Since April 2016, there have been four deaths at the Milwaukee County Jail. These deaths happened happened after there were mistakes in the inmates’ medical care and also because inmates were not being monitored properly.

The monitor of the Milwaukee County Jail has stated that around one third of the available positions in the medical field at the County Jail remain unfilled, and the high volume of unfilled positions makes it difficult to provide the inmates with adequate care.

The health care provider for both the Milwaukeee County Jail and the House of Correction located in Franklin, Wisconsin is Armor Correctional Health Services. Armor Correctional Health Services is a private contratcor.

The monitor has expressed concern over the medical care the inmates are recieving from Armor Correctional Health Services. The monitor has also expressed concern about whether the inmates were adequately screened before entry in the County Jail. He found that there are large delays when the inmates request medical care and that the procedures for keeping the medical records are out of date.

The questions as to if there is proper monitoring of the inmates come after two deaths in the County Jail. One man died after he became dehyrated. Possibily, if the County jail had been monitoring the man more, he would not have experienced dehyration and passed away. One woman gave birth while in the County Jail, and the baby passed away. The monitor questions how the woman was able to give birth without a single staff member realizing what was going on.

The deaths occurred when the facility was experiencing a shortage of nurses, which in some cases lead to extended wait times to receive medical attention and treatment that was not up to par.  Armor Correctional Health Services appears to want to fix the problems, and the Sheriff’s Office has also stated that they plan to add 70 correction officers to the County Jail.