“In September 2015, San Quentin experienced an outbreak of Legionnaires’ disease. It could have been deadly to the 5,400 inmates and staff if not for the actions of primary-care providers. Less than two hours after noticing a marked increase in pneumonia cases among patients, these staff exchanged their clinical suspicions,” stated Undersecretary of Administration and Offender Services Kenneth Pogue.
Undersecretary Pogue presented a team of 16, Dr. Fernand Alvarez, Dr. Denise Reyes, Dr. George Beatty, Dr. Clarene David, Dr. Shannon Garrigan, Dr. John Grant, Dr. Doreen Leighton, Dr. Jenny Espinoza, Dr. Alison Pachynski, Dr. Michael Rowe, Dr. Daniel Smith, Dr. Rahul Vanjani, Dr. Lisa Pratt, Chief Medical Executive Elena Tootell, Nurse Practitioners Ingrid Nelson and Peggy Hanna, with the Health Care Services Professional of the Year awards for successfully combating the outbreak of the Legionnaire’s disease at San Quentin State Prison.
Undersecretary Pogue said that the care providers, “immediately researched possible causes;
They established a working diagnosis and set parameters for treatment, and they began aggressively treating patients with antibiotics to halt potential exposure.”
“These clinical staff members contained the outbreak, and saved the lives of inmates and staff. Thank you all for your actions,” said Undersecretary Pogue.
He also announced that the team is being honored with Unit Citations.