodontal scaling done and a prophylaxis and the dental assistant replied that she just got the machine back and hadn't set it up yet but that I would definitely be added to the list, which she made sure to mention as being very long.  At that point, I left and as it was now 10:45 AM, I went straight to lunch to eat my griddle friend bologna sandwich.

To sum up the foregoing, I spent $8 (the dental co-pay) and 2 1/2 hours of my Friday taking 3 x-rays and ultimately having nothing done and being no more pain-free than I was weeks ago.  To add insult to injury, I haven't had a prophylaxis (that's the technical term for a tooth cleaning) in at least 3 years and in truth, I cannot remember the last time I had one or even if I have had one since I have been in prison.  Perhaps I'm mistaken but I seem to remember that the American Dental Association tells us on a regular basis that in order to maintain proper dental hygiene, a person should see his/her dentist every 6 months for a checkup and a tooth cleaning.  So, either the ADA is lying to the populace to drum up business for the dental industry, or the Nevada Department of Corrections is grossly, woefully remiss in providing proper dental care to its inmates.  I tend to believe in the latter. 
I know that there are people out there who think that inmates should have the worst of everything pssible, or even no, health and dental care. To those people I would say this" Every disadvantage suffered by an inmate incurs a corresponding cost for that inmate to fix once (s)he is released from incarceration.  As the costs and the debts suffered by an individual inmate mount, it becomes harder and harder for him or her to do things the right way for the simple reason that there simply isn't enough money for the inmate to live decently and fix all the disadvantages suffered during incarceration and everybody has a breaking point.  When that breaking point is reached, more often than not, criminal behavior ensues, especailly when the criminals are drug and property offenders.  Wouldn't it make more sense from a publlic policy standpoint to give inmates every possible opportunity to be law-abiding citisens instead of burdening them with mounting debt and other penalties which carry over long after their sentences have been served? Having decent medical and dental care is a part of that, because having to fixd all of the problems which were potentially ignored in prison is a very expensive proposition, costing in the thousands of even tens of thousands for ex-felons who have no medical or dentla insurance and lets face it, inmates are not exactly going to be frequent hires for jobs that provide medical and dentla benefits.

I read in a handy reentry pocket guide for ex-offenders that ex-offenders disproportionately exhibit four types of health issues: chronic diseases like asthma, diabetes and the like; infectious diseases, such a tuberculosis, hepatitis, and the like; mental illness like schizophrenia, bipolar disorder and that ilk; and substance abuse issues such as alcohol, tobacco and drugs.  Proper treatment for all fot eh foregoing is a huge financial burden on somebody who doesn't have (adequate) health insurance, and I doubt that many inmates are going to walk into $60,000+ per year jobs; if they did, then they'd have adequate health insurance needed to take care of the years of accumulated neglect arising from incarceration.

I can also be pretty damn sure that even fewer inmates are going to walk into $60,000+ per year jobs with fucked-up grills.  I daresay that a person's smile makes a memorable impact on a potential employer.  Well done Nevada.  Thanks for making it even harder for an inmate to walk the right path after getting back out into the world.

Friday, June 17, 2011

Dental Care....Prison style

Anyone who has a loved one in prison knows without a doubt that the medical and dental care that our loved ones get is less than stellar.  While being unemployed for two years has given me a bit of insight into this issue since I got NO medical care during that time.  But inmates put up with quite a bit more than what I had to go through.

Today Lorne finally got in to see the dentist.  He jammed one of his front teeth in a basketball game about 4 months ago and it has been bothering him all this time.  In one of our many phone discussions about this issue, I felt that it was just a loose tooth and there really wasn't much that could be done to it.  His best course of action would be to try and not use it and just keep an eye on it in case it starts to darken.  Well that didn't happen but it was still causing him some discomfort.  So about a month ago, he asked for and got a dental call slip and today was his appointment.  So he shows up 15 minutes early and waits.  He gets called in at his scheduled time and the dentist isn't quite sure what is going on with his tooth.  He takes three x-rays to get a better look but still can't see anything.  So the doctor pronounces that it could be several things and Lorne's treatment options are: 1. have a root canal 2. the tooth could be extracted  3. you can leave the tooth alone to see if anything happens.  So Lorne is getting all geared up mentally to have the root canal done and the dentist promptly follows all the previous information with "...and we don't do root canals here".  So Lorne is left with two choices...get the tooth pulled or wait and do nothing. Given that this was one of his front teeth, he opted to do nothing in the hopes that the tooth will eventually heal itself (the dentist thinks it may have a hairline fracture but he can't be sure since there was nothing conclusive on the x-ray)

This decision cost Lorne $8.  Now keep in mind while Lorne gets some financial support from his family, his job pays him a whopping $14 a month.  The state is required to give them dental check ups every year but god forbid if there is anything beyond a filling or extraction that needs to be done...you ain't gonna get it.  Lorne already has problems with his jaw due to the beating he took (the one that landed him in jail) and good dental care is important to his ability to chew his food properly and have good digestion.

