Page 4
May 08, 2024
Nurses Call for Removal of Health Officials at Mult. County Jails
97% of Nurses
Working in
Corrections
Passed a Vote of
‘No Confidence’
In an effort to improve health-
care outcomes and address long-
standing problems, frontline
nurses at Multnomah County cor-
rections facilities are calling on
county commissioners to remove
multiple members of the county
health department’s corrections
management team. Nurses are
demanding several administrators
be replaced following allegations
of gross mismanagement that un-
dermined patient safety, created a
hostile work environment and led
to a health staffing crisis.
On April 25, nurses shared the
results of a no confidence vote
and a letter with county commis-
sioners calling for Multnomah
Corrections Health Director Zach-
ary Myque Obiero and nursing
supervisor Nikki Propert to be
removed from their positions and
that recent manager Rachael Lee
be prevented from resuming a cor-
rections health leadership role.
In February, 97% of nurses
working in corrections passed
ONA nurses and supporters met outside the Multnomah Building in Portland April 25 to hand-deliver
a letter to county commissioners calling for the removal of multiple members of the county health
department's corrections management team following allegations of gross mismanagement. Photo
Courtesy of ONA.
a vote of ‘no confidence’ in the
health corrections administrators
with ninety-five percent of nurses
saying their working conditions
have not improved over the last
four years.
Nurses submitted additional
evidence to county commission-
ers while also citing a National
Institute of Corrections (NIC)
Report released in January which
documented “serious healthcare
and operational issues … that do
not comport with constitutional
standards, accreditation stan-
dards, and professional practice
standards” at Multnomah County
corrections facilities.
The Oregon Nurses Association
(ONA) represents more than 220
frontline healthcare professionals
working in the Multnomah Coun-
ty Health Department including
65 nurses working in Multnomah
County corrections facilities in-
cluding the Multnomah County
Detention Center, Inverness Jail
and the Donald E. Long Juvenile
Detention Home.
Nurses’ advocacy comes on the
heels of years of safety and staff-
ing failures at Multnomah County
jails including an unprecedented
number of deaths of individuals
in custody and the resignation of
many experienced doctors, nurses
and other healthcare providers.
Facing a years-long staff short-
age, county corrections nurses
have been forced to work a re-
cord number of overtime shifts
in recent years–leading to further
burnout and resignations.
In 2022, nurses were forced
to work 550 mandatory overtime
shifts. In 2023, nurses were forced
to work 563 mandatory overtime
shifts and the problem shows no
signs of stopping. As of April 22,
2024, nurses have been forced to
work 168 mandatory overtime
shifts this year–averaging nearly
one and a half mandatory over-
time mandates a day.
In addition to replacing failed
health corrections administrators,
nurses called for more frontline
involvement in hiring decisions,
a closer working relationship with
the sheriff’s office, assurance that
nurses would not be retaliated
against for speaking up and an
increase in compensation to help
recruit and retain new nurses. Cur-
rently, county corrections nurses
make between $5-7 an hour less
than local hospital nurses and are
thousands of dollars behind other
facilities’ standard hiring bonus-
es–making it extremely difficult to
attract skilled healthcare workers.
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