Audit of the Worcester County Sheriff’s Office - A Review of Healthcare and Inmate Deaths (November 21, 2024)

This is a State Auditor performance audit of the Worcester County Sheriff’s Office, focused on inmate healthcare and deaths during July 1, 2020 through December 31, 2022.

“In accordance with Section 12 of Chapter 11 of the Massachusetts General Laws, the Office of the State Auditor has conducted a performance audit of the Worcester County Sheriff’s Office (WCSO) for the period July 1, 2020 through December 31, 2022.”

The audit checked whether the Sheriff’s Office followed required rules and its own policies for inmate deaths, healthcare oversight, medical screenings, sick-call care, and mental health assessments.

“The purpose of our audit was to determine the following:”

This matters because people in jail depend on the facility for medical care, mental health care, emergency response, and proper handling if someone dies in custody.

“Wellpath administers general healthcare services and related administrative services at WCJHOC.”

For an ordinary resident, the key takeaway is that the auditor tested whether a public jail was following healthcare and safety rules for people in custody, using taxpayer-funded operations.

“In fiscal years 2020 and 2021, WCSO’s annual state appropriation was approximately $53,472,100 each year; in fiscal year 2023, the annual state appropriation was approximately $57,215,100.”

The auditor found that WCSO met the audit objectives tested, including the rules around inmate deaths, medical care, sick-call requests, and mental health assessments.

“Therefore, this report contains no findings.”

Because the report had no findings, it does not list corrective actions or recommendations for WCSO to carry out.

“Our audit revealed no significant issues that must be reported under generally accepted government auditing standards.”

The report is significant because the auditor tested large samples and key records and concluded WCSO complied with the requirements reviewed during the audit period.

“We noted no exceptions in our testing.”

A qualified healthcare professional means licensed or otherwise legally permitted medical staff, such as doctors, nurses, nurse practitioners, dentists, physician assistants, and mental health professionals.

“According to Wellpath’s “Nonemergency Health Care Requests and Services” Policy (HCD-100_E-07) for WCSO, QHPs “include physicians, physician assistants, nurses, nurse practitioners, dentists . . . mental health professionals, and others who by virtue of education, credentials, and experience are permitted by law to evaluate and care for patients.””