A rapid response unit known as the Strike Team was created at San Quentin State Prison to combat the various communicable diseases that could possibly affect the overall general population this year.
An emergency unit was needed and necessary to strike as quickly as possible in the event of contamination of a non-medical area in the prison, Public Health Nurse Allyson Tabor notified Correctional Lt D. Graham.
Each housing unit will be responsible for cleaning any contaminated area where the transmission of the various diseases could almost certainly shut down the entire institution for weeks, Graham said in an interview.
Graham described these diseases as scabies, lice, blood-borne pathogens such as Hepatitis B and Hepatitis C, HIV, gastroenteritis cases (suspect Noro or C. difficile), chickenpox or the flu. Any one of these conditions can spread to others if not cleaned up properly.
S. Pulido, the program facilitator, recruited and trained the Strike Team in two weeks to combat and prevent these diseases from spreading.
The team will comprise 23 individuals selected and housed throughout the institution. Each unit will maintain cleaning supplies, hazardous material equipment and clothing in a designated keyed locker to be used if the problem should occur in the building.
North Block has three Strike Team members.
Eight specially trained handicap helpers will respond to the Reception Center, if there is an outbreak in that unit.
West Block will be assigned three Strike Team members.
H-Unit has two Strike Team members standing by to handle any epidemic problem.
East Block has five Strike Team members trained and ready to activate any clean up on Death Row.
The North Segregation Unit has two Strike Team members standing down until any one of the above communicable diseases affects that unit.
In case of a cell contamination, the inmate affected will be removed from his cell by the medical staff, while the cell is decontaminated. They are treated appropriately. For example, in a scabies case, the inmate is showered and treated with ointment, and all clothes and linens are replaced. The inmate is returned to his cell, isolated until the final shower and linen exchange is completed the next day.
In some cases, the inmate might be medically isolated in another cell while the strike team decontaminates the cell. An example of this is chickenpox, which requires the inmate to be moved to a negative pressure room for isolation.
The Strike Team will be notified immediately of a contamination event in their respective unit. They should response within 30 to 60 minutes. Each Strike Team member will dress in a special hazardous material suit, which may include gloves, mask and shoes. The cleaning materials and disposal bags will be obtained from the keyed locker.
All the bedding, clothing, and personal properties will be removed from the contaminated areas and placed outside the cell. Contaminated linen will be placed in water-soluble bags and yellow “infectious linen bags” and sent to the laundry sealed.
Personal items, if contaminated, may have to be bagged and sealed or discarded, based on public health recommendations. The Strike Team will clean and wash down the lower and upper bunk, walls, bars, toilet units, sinks and floors. The entire cell will be given a thorough cleansing.
Graham, Tabor, LVN Sepulveda and Pulido want the San Quentin population to know the Strike Team is ready. They urge personnel not to hesitate to report to the medical staff any symptoms associated to these diseases.
For further information, contact your unit lieutenant.
