Controversy over staph infections at county jail
March 30, 2007
A part-time prisoner at the Scott County Detention Center and the county jailer are at odds over the seriousness of a series of staph infections at the jail.
Donald Darden, who has been serving two days a week on a one-year sentence, said he was first infected last November.
“I’ve been taking medicine since it happened, but it’s reoccurring every time I go back into my cell,” Darden said.
Jailer Larry Covington said his staff has been responsive.
“We have the medication for the staph infections, so we’re on top of it,” Covington said.
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Staph infections are caused by bacteria that frequently live on the skin of a healthy person. They can cause a range of illnesses from minor skin infections to pneumonia or meningitis. The infection is common in hospitals and jails, where people are is close quarters for long periods.
Darden, who jailers said is serving time for assault, said the jail has been providing him some medication, but it hasn’t helped.
“I had to go to the Urgent Treatment Center to get four types of medication, since the pills at the jail weren’t working,” he said.
He said a cellmate had the skin infection for a while, but that jail personnel didn’t recognize it until three months later.
Darden noticed pictures of staph infections posted in the jail, then after seeing a bump on his head figured out that’s what he had.
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“When I saw a bump on my head, I told them and they thought it was just a bruise,” he said.
Darden said he knows of corrections officers who have had infections, too.
Covington says that the jail staff is taking precautions to help inmates and employees eliminate and prevent the infection.
“We use sterilized soap and alcohol cleansing to take care of it,” he said.
He said a video on the infection was screened three months ago to teach the staff how to take care of it.
“We had a Kenton County man come in and give us a four-hour class and video, which showed us how to recognize the symptoms,” he said.
Staph infections can come from anything that a person touches.
“It can come from any job, the hospital, jail, nursing homes, or even from a grocery cart,” said Carla Cannon, assistant chief deputy at the Scott County jail.
Cannon said that the jail has done all it can to treat the inmates, but it’s important for the inmates to tell workers and to wash.
“We’ve treated them all, with antibiotics, ” she said. “We bought a big bar of soap for every inmate and we tell him or her to wash their hands and to keep their tables clean.
“This is bad. It’s something you don’t want to hear, so we’re trying to minimize it, as it comes from facility to facility without notice,” Cannon said.
Darden, meanwhile, is continuing to contact people about it.
“I sent out letters about the treatment and wrote to Frankfort last week. I want them to take care of this,” he said.
He also tried to get his problem solved at several places in town, having no luck.
“I went to the health department, they couldn’t do anything. Went to the mayor’s office, she couldn’t do anything, neither could Judge (Rob) Johnson. They said I needed a lawyer, so I’m looking for one now,” he said.
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