County's Inmate Health Care Plan Hoping To Cut Expenses
BY TERRY POPE
A new program that begins on a
probationary status this month will
send Brunswick County Health De
partment nurses to 'jail ? not on
charges, but on duty.
Brunswick County paid more
than $35,000 in medical bills for in
mates who spent time in its jail last
year.
The goal of the new program is to
provide limited care for minor or
common health problems for in
mates at the newly-expanded Bruns
wick County Jail while cutting med
ical expenses for prisoners during a
tight budget year.
Public health nurses certified in
adult health assessment will operate
the clinic on specified days.
"The inmate population is rising,
and so arc our health concerns,"
said Pat Nutter, a nurse who serves
on the Brunswick County Board of
Health.
Ms. Nutter and two other board
members. Dr. Brad Williams and
Dr. Bill Phillips, developed the in
mate health care plan.
County Board of Commissioners
Chairman Kelly Holdcn likes the
idea of treating inmates at the jail,
which is located at the government
complex in Bolivia. It was he who
asked the health board to consider
creating the program.
In the past, inmates who needed
medical treatment were transported
by at least two sheriff's deputies to
participating doctors at The Bruns
wick Hospital in Supply. It has got
ten to be an expensive practice, said
Health Director MichacI Rhodes.
At its May meeting, the health
board unanimously adopted the pro
gram on a six-month probationary
status to begin June I.
"We want to sec how it works,
how much money we can save the
county," Rhodes said. "Also, we
want to see how much more effi
cient the scrvicc will be for the
sheriff's department."
A public health nurse will be as
signed to the jail on Mondays and
Thursdays from 9 a.m. to 11 a.m.
except for the second Thursday of
each month. In the second week, a
nurse will visit the jail on Fridays
from 9 a.m. to 1 1 a.m.
If the health department is closed
for a holiday, or if the nursing staff
is short due to vacations or sick
leave, the service will noi be avail
able. The nurses must leave the
public hcalih clinic to ircai prison
ers, but patients at the health depart
ment will still be of top priority.
"The clinic work must come
first," said Ms. Nutter. 'The inmate
service is secondary."
At other times, or during emer
gencies, the jailer must seek medi
cal care for inmates from private
physicians or at the hospital emer
gency room.
Conditions beyond a nurse's
scope of practicc, regulated by the
N.C. Nurse Practicc Act, will be re
ferred to a physician, mcdical con
sultant or the inmate's private phy
sician.
The program also features infec
tion control measures for the nurs
ing staff.
Inmates with infectious diseases,
such as tuberculosis, chicken pox or
flu, will be housed in a room with a
closed door and will not mix with
the general jail population as long
as the condition persists.
Those with a disease transmitted
by blood or body fluids, such as
AIDS or hepatitis B, will not be iso
latcd. but universal precautions will nurses wear gloves, masks and pro- body fluids. It also outlines procc
be observed by the nursing staff. tcctive eyewear when treating pa- durcs for the careful removal of
Such precautions require that ticnts or when handling blood or soiled clothing or equipment.
STAFF PHOTO BY TERRY POPE
BRUNSWICK COUNTY Sheriff John Can Davis, right, gives county officials a tour of the new jail
addition that opened last week. The opening coincides with a new county inmate health care plan.
Also pictured are, from left, Commissioner Gene Pinkerton, County Manager David Clegg and
Commissioner Kelly // olden.
Growing Patient List
A county clinic that screens for diseases must begin screening its list
of patients firsL
Starting in July, several changes will go into effect at the Brunswick
County Health Department's growing adult health clinic.
Health Director Michael Rhodes said more than 700 persons were
served last year by the clinic, which offers screening for cancer, cardio
vascular disease, hypertension and diabetes to persons ages 18 to 65.
The screening clinics arc designed to help dctcct early signs of dis
eases by offering an exam to patients every two years.
However, approximately 56.8 percent of those seeking "screening" at
the clinic are already under routine medical care. An estimated 48.9 per
cent are already under treatment for their conditions, he said.
A high demand for the clinic results in a six- to 12-month waiting
waiting period for an appointment Nurses find themselves "screening"
Gets Screening First
for a diagnosed condition, said Rhodes.
"We believe this is not only pointless, but a waste of time and re
sources," he said.
The department will begin charging a screening fee on a sliding scale
based on the patient's incomc and family size. If approved by commis
sioners, fees will begin at $2934, the same charged by other health de
partments in the state, said Rhodes. The proposed fees have already been
approved by the county board fo health.
