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Life & Times Transcript
11/03/05 Vicki Curry>> Tonight on Life and Times -- Inmates who grow old behind bars and stay healthy on the taxpayers' dollars. Myrtle Green>> I've had ten operations, three heart attacks, one stroke and I'm hard of hearing. Vicki Curry>> And then, how easy is it to spread germs in daily living and how much should you worry about staph infection? Those stories and more next on tonight's Life and Times. Announcer>> Life and Times is made possible through the generous support of the L.K. Whittier Foundation dedicated to improving the quality of life by supporting innovative endeavors in the fields of medicine, health, science and education. And by a generous grant from Jim and Anne Rothenberg. Sam Louie>> With tougher sentencing laws in California, there are now more inmates in prison than ever before. Consequently, the number of older inmates has also spiked and so has the cost of providing them with medical care behind bars. Myrtle Green>> I asked my doctor why I had to take so many pills and she said, "You want to stay alive, don't you?" Sam Louie>> Myrtle Green is seventy-four years old. Her health has deteriorated rapidly during her sixteen year stay in prison. Myrtle Green>> I've had ten operations, three heart attacks, one stroke and I'm hard of hearing. Sam Louie>> Green was sentenced to twenty-five years to life for conspiracy to commit murder in 1989. She denies the charges saying she was set up by her daughter's ex-boyfriend. Myrtle Green>> It is the matter of my daughter's ex-boyfriend in naming me as the one who asked him to kill someone instead of him telling the truth that it was his dope dealer that asked him to kill someone. Sam Louie>> Green also feels that, given her age and condition, there is no reason why she should have to serve out her entire sentence in prison. Myrtle Green>> Can you tell me what threat to public safety a seventy-four year old, medically disabled person who could barely run -- I have difficulties getting down here when they say get down -- I fail to see what threat I would be to society. If they feel that I am a threat to society, take me out of the prison system, put me in a halfway house, put an ankle bracelet on me, check every move I make and save themselves millions of dollars. Sam Louie>> Norma Jean Jackson agrees. She's spent thirty of her seventy-five years at the California Institution for Women after she was convicted of murder. Norma Jean Jackson>> I remember picking up the scalpel to shut her up. She had said she was having a relationship with the man that I was living with and I killed her. I completely blacked out and killed her. Sam Louie>> Jackson's sentence is seven years to life, but her life has turned into watching the years go by and the hard time is taking its toll. Jackson looks healthy, but she shows me more than ten different prescription drugs she must take every day. [Film Clip] Sam Louie>> The state spends an average of ninety thousand dollars a year to incarcerate an older inmate. Costs are even higher for those with significant health problems like Myrtle Green. Myrtle Green>> They spent over two million, five hundred thousand dollars in medical care for me alone. [Film Clip] Sam Louie>> As the Chief Deputy Warden at the California Institution for Women, Dodie Barnes is all too familiar with the challenges of housing older inmates. Dodie Barnes>> The warden has attempted to provide them with extra accommodations like the double mattresses, two blankets, two pillows, more bunks because as they age, they're not able to get obviously on the top bunk. Sam Louie>> And there are other factors that contribute to the higher cost of older inmates, like special meals geared to their diets and added costs for transportation and security if an inmate is hospitalized. Dodie Barnes>> If they go out on an emergency situation or they go out for a period of time, it's required that we have two correctional officers assigned to that unit for basic supervision because they are felons. Sam Louie>> Ever since California's Three Strikes law took effect in 1994, the number of inmates over fifty years old has nearly tripled. As a result, some critics feel California's correctional facilities are quickly turning into nursing homes for prisoners. In 1994, the number of older inmates in the state hovered at around five thousand. Now it has mushroomed to more than sixteen thousand, becoming the fastest growing population within the prison system. Gloria Romero>> To date, in 2005, we are already at where they predicted five years ago we would be in the year 2020. We're there now. This tells me that the numbers are coming at us faster than even our own corrections officials predicted, so it's a state of crisis. Sam Louie>> State Senator Gloria Romero chairs a prison oversight committee on the California legislature. She says the current $7.4 billion dollar budget for the state's prison system continues to grow with no end in sight. Gloria Romero>> In a sense, the corrections budget is almost like this black hole and it's sucking in more and more of our taxpayer dollars, but we're not getting the results that we should get in running a successful program. Sam Louie>> As a result, she says other vital public services are being neglected such as transportation, education