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Hospital in Blythe under Riverside County board declines to adopt county management receives majority of grand jury's recommendations for jails national certification By Joe Taglieri
By Paul J. Young, City News Service
joet@civicnewsgroup.com
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iverside County supervisors Tuesday signed off on an Executive Office report — and a separate one filed by Sheriff Chad Bianco — that asserted the county will not implement some recommendations from a grand jury to improve jail operations, but will take others under consideration. "The action of the Board of Supervisors today does not create or reject a specific oversight model," county CEO Jeff Van Wagenen said Tuesday. "The county's position is that transparency and accountability matter." The Executive Office and Sheriff's Department each issued responses to the 19-member civil Grand Jury's findings, published in June, that emphasized the need for a change in how the county's five detention facilities are operated, and what policy measures are overdue to ensure deficiencies that jurors believe contributed to fatalities in previous years are resolved. "An alarming number of in-custody deaths, combined with questions about internal investigative practices and the absence of independent oversight, has raised
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The Robert Presley Detention Center at 4000 Orange St. in Riverside. | Photo courtesy of the Riverside County Sheriff's Department
ongoing concerns about safety, transparency and accountability of Riverside County jail operations," the grand jury said in its 26-page report. "Failure to implement independent oversight and custodial reforms exposes the county to significant civil liability, particularly in cases involving in-custody deaths." Jurors determined through their own comprehensive investigation that the county would benefit from an inspector general's office to monitor and report
on correctional operations, or a civilian oversight board empowered to conduct independent investigations and make recommendations to the board — all of which is authorized, but not mandated, legislatively. The Executive Office said the recommendation for an independent body "requires further analysis." Officials further touted the formation in July of an ad-hoc committee to scrutinize jail policies and practices, saying the See Jails Page 17
panel will likely achieve some of the results that the grand jury advocated. The sheriff's report replied that the proposal "will not be implemented because the recommendation is not warranted." Jurors also supported creation of a "five-year strategic plan for jail operations that includes measurable benchmarks, data transparency goals (and) compliance auditing procedures." The sheriff's department
alo Verde Hospital, which is bankrupt and managed by county officials, meets all federal quality and patient safety standards for serving Blythe and other remote communities in eastern Riverside County, it was announced earlier this month. The "critical access hospital" has received full national accreditation for three years from DNV Healthcare USA Inc., which the federal Department of Health and Human Services and the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services have authorized to evaluate hospital compliance, according to the Palo Verde Healthcare District. The accreditation followed several on-site surveys over a period of months, during which hospital staff addressed findings and implemented changes to meet federal standards. Annual followup surveys are required to maintain the certification, which is the first earned under the bailout agreement between the Palo Verde Healthcare District and Riverside County.
The county Board of Supervisors directed managers from the Riverside University Health System Medical Center on-site in February to provide operational support across hospital departments. "The Palo Verde Healthcare District is grateful for the collaboration with the County of Riverside and RUHS, and for their support in helping the hospital achieve accreditation,” Carmela Garnica, president of the Palo Verde Healthcare District Board of Directors, said in a statement. “PVH is an important part of our community because it gives people access to healthcare close to home.” Palo Verde Hospital is the only medical facility serving the local region that stretches to the Arizona border. Without emergency services at the hospital, more than 20,000 residents would lose access to timely medical treatment for life-threatening emergencies. The nearest option for emergency healthcare is over 70 miles away and a drive of nearly two hours. In February, the Board of Supervisors OK'd a sixmonth plan to stabilize
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