The program will now include community outreach activities for per
sons 70 or older two afternoons per month and an adult health education
program in the clinic.
Clinic hours are from 8 a.m. to noon and 1 p.m. to 3 p.m. the first and
third Wednesday of each month and from 8 a.m. to noon on the second
and fourth Wednesday.
One Charged With Taking Safe With $23,000
BY TERRY POPE
Brunswick County sheriff's detec
tives are still searching for $23,000
that was inside a safe stolen from a
Winnabow home on May 8.
However, one man has been ar
rested and charged with the crime.
Dan Delichous Galloway Jr., 24,
of Winnabow, has been charged
with breaking and entering and
larceny and larceny of a firearm, re
ported Det. Ken Messcr of the
Brunswick County Sheriff's Depart
ment.
Galloway is accused of breaking
into a home and taking the safe that
contained both the money and a
9mm pistol, said Messcr.
"It is still under investigation,"
Messer said. "We feel like there's
another subject involved."
Galloway was placed under
$40,000 bond and was still being
held in the Brunswick County Jail
Monday morning.
In other reports on file at the
sheriff's department:
?Messer believes a Winnabow man
who was shot in the face Sunday
evening pulled the trigger himself.
The man suffered a single gunshot
wound to the left cheek.
According to Deputy Becky Mc
CRIME REPORT
Donald's report, the man's grand
mother was home when she heard a
shot. She told deputies he then
walked from the bedroom and asked
her lo call for help. The Town Creek
Volunteer Rescue Squad transported
the victim to New Hanover Region
al Medical Center in Wilmington.
"All evidence points toward a
self-inflicted gunshot," said Messer,
who staled the victim had been de
pressed.
?Two men entered Holiday Bever
age and Sporting Goods in Bciville
Saturday evening and fled with
some firearms tucked inside one of
the men's shirt. According to De
puty Randy Robinson, one man dis
tracted a sales clerk while another
suspect picked the lock on a gun
case, dismantled the guns and stuf
fed them inside his shirt. They fled
the store around 8 p.m.
?Someone helped themselves to a
load of watermelons and other veg
etables early Sunday at Ocean Isle
Produce. The suspect broke through
a door when the stand was closed
and carried away 10 watermelons,
10 cantaloupes, two boxes of toma
toes, two baskets of peaches, 12 soft
drinks, two boxes of blueberries and
one case of com, all valued at S296,
reported Deputy Phil Bryant.
?Food valued at S236 was taken
during a break-in at the Causeway
Grill at Holden Beach Friday night.
The suspect entered by pulling open
a window. A ham, several cans of
sauce, scallops, hamburger, cooking
oil and dishwashing detergent were
taken, reported Deputy Charlie
Crocker.
?A burglar took about S 1 ,800 dur
ing a break-in at the Maco Light
Restaurant on U.S. 74-76 in Maco,
reported Deputy Richard DuVall.
The suspect broke the glass on a
front door and entered between
midnight and 7 a.m. Friday. Two
cartons of cigarettes were also tak
en. Damage was estimated at $350.
?An estimated 93 tobacco plants
were destroyed by someone riding
through a field on Goose Neck
Road in the Northwest Community,
reported Robinson. Tire tracks indi
cate a four-wheel all-terrain vehicle
was driven through the field.
?An air conditioner was removed
from a home in Old Mill Mobile
Home Park in Lcland Saturday to
allow entry inside, but nothing was
taken by the burglar that ransacked
the home, reported Deputy Brian
Sanders.
?A diamond ring valued at S3, 500
was stolen from a Sunset Harbor
home Sunday while the victim was
out of town, reported Sgt. Ida Bal
lard.
?Baby clothes, a waterbed pad,
rods and reels and video recorder
were among the items taken from a
Sandy Bluff home Saturday, report
ed Deputy Richard Long. Damage
was estimated at S100 after a front
door had been pried open.
?Someone tried to enter a Carolina
Shores Resort home last Thursday
by removing the scrccns to two
windows and cutting the screen on a
third, but they never made it inside
the home, reported Deputy Robert
Hoagland. Damage was estimated at
S350.
?The back glass to a pickup truck
was shot out and the front wind
shield damaged on LitUe Macedonia
Road near Supply Saturday, Long re
ported. Damage was listed at S300.
?A home on N.C. 179 near Brick
landing sustained fire damage Sun
day when a man fell asleep while
smoking a cigarette, reported Bry
ant. No injuries were reported.