and health care. To cut costs, Romero favors early release for older inmates no longer considered a threat to society. Gloria Romero>> There are many inmates who I believe, and I think experts will tell us, having studied this in the field, that certainly by a certain age an inmate is less likely to rob us of our physical well-being and more likely to simply rob us of the fiscal necessity of keeping them there. Sam Louie>> In addition, Romero is also a champion of reforming the Three Strikes legislation by clarifying and changing the definition of the third strike. Gloria Romero>> What we're finding today is that about sixty percent of that third striker who's coming into the California Department of Corrections is coming in for a nonviolent third strike. And even more so exacerbating the problem is that over fifty percent of these three strikers coming in are over the age of fifty-five. Sam Louie>> But victim's rights advocates disagree. Lawanda Hawkins is with Crime Victims United of California. Lawanda Hawkins>> It's like victimizing the victims again and the family of the victims. To dare them, after the judge has sentenced them, someone else comes along and says, oh, well, he did good or because of his age, or anything, I think that he should be released a little bit earlier than the time that the judge has already sentenced him for. No. How dare they? Sam Louie>> She also feels changing the Three Strikes law would send the wrong message to criminals. Lawanda Hawkins>> Going into somebody else's home? That is serious. Taking someone else's car? Those things are serious. They're just as serious as these other crimes. You have people trying to minimize them. They're not to be minimized. Sam Louie>> Even if nobody was hurt? Lawanda Hawkins>> Even if no one was hurt. That's a serious crime. You intimidated another human being. Sam Louie>> And while the debate rages, inmates like Norma Jean Jackson and Myrtle Green accept the likelihood of living out their lives in prison and society accepts the costs of supporting their long incarceration. I'm Sam Louie for Life and Times. Announcer>> Kcet.org is the place to look for the very latest on Life and Times. You'll find previews of upcoming stories, transcripts and audio of past episodes and links to some of our most interesting features. Just go to kcet.org and click on "Life and Times". Toni Guinyard>> It's safe to say that Californians want reliable and affordable electricity, but the energy crisis of 2000 and 2001 is proof the lights can and will go out. Proposition 80 would change the way electric service providers do business and how they're regulated. We spoke with two people who have different opinions on Proposition 80. First, Becky Zoglman, spokesperson for the Alliance for a Better California. Becky Zoglman>> Well, I think what's really important about Proposition 80, and we call it the Blackout Prevention and Affordable Electricity Act because that's what it really does. I mean, we're talking about making sure that, one, electric providers are once again regulated by the Public Utilities Commission and that, two, they have to have some affordable electricity available for all consumers and that we make sure that we prevent those blackouts that caused everybody problems back in 2000. Toni Guinyard>> Everyone remembers the energy crisis of 2000 and 2001, but how does this ensure that we don't go through that again? Becky Zoglman>> Well, what's interesting is, we never had blackouts because there was no service available and no electricity available before 2000. When we had blackouts before, it was because there was a problem in the lines or some technical difficulties in getting the service to consumers, but not because it just wasn't available because it had been, you know, sold off by Enron or cheated out of the consumers in having any power actually available. So what this does, it actually brings some regulations back to the industry and makes sure that there, one, will be a reliable source for electricity for consumers so they don't have to worry about it just not being there and the lights don't come on someday. Toni Guinyard>> Professor Navarro, first of all, a lot of us are confused about all of these initiatives, especially Proposition 80. Give us a primer, please. Peter Navarro>> Well, the whole thing about Proposition 80 is that it takes away the right. It's called Direct Access, which is the ability essentially of big businesses to cut deals directly with utility providers to get cheap rates. To understand this initiative, you have to understand the concept of what they call Direct Access. Basically you've got a utility generating electricity and you've got big business and you've got small consumers and little businesses that can buy it. When they're all in the same system basically, what's happened in the past is that we've charged big business a little bit more than their cost of production in order to subsidize or help out the little guys. So the bigger businesses basically provide a benefit to consumers and smaller businesses in the old type of system. What Direct Access does is take this big business guy out of the equation and let him cut bilateral deals with electricity producers at cheaper rates. That means the big guy no longer has to bear the burden of supporting the little guy. So what that means is that