NYSNA Members Speak Out on Crisis at Rikers

In this edition of New York Nurse, we asked four members whose combined work at Rikers Correctional Center totals 75 years to share their perspective and experience. You’ll hear from Constance Clark, Gene Thomas, Paulette McGee and Nadyne Pressley, all registered nurses at the facility. Their dedication to quality care is exceptional, as they have remained on the job in spite of understaffing, persistent violence and other hardships. Each says, however, that conditions at the city jail are the worst they have ever seen. New York Nurse asked them to describe those conditions. Their accounts are heartbreaking, but must be shared.

“I See Lost Souls” - Paulette McGee, RN

I have been at Rikers for 21 years, and the last 8 have been in the mental health unit.

I see lost souls. The system has failed them.

We help detainees gain insight into their mental illness and teach the importance of medication compliance.

When they leave us, there is nothing for them. Some say, ‘I’m not going, I have nowhere to go.’

This helps explain the high recidivism.

This has been hard work but very rewarding. They need a compassionate, empathetic, and caring nurse. I thought about leaving, but I knew in my heart I made a difference.

“They Are the Forgotten Ones” - Constance Clark, RN

I have been on the job at Rikers for 12 years. Rikers overall is in a state of utter confusion. Understaffing exists in every department of nurses and other staff. The place is a disaster—the worst I have ever seen. It is a sinking ship.

Detainees arrive at Intake and are sometimes lost there for two or three days. Detainees become our patients when they are identified with mental health illness and are sent to my unit, housing 17 or 18 patients. But delays are common due to lack off staff; sometimes mentally ill patients are mistakenly sent to housing for the general population where they may be prone to violence or the objects of violence.

Some of my patients suffer from what’s called “Post Traumatic Brain Injury” from blows to the head. There is no facility for this condition at Rikers.

Detainees are assessed for mental illness and as patients are to remain in the unit for up to 30 days. But some are here with us for three or four YEARS! They are “the forgotten ones.”

To me, it seems that patients are suddenly diagnosed with COVID. I wonder, ‘How did he get here in this condition?’ Our COVID care needs parameter. The Rikers administration does not have a handle on it.

As a nurse, I am nurturing and try to respect patients with the hope that they understand that I want to take care of them. My hope is that there will be more attention to Rikers, more empowerment of mental health staff, more cohesion and transparency. I like what Governor Hochul did. That›s a very good sign.

“It is Not Easy.” - Nadyne Pressley, RN

I have worked at Rikers for 13 years. Most of that time was spent at Intake clinics, but I transferred to URGI Care in the West Facility, where we treat things like wounds, injuries and lacerations that cannot be treated in the building where detainees are housed. We also care for COVID-19 patients.

There is more COVID-19 now. Patients are being housed all together and when we have a positive patient, often there is no place to immediately isolate that patient. Through the course of the day, we may have more positives but there is a lack of corrections officers to isolate the patients appropriately and a lack of places to send them. After treating a patient, I have witnessed them being sent to housing, only to come back the same day.

There must be more arrests because we’re seeing more patients.

There are staffing issues across the board: RNs, as evidenced by the POAs; medical staff, as evidenced by patients not being seen in a timely manner; and the correction officers, as evidenced by incidents of assaults and other safety issues—all on the rise.

To me, it feels out of control. Safety is a constant problem. How can we control the patients, provide healthcare safely and not be abused? It is not easy.

“There Are Not Enough of Us to Keep Up With The Need.” - Gene Thomas, RN

The detainees who arrive at Rikers sometimes have been waiting on the prison bus for three to five hours. Some need emergency detox or insulin right away. In the Holding Area it is ‘normal’ to stay there for four or five days, and they are packed in like sardines. The over-crowding is so severe that some detainees circumvent the medical clinic where I work because we are so backed up. If they miss their medical evaluation, we have no idea of their condition, and then they go to a housing unit without us knowing.

There are more COVID-19 cases now than last year. Detainees may come to the Hold Area testing negative, but during the time they are held they are exposed to people who are positive. In the last two months I have seen more COVID infections than at any time and it is tied to time spent in the Holding Area.

It does not help that some COs [Corrections Officers] bring detainees who are not wearing masks to the medical clinic. I often have to say to them, ‘Put on your mask!’

Detainees brought to the medical clinic are dropped off and remain there without security. They roam around, pick up the telephone... When we feel threatened.

There are not enough of us to keep up with the need.