Editorial: The unhealthy state of the Allegheny County Jail

What is happening at the Allegheny County Jail?

The Jail Oversight Board is looking into the turnover in medical administration at the county facility.

It comes in the wake of several top medical officials stepping down. The most recent was Janet Bunts, who was hired in August to act as the health services administrator.

While other departures have been explained away as people just being unable to cut it in the difficult world of corrections, that wasn’t the case with Bunts. Though she had spent 26 years in the field — working for the federal Bureau of Prisons and as associate warden of the Federal Correctional Institution-McKean — she lasted just three months at ACJ.

“We’re finally seeing now — with folks who have been in corrections for their entire career — even they left the Allegheny County Jail,” board member Bethany Hallam said.

Bunts attributed it to “a lack of leadership, a lack of orienting new staff, a lack of willingness to change their old ways.”

The former director of mental health, Michael Barfield, also is no jailhouse novice. He worked at the facility for 12 years. His last day was Friday.

Bunts said she saw such blatant abuse of medical staff by custody officers that they promptly quit.

If that is true, it needs to be fixed and fixed fast. Medical staff always is important in a jail, but it’s absolutely vital in a pandemic. ACJ has had dozens of inmates test positive for covid-19 since March. Two weeks ago, the jail announced that at least 10 employees have tested positive; as of Tuesday, the number is 29. Forty employees are in quarantine in reaction to possible exposures.

There have been more than 100 inmates, plus more staff members, reported positive at the Westmoreland County Prison over just 10 days. Despite measures to address covid infection, state prisons have reported more than 1,800 cases since March. On Sunday, the state reported three coronavirus deaths in just two days.

And that doesn’t count mental health needs, something Allegheny County should be paying attention to in light of two federal lawsuits filed claiming lack of adequate mental health care, overuse of solitary confinement and excessive use of force.

Deputy County Manager Steve Pilarski maintains confidence in the jail’s leadership.

“All of the staff at the facility are hardworking employees who function as a team, supporting each other and the jail’s operations,” he said in a written statement. “It’s unfortunate that an employee who was only there for such a short period of time would call that into question.”

Maybe that confidence is warranted. But it is hardly an instance of Bunts’ criticism alone creating questions.

And that is why a closer look is a good idea — not just for the health of inmates, many of whom are only accused and not convicted, but also for the safety of employees.