ST. PAUL — A Ramsey County judge denied a request to temporarily stop the enforcement of a new state law concerning prescription medications for those held in county jails.
The judge’s Sept. 8 opinion comes as part of a lawsuit against Paul Schnell, the commissioner of the Minnesota Department of Corrections.
An amendment to state statute was passed last year by the Minnesota Legislature.
It requires jails to administer medications to incarcerated people if those meds were prescribed before the people were booked into jail.
WCCO reported those who helped craft the legislation said reform is needed because people have suffered serious health consequences without their prescriptions.
Several Minnesota sheriffs and jail medical providers joined as plaintiffs in the suit in July, including the Crow Wing, Pennington and Becker county sheriffs and Becker and St. Louis counties.
The civil complaint argues the law would take away professional judgment from local providers to determine what’s best for the inmates and the situation — even if a medication may cause an overdose or harmful interactions.
According to the plaintiffs, prescribing providers are often inexperienced in issues confronting correctional health care providers, "such as concurrent use of street drugs, levels of alcohol consumption, drug diversion and misuse in correctional facilities, 'provider shopping' resulting in multiple prescriptions by different providers, and other security-related issues."
The sheriffs and medical providers say it isn’t always possible to confirm someone’s prescription in a timely manner, especially because inmates arrive at all hours.
"As a result, the Medical Plaintiffs express serious concern that they will be left with the impossible choice of (a) complying with the statute and thereby creating the risk of great harm or death to the patient in violation of professional medical judgment, ethics, and legal obligation to their patients ... or (b) meeting their professional, ethical, legal, and constitutional responsibilities by providing appropriate medical care and thereby violating state law," according to the ruling denying the temporary injunction.
Judge Sara R. Grewing opined that the case presented by the sheriffs is based on a series of hypotheticals, which makes it too speculative to demonstrate immediate harm, and for this reason, the case isn’t likely to prevail in the long run.
"The record reflects that enjoining the Amendment would significantly undermine the legislature's intent and Defendant's ability to safeguard the health, safety, and orderly operation of correctional facilities, while also jeopardizing the continuity of medical care for incarcerated individuals," the opinion states.
Grewing acknowledged both sides present a compelling case in regards to public policy considerations.
"Protecting the ability of licensed providers to carry out their duties without fear of professional sanction is certainly a serious and compelling public policy concern," the opinion states.
"There is also significant public interest in supporting the principle that incarcerated individuals should have meaningful access to medications that have been lawfully prescribed to them."
But ultimately, the public policy favors Schnell's position, the judge wrote.
"The elected members of Minnesota's Legislature are far better equipped to discern meaningful public interest than a single judge making a ruling based upon limited facts," the opinion states.
Schnell is seeking to dismiss the case, with a hearing scheduled for Oct. 9.
Health care provider plaintiffs in the suit include Advanced Correctional Healthcare, USA Medical & Psychological Staffing, Freedom Behavioral Health, Dr. Jamie Hammerbeck, Dr. Tammy Provatas and certified nurse practitioners Kathryn Breon and Kathryn Piha. Also suing are the Minnesota Sheriff's Association, Becker County, Becker County Sheriff Todd Glander, Crow Wing County Sheriff Eric Klang, Freeborn County Sheriff Ryan Shea, Pennington County Sheriff Sean Vettleson, St. Louis County and Todd County.
The law amended last year is named after Hardel Sherrell, who died in 2018 at the Beltrami County Jail in Bemidji. The nurse overseeing his care — Michelle Rose Skroch of Sartell — was charged earlier this year with second-degree manslaughter and two counts of criminal neglect.
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