Inmate Deaths Rise To 20 As Oklahoma Department of Corrections Starts Push For Flu Vaccinations

The COVID-19 pandemic continues to challenge the Oklahoma Department of Corrections, although the agency did have a recent victory to appreciate at Wednesday’s Board of Corrections meeting. 

As of Thursday, North Fork Correction Center was the only facility dubbed a hotspot for the virus. In recent weeks as many as nine facilities were hotspots. 

DOC Director Scott Crow credited the drop to department staff and precautions like suspended visitation, limited transfers and additional testing. 

“I believe those efforts are actually improving successful at this point, but we're going to continue putting our best foot forward and trying to stay ahead of this,” Crow said Wednesday. 

To date, 20 inmate deaths are possibly or confirmed to be connected to coronavirus. Medical exams have confirmed four of the 20 deaths were caused, at least, in-part of COVID-19. The other 16 are under investigation. 

Also, two inmates were recently flown to hospitals outside Oklahoma for medical treatment. 

Crow said DOC staff, “were up at three or four o'clock in the morning trying to make arrangements to have these inmates flown out-of-state to hospitals that could provide the level of care that could help them get through this.” 

DOC spokesperson Justin Wolfe said the department can’t disclose information on the two inmates because of HIPAA protections. He said, generally, inmates are treated at their facilities and are transferred to nearby hospitals when more significant care is necessary. From there, administrators and health professionals decide if additional transfers are necessary based on what treatment is required. 

Crow said the two inmates flown out-of-state needed a level of care that was “not available in Oklahoma City simply because of the number of positives.” 

Looking ahead to winter, Inmate Services Director Millicent Newton-Embry said they’ve begun a campaign to encourage inmates to sign-up for free influenza vaccines with assistance from the Oklahoma State Department of Health. 

Last year, roughly 8,000 inmates got a shot out of about 25,000 in DOC. They hope to improve this year’s participation by 15%, she said, with no plan to discontinue COVID-19 precautions. 

“Mask coverings, temperature checks, hand washing, physical distancing and all other (CDC) guidelines will continue especially as we enter the flu season,” Newton-Embry said. 

Visitation at all DOC facilities was suspended in July. Crow said Wednesday that will continue “until further notice.” 

In addition, the department is postponing the start of a new program because of the virus. 

Crow said DOC is working with Cell Detect, a company that makes GPS monitoring equipment, on a device that senses if a cell phone is nearby. 

All of the roughly 1,200 inmates at the Lexington Assessment and Reception Center will be required to wear the device, which attaches at the wrist like a bracelet. Contraband cell phones inside prisons and facilities are used for organized crime and drug trafficking, according to state corrections officials.

Related Story: Oklahoma Inmates Concerned DOC's Cellphone Intercept Program Puts Them At Risk

“If there’s a cell phone on their person or within 10 feet of them, the system will alert control that the cell phone exists,” Crow said. 

The program, originally slated for September, will rollout on January 1, Crow said. 

“Our resources and our focus right now is getting past COVID,” Crow said.