Lock Down!

I am currently in Division 17 of the jail, basically stuck, because there is a level 5 security threat and no one can come in or leave. The rumor mill is saying that someone supposedly brought a gun in at the 3pm check in. So I might be here a while. Unfortunately it is Diwali and Raj and I had plans. :( But it makes for a good story.

I guess this would be a good time to give the basic layout of the jail. This what I know, I'm sure there is tons more I am missing. Basically the Cook County Jail is the largest pre-detention holding facility in the country. It averages 100,000 people a year and an average daily population of 9000. It takes in all the people that are awaiting their trial and or final sentencing. This ranges from the pettiest of crimes to the murder cases. It is split up into different divisions. The highest number I have heard is 17. Each division is categorized by amount of security and the type of crime. Women and men are separated. There is a separate division for those with chronic medical problems that are in prison. I know Division 4 is the general floor for women, Division 17 is for women but much gentler and has a lot of treatment programs available for mental health and addiction. Division 9 or 11 is the big gun and is where a lot of the missed medications happen. The judge assigns you to which division you go to and how long. Cermak is the health center affiliated with the jail. It provides for all the medical care in the jail. The amount of services it provides is actually quite incredible if you think about it. Every person that comes through the jail goes through intake. Which is basically a quick run down of your medical problems, your addictions, your medicine. Then you get triaged accordingly - given any immediete meds (you hope) and then if need for f/u, an order gets put in to see the appropriate medical provider (for example an internist, psych, etc). There is an ER that handles anything that comes up acutely in the jail. The ER has its own CT scan, Ultrasound machine, Xray. It has a radiology reading room. Then all the divisions have their medical clinics that run on a daily basis for the chronic care follow up and the acute stuff that comes up. In terms of public health stuff - there is a large scale sexually transmitted disease screening that takes place for women. It has become opt out in the sense that it gets done for everyone unless someone says specifically no. They are trying to get that for the men as well. Espcially for HIV testing because this is a huge population that could potentially be going undiagnosed. They have tuberculosis screening for everyone that comes in too - everyone gets a chest xray. They have care for the HIV patients - a clinic that runs everyday.

I could go on but thats a basic start. My role in all of this is basically experiencing the different medical flavors of the jail. This time around as I mentioned, I've been spending a lot of time w/ HIV patients and in Division 17 - the more rehabilitative program for women. Last time, I did a little bit of everything. Its something different everyday and that is part of its appeal along with many other things. For now, all I want to do is go home and this stupid lockdown to be done! If anyone has any connections, get me out!

First of many entries on the jail

I've been at the Cook County Jail now for 2 days and I'm amazed at how much I like it there. I've been there before and in general the first time around was just getting used to the culture and there were so many things to take in. Observing the whole prisoner/guard dynamic. Then there is the provider/prisoner dynamic. Then even the guard/provider dynamic. I got warned a lot about watching myself, being careful, the typical. But I think what stuck with me is that these "criminals" are people in the end. Yeah some of them have probably done horrible things but the majority of them end up making not the smartest decisions. A lot of them have addictions that lead them to jail. A lot of mental health issues. It is amazing to see how prevalent the racial lines are when it comes to prison. The number of black/hispanic compared to white is simply incredible. The waiting line for the family/friends that are visiting outside of the prison all come from minority backgrounds. I read this book called Courtroom 302 that gave me a lot of insight into the Cook County Justice system.

The second time around, I think I really just see myself actually being able to be a part of this world and getting deeper. I have been focusing on HIV care in the past two days and working with a really cool attending - Dr. Z. His bedside manner and ability to just be real with the patients is really inspiring. There are some ridiculous stories of injustice that happen to people that need their medications and totally don't get them because of the system. The attendings that I've worked with care (there are your share that whine, but what work place doesn't have that) and overall its a friendly work environment. I don't know, the whole experience feels very real. It is real people, real stories and you see so many aspects of our society collide - health, justice, the role poverty plays, the role race plays, politics...I could go on. This was just a brief entry. Call me naive but I truly believe that there are no bad people in the world. Things happen to them that make them make bad decisions. Talking to these people allows me to break the stereotypes in my head and reminds me that in the end, "crimnals/prisoners" are people. They deserve respect and they deserve a system that actually works at rehabilitating rather than blind punishment. I'll describe how the system works in another entry. I am not allowed a camera in the place but I'm going to post some google images of what I walk into. I feel like there is so much to say but this was just an intro.

We're back - at least one of us!

I know its been a while since either of us have posted. I was inspired by a certain someone (thanks Sonz!) to keep a blog. I was going to create a new blog but then thought it would just be easier to add onto this one. In this coming month, I will be working at the Cermak Health Center. It is the health center affiliated with the Cook County Jail. I've done 2 weeks there before and think it is a really interesting aspect of health care. I learned a lot and am truly considering working there post residency. I'll keep you guys posted on how it goes. It is also an easier month and a month that I can enjoy the randomness of life. I usually have some pretty crazy adventures and was going to use this blog to share.


Some adventures thus far...Raj and I went to Occupy Chicago yesterday. Had been wanting to check it out for a while. Thought it was powerful just hearing people rally for a cause. People from other cities that were part of the occupy movement were there sharing their stories/experiences. It is powerful to think that if enough of us gather together, maybe we could stop making money the center of our universe and focus on building a stronger community together. The movement really tries to make it a true democratic movement - having things build in for everyone to speak their mind, a human microphone so that everyone can hear...and lots of other things that I could go on about. All in all a cool movement to observe and if I get time, definitely want to be part of it more. Didn't have my camera but posting a picture from the website.