Notes from the Slammer
Thursday, June 4th, 2009 by Delisa Davis Reavis
I’ve walked a pretty straight line most of my life. Aside from a lead foot that has resulted in a couple of speeding tickets and a few stern warnings, I’ve managed to avoid the long arm of the law.
So, I must admit to a perverse excitement when I found out I’d get to visit the West Valley Detention Center in San Bernardino County California. My first trip to jail!
Our client Talyst has equipped all seven of San Bernardino County’s corrections facilities with InSite remote medication dispensers.
Terry Fillman, the health services supervisor for San Bernardino Corrections, was kind enough to show me around-proving that the best salesman is indeed a happy customer.
Terry had to have all of my security information in advance-name, birth date, drivers license number-they run a pretty tight ship at the corrections facilities-nothing is left to chance.
As Terry walked and talked us through the halls and various security checks, I was admittedly a tiny bit disappointed by the lack of drama. Where were the bars? The inmates clanging? This isn’t like the movies!
But, when we got to the healthcare wing I was sated by the, well, coolness of it all.
Before Talyst came along, nurses had to pop out each inmate’s medication from a blister pack of 30 pills, a process that took hours to complete and was riddled with opportunity for medication waste and errors.
Now, the medication is churned out of the InSite for Corrections remote dispenser, each dose in an individual packet, bar-coded and identifying the patient. The video below shows a medication run, which is divided by unit numbers for easy sorting.
What used to take four nurses four hours EACH to complete, now only takes 45 minutes with InSite!
Here is a look at the inside of the machine and the canisters that house individual medications.
Medication inventory is kept neatly organized inside the carousel.
Clearly Terry Fillman is an excellent press reference! Stay tuned for upcoming articles featuring Terry and his role in implementing InSite for San Bernardino Corrections.
