Patchwork health care for reservation inmates raises concern

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) — Tribal health care and corrections workers say numerous jails on reservations nationwide have no in-house nurses or other medical staff, often leaving corrections officers to scramble in emergencies to determine whether to send an inmate to the hospital, or provide basic care themselves. Federal figures show there are some 80 tribal jails that hold an estimated 2,500 inmates. The Bureau of Indians Affairs manages about a quarter of them. Tribes have federal contracts to operate the rest. A review of jail records found that on average health care was sought multiple times each week within the jails. The chief executive of the Tuba City Regional Health Care Corporation on the Navajo Nation says a patchwork approach to providing care within the jails has resulted in unsafe circumstances for inmates and workers alike. This report is part of the CJ Project, an initiative to broaden the news coverage of criminal justice issues affecting New Mexico's diverse communities, created by the Asian American Journalists Association with funding from the W.K. Kellogg Foundation. For more information: http://www.aaja.org/cj-project.