New board to review medical and mental healthcare at Hudson County jail

JERSEY CITY -- Hudson County has unveiled a new board that will examine the medical and mental health services offered to inmates and immigrant detainees at the county jail and implement improvements.

The Hudson County Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation Advisory Board was created by order of Hudson County Executive Thomas DeGise and is expected have its first meeting on Nov. 30.

The 11-member body will include county brass, members of immigrant activist groups, a priest and a representative of Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

It is tasked with reviewing the quality of medical care provided to those incarcerated at the facility and offer recommendations on how to improve the conditions. The Advisory Board (AB) will complete a report regarding needed improvements that are to be implemented by early 2019.

The AB's creation comes in the aftermath of six deaths at the jail since 2016. Four of the deaths were classified as suicides.

The AB takes the place of a previous panel that was convened after an immigrant detainee died in the county's custody in June 2017. That group included a doctor, an attorney with medical malpractice experience, and a retired judge.

Board member Rev. Eugene Squeo said concern over the deaths at the jail played a big part in the formation of the AB because there were concerns not enough was being done.

"The board will inaugurate a more proactive stance toward health issues at the jail," said Squeo, who is also an attorney and a volunteer chaplain at the jail.

Squeo said board members will not have to wait for incident reports or complaints "but can actually visit the jail, interview detainees or inmates and try to get a better feel for the actual medical and mental health care that's going on at the jail."

A new medical and mental healthcare provider -- Correctional Care Solutions -- has taken over at the Kearny jail and Hudson County Freeholder Bill O'Dea said improvements in care have already been put in place. However, the creation of the AB is necessary to assess the progress being made, O'Dea said.

"The reality is that it's sad that that happened," O'Dea said of the inmate/detainee deaths. "Some of the tragedies could have been prevented should we have had better coverage at that time."

The AB is also tasked with applying for accreditation of the jail by the American Corrections Association and ensuring the jail complies with ICE medical and mental healthcare standards. The board will also review and monitor the jail to ensure compliance with the Prison Rape Elimination Act.

The AB consists of DeGise or his designee, the director and deputy director of Hudson County Corrections and Rehabilitation, a representative of the Hudson County Department of Roads and Public Property (as needed) and the field office director of the New York/New Jersey Office of ICE or the office's designee.

The health services administrator of the jail's medical provider will also serve on the board, as well as a freeholder to be designated. Squeo and fellow ICE detainee advocates Sally Pillay and Serges Demefack will also be members of the AB, in addition to community representative Rachel Hodes.

DeGise will chair the board, while members will serve without compensation.

DeGise's executive order also formed a Grievance Review Board that will examine detainee medical grievances as required by ICE. The "GRB" consists of attorney Brian Neary on behalf of the Hudson County Bar Association, a representative of Hudson County Legal Services, psychiatrist Craig L. Katz and physician Samuel Khnowitz.

Rosa Santana, who has been named detainee advocate, is to receive a copy of any grievance filed by a detainee within 24 hours.

O'Dea said a new infirmary being built at the jail will be able to handle five times more patients. He said work is also being done to ensure there is sufficient space to insure ICE detainees receive their required four hours of daily recreation.

ICE pays Hudson County to house immigration detainees at the jail while they await immigration hearings. The county's relationship with ICE has drawn the ire of immigrant activists and progressives who say Hudson County should not turn a profit for housing detainees.

"A large number of (detainees) have done nothing wrong more than having a lapsed visa," O'Dea said. "The county should not just be in the profit business regarding housing detainees."

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