Bannock County Jail medical bay upgraded for the first time in 25 years
Published at | Updated at
POCATELLO — The Bannock County Sheriff’s Office unveiled its new and improved jail medical bay Thursday.
As part of the upgrade, several years in the making, new flooring, ceiling tiles, cabinets and countertops were installed. Additionally, the dentist equipment inside the medical bay was completely upgraded.
“It’s significantly upgraded from what we had,” Bannock County Sheriff Tony Manu said. “It was almost scary to walk in here.”
While much of the work was contracted out to local businesses, the on-site maintenance team, managed by director Levi Waldron, handled a portion of the labor.
“I have told other staff that if I walked into a doctor’s office or dentist’s office that looked like this, I would probably go shopping for another provider,” Waldron said in a news release from the county. “The inmates don’t have that option, but they do deserve to have a clean-looking exam room for their medical and dental care.”
The work began in mid-May, Waldron said, when his maintenance team outfitted one of the jail’s conference and training rooms to serve as a temporary medical center. That process took about a month, and work on the new upgraded medical bay began in June, Manu added.
Paid for out of the sheriff’s office’s operating budget, the upgrade was originally expected to cost around $90,000. However, despite delays caused by supply chain issues, the completed work cost around $79,000.
This upgrade, Manu said, was on a list of items the office identified as needs. The medical bay has not undergone any serious upgrade in over 25 years.
Kami Murrell, a physician’s assistant at the jail, said she was hired about a week before the work was announced. Yet, even in that short period, she recognized the need.
“We’re trying to create a good work environment for these important people that have to work here,” Manu said of the medical staff.
As part of the upgrade, the infrastructure inside the medical bay was completely overhauled. The HVAC system was changed and moved into a more efficient location while a second sink and additional electrical outlets were installed.
Previously, the nurse station housed just one outlet, Waldron said.
“Technology has improved and we need to plug more things in and there was one outlet back there,” Waldron told EastIdahoNews.com.
Along with the additional outlets, the nurse station now includes a separate sink, a refrigerator and a microwave.
With this item now crossed off the project list, Manu said the biggest one remains — a new roof. As he explained to EastIdahoNews.com, a recent inspection revealed a “big bladder” that he has been told will quickly become problematic.
The holdup on that upgrade, he added, is procuring the funding. A new roof is expected to cost somewhere in the vicinity of $750,000.
“That’s been on the project list for a couple years but it comes down to procurement,” he said. “It’s in the works.”
Manu said that expansion had been on the list at one point — “but that, kinda, went to the wayside.”
Bannock County Jail is currently housing around 270 inmates — though on average that number is closer to 290, more than 80% of the facility’s maximum capacity.
“Maintaining the health and well-being of the people in our custody is one of my top priorities as Sheriff,” Manu said in a news release. “We could not continue to provide proper care with our medical unit falling apart. Our staff, the providers, and the people in custody have been very pleased with the improvements.”
