Taking your meds

A surprising number of inmates are on prescription medicines.  It might be 1/4 of the inmates, or more.  If you're on a prescription medicine, have your loved ones bring each med in its bottle to the jail.  The medical staff will set things up so that you get each med as prescribed, morning, noon, 6:00 p.m., and bedtime  They will refill the prescription if necessary.  They will set you up on a morning, noon, night schedule as your scripts require.  

Now that you have your scripts set up, let's talk about how the guards deliver the meds.  Some guards care.  They make sure to contact each inmate individually, even waking them up if need be.  It's actually a lot of work for the guards, and, to the ones who care about taking this task seriously, I thank you.  

Other guards do not care.  They walk through the dorm and say "Meds!"  If you are asleep or you are in your room not paying attention, they just walk on through, and you don't get your prescribed meds.

Some guards make sure to offer Tylenol or aspirin as they pass through.  Many inmates have aches and pains, from the thin mattresses or maybe from their work shifts.  Take a pain pill if you need it; it can help you sleep.  

Getting your meds is very important -- meds for HIV, or antibiotics, or meds you take due to mental illness.  But it's a fact: some guards do not give a good god damn if you get the medicines you need.

One guard is especially lazy. If you are asleep when this guard walks through with medicines, you will miss your needed meds. She just says "meds" -- and if you are asleep or in your bed reading and don't hear her, you don't get the meds you should at that time of day.  Other guards -- the ones who are not assholes -- care if the inmates get the medicines they need.  The Ingham County Jail is adjacent to the county dog pound. A humane jail would ensure that the inmates receive the same care that they give next door at the animal shelter.  After all, we inmates deserve at least as careful care as our fellow animals.

It's a good idea to double check your meds.  I asked a guard if he'd write down the meds and dosages the jail had me on.  He asked for a kite, and when I made the request, he carefully wrote down each med, its dosage, and when it was to be given.  I was getting 1/2 the prescribed dose of one med, and I was able to kite the medical staff and get things fixed. 

It's especially strange that each guard seems to be able to use his or her own method for delivering meds. The guards are inconsistent in how they deliver the meds.  One guard carries the meds in his pocket, and walks through your dorm to administer meds individually.  Other guards use a medicine cart, with little compartments for each inmate on meds. No hospital would allow nurses to make up their drug delivery protocol. 

The ICJ needs to adopt a consistent protocol for delivering meds, to ensure that each guard follows that protocol, and to ensure that every inmate gets his or her meds as prescribed.