Dallas County Jail

I worked as a nurse in the George Allen Jail for a year. I've met some of the most seediest, vile and manipulating inmates on this earth (keep in mind this was a maximum security facility). Where the heck do you think you are a hotel or a hospital? You criminals aren't in jail because you've been upstanding citizens it is because you committed a crime. Guess what when you commit a crime in Dallas county and you get caught you go to jail! You have been convicted of a crime and now are being punished. Jail is not a hotel where in which we the employees cater to your every whim. Jail is a scary, disgusting, and a mean place. So if you can't handle it then stop committing crimes. Also one thing I want to know is why are these so called "sick" people going to jail? If you have some terminal illness then you need to be in bed, hospital, or family’s house getting better, not trying to buy crack or prostituting yourself on the street. Don't tell me you weren't getting medication, both because I worked twelve hour shifts and I passed meds for half of the jail twice a day (another nurse passed the other half). Each pass took me two hours to pull thousands of meds from a pyxis then took me three hours to pass the meds. While I passed the meds I would pick up probably fifty kites at each med pass. There were two other nurse that answered kites, tested glucose levels (also gave insulin), saw emergencies, and daily wound care. These two women did this for twelve hours everyday. Plus the medical night shift consists of two nurses that also answered kite, mound care, glucose checks, and see emergencies. We also provided medication for all inmates detoxing for drugs. Also a physician was staffed at George Allen Monday - Friday for eight hours a day. An ob/gyn that saw women once a week. A counselor and a psychiatrist who saw inmates once a week. Lastly dental saw inmates once a week too. Dallas county even offers detox medication for inmates that arrive in book-in that are long term street drug users or alcoholics. Now I've worked in different county jails were they absolutely will not give detox meds and you have to "come down" cold turkey. To sum it up don't commit crimes you will go to jail. If you go to jail don't pretend like you're sick or dying because you take up our time needed for the truly ill. Don't be mad at the jailers or the medical staff we didn't put you in jail, you have no one to blame but yourself. Second the Dallas county inmates aren't paying a single penny for any of the medical care they receive, it comes out of the pockets of law abiding, honest, hard working individuals who aren't in jail. Other county jails actually charge their inmates for each kite they write, seeing the nurse or doctor, and any medication they receive. Finally we nurses care for the individuals that no one else wants to care for i.e. child molesters, rapist, murders, and prostitutes. The Dallas county nurses are contracted to the jail under Parkland Memorial hospital so we get Parkland wages which is considerable less than average salary of a nurse (almost half what the average rate pay for a nurse receives).

Amen...

my son works and pays taxes so if he is locked up for a minor incident and if the so call nurses in lew sterret are checking blood sugar levels why is he going straight to ICU from jail throwing up, blood sugar over 400, and dehydrated being in jail less than 24 hours. Sounds to me like there was no medical assistance at all and if I ask for a timesheet indicating everysingle blood check and insulin issue wonder what the charts would say. Where is the tax money going?

I've never been to jail, but judging by the comments of this so called nurse, I can see how unprofessional the "employed staff" are at this jail. No bounderies what so ever and so so bitter.

Further more, these inmates are receiving their punishment. They are being punished and serving their time, it doesn't mean they have to continue being judged by people like you. "Let him without sin through the first stone. .."

Just because my husband is in jail does not mean he is a bad person. He just made some bad choices and yes he is paying for them now, but just because that he is there doesn't mean he is a horrible individual. He should be one of the least ones in jail, there are people out there everyday commiting crimes still til this day. Yes my husband blames him self so he is trying to serve his time and learn a lesson from this. But there are still high risk criminals out in the streets and when people like my husband that is not a high risk criminal is doing his time so why can't the main ones that commit crimes everyday be where he is at?