First Phase of $7.52 Million Banning Jail Clinic Construction Approved

BANNING, CA - Riverside County supervisors Tuesday signed off on plans and specifications for the first phase of construction of a clinic at the Smith Correctional Facility in Banning, a $7.52 million project that will enable on-site medical care for inmates.

"This is a big investment for a very important facility," Supervisor Marion Ashley said. "This will allow us to move the care to the folks there, instead of moving them to the care somewhere else."

The Board of Supervisors authorized the Economic Development Agency to proceed with securing contractors for site excavation, grading, work on underground electrical lines, plumbing and laying concrete.

Riverside-based Tilden Coil Constructors Inc. is managing the design and development.

"We do not have a dedicated clinic facility at the jail," EDA Director Rob Field told the board. "This is to place a healthcare facility within the secured area."

Smith inmates in need of treatment are shuttled to either San Gorgonio Memorial Hospital in Banning or the Riverside University Medical Center in Moreno Valley, which maintains a dedicated jail ward.

Ashley noted that construction of the on-site clinic was precipitated by last year's consent decree following a legal settlement between the county and several former inmates represented by the Berkeley-based Prisoner Law Office. The class-action lawsuit stemmed from alleged inconsistencies in inmates' mental and physical healthcare.

The county is expected to spend tens of millions of dollars annually over the next few years to come into compliance with the terms of the settlement.

The 7,380-square-foot clinic will include four holding cells, eight mental health treatment rooms, five exam rooms, a "tele-med room," nurses stations and administrative support space.

The county intends to utilize leftover proceeds from bond sales to pay for the John J. Benoit Detention Center in Indio to cover the Smith jail clinic construction costs, according to EDA documents.

– By City News Service / Patch file photo by Guy McCarthy