Brickbat: Multiple Failures

A New York City Board of Corrections report found that Rikers Island detention officers repeatedly blocked medical staff from seeing a sick inmate who later died of multiple organ failure. While serving a sentence for assault, 23-year-old Charizma Jones appeared unable to stand. An officer called for medical help, but when none came, other inmates applied ice and held her when she passed out. When medical staff still did not show up, the inmates "became disruptive and refused to comply with staff orders," the report found, triggering an emergency alarm that finally resulted in Jones being transferred to the infirmary, where she was treated for possible scarlet fever. But even as she vomited, detention officers blocked medical staff from checking her vital signs at least six times, citing unspecified security reasons. After two days in the jail infirmary, Jones was taken to a hospital with a high fever, a rash, and signs of possible liver failure. Weeks later, she died at the hospital of "multiorgan failure."

Comments

[Fist of Etiquette]

Since when is it corrections officers' job to look after inmates. That's not what they signed up for.

[sarcasmic]

Exactly. Our prison system isn't for rehabilitation. It's for punishment and retribution.

[Medulla Oblongata]

Without any actual knowledge on the situation, I would tend to wonder if the inmate had previously (and more than once) used a false "I'm sick" ploy. That is, is this a case of crying wolf once too often then getting eaten?

[mad.casual]

The whole thing is, as usual for Reason, wonky. I'm no doctor but it's a pretty textbook case of liver failure. And livers normally don't just fail.

The "weeks" in the hospital very much exonerate the guards, IMO. People have whole livers removed, new ones implanted, and walk out in less than "weeks". Unless the assertion is that the guards gave her hepatitis or poured some nasty pruno down her throat or something, the idea that they caused her death is even more spurious than the death of Brian Sicknick. If it was Scarlet Fever (which *could've* mucked up her kidneys, which then *could've* mucked up her liver...) the hospital should've been able to confirm/detect it.

They certainly didn't help the situation and maybe, maybe not, violated the duties, but there's also a very valid and/or likely case that this woman needed or was going to need to be on a transplant recipient list whether the guards did anything or not, and was never going to get their through no fault of the guards.

[AT]

After two days in the jail infirmary, Jones was taken to a hospital with a high fever, a rash, and signs of possible liver failure. Weeks later, she died at the hospital of "multiorgan failure."

Wow. You sure skipped over a lot of the important bits there Chaz. LET'S GO TO THE SOURCE!

Although Ms. Jones consented to the liver biopsy exam, records note that she refused daily treatment, lab tests, checks of vitalsigns and telemonitoring, certain medications and antibiotics, and exams. The records also note hospital staff observed Ms. Jones removing the intravenous injection from her right arm and refused to allow them to resecure it. Mount Sinai staff reported multiple instances of verbal aggression toward them when attempting to educate Ms. Jones on the importance of cooperating with their plan of care and medication compliance.

The continuous refusals to submit to lab tests, and accept medication, checks of vital signs and telemonitoring possibly contributed to her physical decline, according to records. Mount Sinai staff described the decline in Ms. Jones’s health due to “patient triggered sepsis.”

Also, of note, they discovered she had cholestatic hepatitis. Which is largely caused by......... wait for it...... recreational drug abuse! Which also tracks with her "mental health history and a history of substance and alcohol use."

But, let's go back to the important part. "Detention officers blocked medical staff from checking her vital signs at least six times, citing unspecified security reasons."

I'll admit, that gave me pause. Why would they do that? Well, even from the source, the answer is unclear - BUT, it is abundantly clear that she was both observed, and fed regular meals while in Medlock. Which we can make a reasonable inference that they were afraid she'd go a little nutso if they opened the door, based on the fact that, per the source, she was increasingly unstable (including hallucinating) and racking up disciplinary infractions left and right, the most serious of which was about a week prior to this incident.

So, I'm not going to say they did the right thing, but I'm also not going to MMQ why they did it. We don't know.

We just know that she was a crackerpants addict that actively fought medical treatment. Make whatever conclusions you will from that.

[Peter Kreeft taught me LOGIC, BEWARE !!!!!!!]

There is an impending collapse in NY led by NYC. People are fleeing but the financial armageddon hasn't happened yet.

"More than 95 million square feet of New York City office space is currently unoccupied –the equivalent of 30 Empire State Buildings."'

Here is where we approach the tipping point, the point at which businesses flee because they see 3 disasters for their workers (and I saw some of this awhile ago living in St Louis)
Those empty buildings and areas will attract dangerous criminal types and workers near them will be unsafe.
Also, infrastructure costs will start to fall more heavily on those businesses that remain.
Things like minimum wage and congestion pricing will mabye not hurt the wealthy but all wealth that rests on the average worker will be affected. It starts at the bottom and ends at the top.

[Medulla Oblongata]

Only thing it's good for now: Maximum security open-air prison...blow the bridges, setup a perimeter wall, dump prisoners there, shoot anyone in the water. And *don't* call Snake Plissken.

[AT]

Don't forget to bomb the tunnels.