Building
Owner Given Month To Fix Septic System
BY DOUG RUTTER
Brunswick County health officials
have given the owner of a com
mercial building near Ocean Isle
Beach one month to repair a failing
septic system.
Betty Gore owns the two-story
building on N.C. 179 west of Ocean
Isle that is being used for a conve
nience store on the first floor and a
nightclub, Cowgirls, on the second
floor.
Health officials concluded last
week that the septic system serving
the building has failed when they
saw sewage coming to the surface,
said John Crowder, environmental
health supervisor with the county
health department.
Crowder said health officials also
noticed red dye on the ground sur
face during an on-site inspection
last Wednesday. The health depart
ment had added a concentrated red
dye to the septic system about three
weeks ago.
A notice of violation was mailed
to the owner of the building last Fri
day giving her 30 days to repair the
system, Crowder said.
If the system is repaired, it would
not be the first time. Crowder said
the county health department helped
the owner design a repair of the sys
tem two or three years ago.
This time around, the county has
recommended Mrs. Gore hire some
one to come up with a plan for re
pairing the system. Crowder said
the current system employs a septic
tank, pump and conventional drain
field.
"The system they have there now
takes up a good part of the area
that's green area or area available
for sewage disposal," Crowder said
Tuesday.
The businesses will be permitted
to operate while a plan for repairing
the system is being developed. State
sewage guidelines allow property
owners to continue using their sys
tems while they work out an im
provement plan.
Crowder said failing septic sys
tems are not that rare in this area.
The county health department is pre
sently keeping labs on six violations.
Although septic systems have
failed at restaurants, motels and oth
er types of businesses, Crowder said
"the great majority of them are indi
vidual residences."
Besides working wilh the county
on repairing the septic system, Mrs.
Gore also is working with the Town
of Ocean Isle Beach on correcting
violations of the state building code.
Building Inspector Druied Rober
son said the owner will have to in
stall a sprinkler system and add an
exit and lighted exit signs on the
second floor to comply with state
code.
The owner also will have to run a
conduit to an outdoor flashing light
and have the balcony inspected.
Roberson said Tuesday he had not
yet received a timetable for the pro
posed improvements.
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Lakes Man Hurt After
Deer Hits Motorcycle
A deer crossing N.C. 87 near
Boiling Spring Lakes was struck by
a motorcycle last week, throwing
the driver off and seriously injuring
him.
Dan Eric Dcwease, 26, of Boiling
Spring Lakes, was driving his 1983
Honda about 1.6 miles north of the
town limits when the deer ran out in
front of him, reported State Trooper
J.V. Dove.
The accident happened last Wed
nesday, May 29, around 4 p.m.
"It would have been a minor ac
cident, except the driver was seri
ously injured when he struck the
pavement," said Ruby Oakley, a
spokesperson for the N.C. Highway
Patrol ofllce in Wilmington.
Dcwease was taken to Doshcr
Memorial Hospital in Southport for
treatment.
He was later charged by Dove
with driving without a North Caro
lina driver's license.
Damage was listed at $800 to the
motorcycle.
Sign Damaged
In another accident last Thursday,
May 30, a Shallouc man was charg
ed with driving while impaired and
driving while his license was re
voked after he ran off of U.S. 17
south of Shallouc and struck a sign.
Jerry David Vaught, 44, was
charged after his 1978 Cadillac ran
off the road around 10:15 p.m.
about 11 miles south of Shallotte,
reported Dove.
Vaught's car ran off the right
shoulder and hit a sign owned by
Morgan Enterprises of Shallotte.
The driver was not injured, but
damage was estimated at S500 to
the car and S200 to the sign.
Car Hits Trailer
A 21 -year-old Camp Lcjcune
man was seriously injured last Tues
day, May 28, when his car struck a
pickup truck pulling a utility trailer
on U.S. 17 south of Shallotte.
Yuri Rickenbacker was traveling
north on U.S. 17 about seven miles
south of Shallotte when the 1:40
p.m. wreck occurred, reported
Trooper B.D. Bamhardt.
Rickenbacker's 1988 Pontiac ran
off the road, swerved back onto the
pavement, crossed the center line
and struck a 1984 Ford truck and
utility trailer, Barnhardt stated.
The driver of the truck, Billy
Mack Hollingsworth, 53, of Supply,
was not injured.
Rickenbacker was charged with
careless and reckless driving and
taken to The Brunswick Hospital in
Supply.
Damage was estimated at S6.000
to Rickenbacker's car and S5.000 to
the Hollingsworth truck and utility
trailer.
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