It is no wonder that so many inmates come out of jail with most of their teeth missing.  Those that can't get into a dentist quickly enough have been known to pull their own teeth.  (I wouldn't recommend that)  You read that right peeps...people pulling their OWN teeth!!!

Sad...so very sad.  I for one am glad that Lorne decided to sit back and wait this out...he's got a cute smile and it would be a shame if he ended up looking like a toothless wonder.

Friday, June 10, 2011

The Closure of NSP....so let's fix it up!!

So today Lorne called and I could not help but notice the sound of drills, Sawz-All and other various power tools.  Of course, those sounds begged the question "babe...what is that noise?" Lorne: they are making some repairs up on the tier.  Of course...it makes complete and total sense now!! Close the place down so let's put time, effort and money into making repairs.  YES! I see the TOTAL wisdom in that.  (insert eye roll here)

For those who have never worked for a government entity, it is truly an experience to say the least! The layers of bureaucracy that must be navigated to change a set course of action is burdensome to everyone.  Here is how this probably went down;
1. Someone notices that a repair needs to be made to a cell (Day 1)
2. That person generates a work order to inform the maintenance personnel of the broken item (Day 2)
3. Maintenance prioritizes that work order in order of importance to the facility security, safety, or any other set criteria they have.  (Varies...Day 3-60)
4. At some point, the priority could change due to changing environmental factors (Day 4-infinity)

My guess is that this work order for whatever repair that they were doing was submitted 4-6 months ago...before the decision to close NSP was made.  However, it seems to me that once that decision was made (and indeed, transfers have started to occur) all those work order items could be removed from the queue since it would be a waste of resources to fix a building that the governor and Acting Director Cox feel  is no longer worth putting any more money into.  Why put money into a building that the state will no longer be using? It doesn't make sense to me...I am sure that other people looking in from the outside (and of course the inmates too) feel that it does not make sense either.

Let's hope that the State of Nevada sees the wisdom of that too...

Sunday, June 5, 2011

Wiiiiilllson!!!!!!

It's a Sunday which means, with my limited cable, I get to choose from all manner of infomercials or religous programming.  None of those choices appeal to me.  So it is off to Netflix I go!

The program I chose is a NatGeo Special on Solitary Confinement.  I think I wrote a bit on this issue before somewhere else but it is a subject that bears repeating again.  The institution that is being observed is Colorado State Penitentiary.  According to the narrator, many solitary confinement programs are modeled on their program.  The practice of solitary confinement has been under some extreme scrutiny for quite a few years now.  While its advocates argue that it plays a role in inmate behavior modification, the reality has shown to be just the opposite.  You can find an interesting article here about the effects of solitary on an inmates mental faculties.  You can find another fact sheet from Solitary Watch here , they are a great resource for issues relating to Solitary Confinement. 

But anyway...I am watching this show and one of the guys in solitary compares his time in solitary to being on a desert island ala Tom Hanks in "Castaway."  With your extremely limited social interaction, you feel like finding a volleyball to talk to just so you can have some conversation...(ala Wilson from Castaway)  I think that is kind of sad...that one must resort to having conversations with inanimate objects just to have a semblance of human interaction.  Is it any wonder that mental illness is usually the end result of extended stays in solitary?

What type of help is available to these inmates once they are removed from solitary? what does one do to help them get their bearings again? what types of psychological services are available to help them with emulating the correct appropriate behavior? I think this country needs to re-examine its relationship with solitary confinement.  I think the mental an emotional anguish of those programs is just way too high.

Friday, June 3, 2011

It's the little things that count

Lorne amuses me to no end.  He is such a funny guy and has a sweet, childlike quality about him at times.  Today I ordered a food package for him and his choices always amuse me.  Of course there are the usual things, turkey summer sausage, powdered milk, garlic powder...typical stuff.  However, he had his heart set on some candy.  Of course they were out of it (just like the last time too) but he wanted some of those Sugar Free sours like no tomorrow...and of course the whining that followed when I told him that they were out was cute.

From time to time, when I was a volunteer on the inside, it was a running joke during rituals that I always brought roasted garlic Triscuits and apple juice.  For four years the guys looked forward to those items.  Certainly I was just able to go into a store and buy them but I had no idea what a treat they were to the guys.  I always brought a lot more than I needed because it wasn't often that they guys got REAL apple juice and you can just forget ever seeing Triscuits inside.  They devoured the 3 boxes I usually brought and the gallon of apple juice went quickly as well.  I never worried about leftovers...NEVER!

It is at times like these that the deprivation our inmates experience is on a whole different level than what we experience out here.  If we don't have something we like, we just go to the store and buy it...if it is something we want but choose not to, then that is our choice.  Inmates aren't so luck.  They must rely on the commissary system within the state of NV for their needs and the quarterly food packages to add a bit of variety to their diets. 

I hope the next quarter they have those sour candies...I think it would be awesome if Lorne was able to have some.