State holding job fair for prison medical workers

CARSON CITY - Though lawmakers have yet to approve a plan to privatize prison medical care, Gov. Kenny Guinn is planning a "job fair" for medical staff who could be displaced by a private company.

Meanwhile, more than 40 of those employees showed up at a joint budget subcommittee hearing on Thursday to ask legislators to save their existing jobs and scrap the privatization plan.

"Today, with the loss of our careers facing us, employees are becoming more and more frustrated. We were not prepared to hear about job loss during the state of the state address," said Mary Thompson, chief of nursing for southern Nevada prisons.

Guinn, along with officials from the state Department of Personnel, plan to visit prison medical staff on March 8-9 to talk with employees whose jobs could be lost. This will ensure they understand all their options for relocating or retraining well before their jobs are handed over to private companies, Guinn chief of staff Pete Ernaut said.

Guinn's plan to privatize prison medical care is far from gaining approval, the budget subcommittee chairwoman said.

"The governor's plan has real problems and they need to recognize that," said Assemblywoman Chris Giunchigliani, D-Las Vegas, who still wants to see the fine print from the Department of Prisons. "We still have received nothing from the DOP to show what the savings would be."

The governor has estimated that privatization of all prison medical services would cut 321 state jobs and save about $4.4 million over the next two years, leaving the price tag at $58.7 million.

Medical care for prisoners at the state's maximum-security prison at Ely has been in the hands of a private company, Correctional Medical Services of St. Louis, since 1995, and Ernaut said all the employees let go from Ely found jobs. But several witnesses disputed that.

Ruth Hoch, a nurse with the Northern Nevada Correctional Center in Carson City, said she saw firsthand the fallout of the CMS takeover.

"There were very limited jobs available to staff who wanted to stay in Ely," she said. She added that the full cost of Ely's private medical should include many services the state still must cover, including lab, dental and pharmacy services.

Director of Prisons Bob Bayer attended the hearing, but didn't testify. Bayer recently asked women prisoners at the privately-owned Southern Nevada Women's Prison their opinions on privatizing prison medical care, offering up to 30 days off their sentences for their "theme papers."

Giunchigliani requested copies of the papers and any merit points Bayer may have awarded, but said she hasn't received the information.

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