Tracking down an inmate on the blocks
So it’s a day after my coworker has given me a tour of the housing blocks.
It’s a rainy, windy day and a lot of inmates are refusing to come to their medical appointments. I want to know why, because I have a lot from North Block (NB) who are refusing, yet, NB is the housing unit the closest to the hospital. I’m talking a 2 minute walk.
I should note, when it’s foggy out and the officers in the towers can’t see past a certain amount, they call a “fog line.” That means the yard is closed. And anyone needing to get to appointments requires an escort. So what happens is the officers round up as many as they can from one block and bring them over together.
It’s on these days, I know that many will refuse their appointments. And most definitely the schedule will get messed up as you have to see them as they come and juggle that they’re all waiting there in their designated spots on the medical floor.
So this day is such a day. And I am sensing that I’m going to need to go over to the NB at the end of the day to check on some guys that refused to come. When they flat out refuse with no intention to be rescheduled, we have to write up a note and have them sign it with their reason and it goes in their chart. I try to give them the benefit of the doubt and a second up to a third chance to show up.
Today, I have a guy who has refused the last 2 times, so I’m curious what’s up. I felt like the first visit went well and he left feeling better than when he came in. But anything could be behind their refusal: not feeling well, an officer may have not wanted to escort them for a variety of reasons, or they just don’t feel like coming out, especially on a cold, rainy, windy day.
But we’ve got a waitlist of 100 so orders of guys that might want to be there, so it’s important that I don’t keep scheduling a guy that doesn’t want to come in.
And so, I’m off to NB to see what’s up. I exit the building and am hit with a head on cold wind blast. Just leaving the safety of the hospital and walking over there, I’m engulfed with the feeling that “one of these things is not like the other.” And it’s me. While there are female officers that work in transfer and the hospital, I don’t see any of them around. There are some inmates walking around, as well.
I find the door to NB, the only blocks where I have not been before. It’s a small door for the formidable size of the building. I hold my ground, and enter in confidently, dressed in scrubs to signal I’m from medical. But I’m very aware that I’m a rare sighting in what are uncommon grounds for me, but very familiar to those milling about. I keep my gaze up, trying to meet eyes with those I pass, but there’s just so many of them.
I’m grateful that the guy I’m looking for is on the first tier. And I welcome the sight of 2 of my patients. One of them helps me find where I should go to find the person I’m looking for. And the other explains to me why he didn’t show up today….he felt like he had a cold. He’s an older gentleman and I trust him. I told him, no worries, I had just rescheduled him.
I find the number of the cell I’m looking for. It’s dark inside. I can’t see anything really. And they have placed these thick, dark metal grate over all of the cell bars. Apparently years back, an inmate on death row, had created a spear and flung it through the bars where it killed an officer. Since then, they have these extra barrier so no one can do that again.(*) But, it makes it very dark and hard to see in the cell.
I call out the inmates last name. I try to call everyone by Mr _________. It’s not what I would normally do to connect to someone, but working here, I try to keep some personal distance.
It takes about 3 calls, but he emerges from his bunk. I can barely see him through the black metal grate. All I see are his eyes. I ask him if he’s ok and why he cancelled today. He says, “I just was in a bad way. I was upset at the police.” I ask him how his pain is. He says, it’s better, he can walk again. I ask if he would still like to come to PT to work on it more. I say, “I want to help you, but I can’t do that if you don’t come to sessions.” He confirms he would like to continue PT. I tell him, I had to push his apportionment out 2 weeks because my schedule was full. He agreed that was ok and thanked me.
I do believe that as my coworker mentioned, that they appreciate when you come out. So many times they get dismissed in here. And to have a medical staff make a personal visit and ask how you are is probably not a common occurrence. I hope this will make him show up next time. I’ll let ya know how that goes.
turn to leave, aware again that I am a fish swimming amongst whales. But they are cordial and give me the right of way, calling me “ma’am.”
I’m grateful for the positive experience and after having that one under my belt, I will be more prepared for the next time I have to enter the blocks.
*I learned this detail from Lt Sam Robinson on the podcast, Ear Hustle. I’ve learned a lot from this podcast leading up to working here and continuing onward if I’m in the mood.
*just to note, I’ll be leaving out the name of the institution that I work at. It’s a state prison for reference. Images are not from the prison as no devices are allowed in.
Prison PT 
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