the rates of the big guy go down. That's good if you want to draw manufacturing and jobs to the state of California. The bad news is that, for the little guy, the rates go up. So the consumer groups say no, no, no, that's not fair. Let's get rid of this Direct Access kind of thing and bring them back into the net and make them pay just like they used to and, by the way, we'll take a little extra from them so we don't have to take them off. That's the Direct Access. Toni Guinyard>> In terms of dollars and sense for the little guys, the regular consumers or electricity consumers, will they feel it? Peter Navarro>> Oh, they'll feel it. In the short run, in a year or two, they might actually see their rates a little bit lower. But over the longer run, the danger of not allowing this kind of thing to happen is that we'll have fewer big businesses here because the electricity rates are higher and we'll have fewer power plants built because there's less incentive for these power producers to come into the market and be able to deal bilaterally with big customers. So, yeah, they'll feel it. They'll feel real good and then they'll feel real bad. Becky Zoglman>> Peter knows that ninety percent of the businesses here in California, all small businesses, they weren't really even competing in this open market for electricity deregulation before. So what it does to the small business is it stabilizes that market because, by not allowing those big corporations to jump in and out that de-stabilizes the pool of electricity for all of us, small businesses aren't going to be affected by that and they're the ones who suffered the blackouts the last time. Toni Guinyard>> What do we need to know as it pertains to small business, general consumer, big business? Becky Zoglman>> Well, I really think it's all about the general consumer and people are all consumers of electricity. Now what it did do, what deregulation did, was it allowed big consumers of electricity to buy directly. What that did was de-stabilize the market because PG&E and some of those people didn't keep regular resources on hand. They didn’t buy as much and keep it in reserve, so that let the market fluctuate and, therefore, the small businesses and consumers got hit the most because, when they didn't have that reserve, that's when we had blackouts. This Proposition 80 will prevent those big businesses from jumping in and out. It stabilizes the market again and requires those utility companies to have adequate reserves so we don't have blackouts in the future. Peter Navarro>> But here's the problem. The big crisis facing California right now in electricity is the same one that was facing us back in 1999 and 2000. That is, we have a looming electricity supply shortage. The reason is that power plants are not getting built fast enough in this state because the incentive structure is not such that the power plants are coming. After we had the meltdown in 2001 and 2002, utilities and the power producers cancelled all sorts of construction plans. What we've been waiting for, in vain, is for the governor, the legislature and the Public Utilities Commission to come up with a regulatory and market structure that's good for this state. Frankly, the governor, the legislature and the Public Utilities Commission have all failed us because they have done nothing in the aftermath of the crisis we had, which was arguably the worst crisis this state has ever had. So into this breach has stepped this group to do this initiative. It deals with part of the puzzle, but not the whole puzzle, and it's a shame. I mean, it might be a good thing, but what we really need is for our politicians to come up with a plan for our electricity provision and they haven't done that. Becky Zoglman>> The irony for me on Proposition 80 is really that Governor Schwarzenegger ran his election and took advantage of what was the energy crisis going on at that time and it's really what helped sweep him into office. He made a lot of promises about making sure that there is going to be lower electric rates for seniors and people on fixed incomes and yet we've seen nothing, no plan, to ever make that happen. Proposition 80 takes one step to at least stabilize the market and make sure that those seniors and people on fixed income do have affordable electricity and don't have to suffer for that. Peter Navarro>> Guess what? The lights are on now, but this is a long lead time kind of problem. If we're not building today for tomorrow, tomorrow is going to be a problem. So next summer or the summer thereafter, we're going to see the lights flickering and we'll go see the same movie again. It's not going to be pretty. Toni Guinyard>> Peter Navarro, thank you so much for explaining Proposition 80 to us and thanks for spending some time with Life and Times. Peter Navarro>> Trying to explain (laughter). Toni Guinyard>> (Laughter) You did well. I understand some of it. Thank you. Announcer>> To send a comment or a question to our program, you can reach us by mail at this address: Life and Times 4401 Sunset Blvd. Los Angeles, California 90027 You can also call our viewer comment line (323) 953-5555) or contact us the fast way by e-mail at kcet.org. Val Zavala>> You've probably heard of a common infection called a staph infection. It's caused by a common bacteria, staphylococcus. Now normally, it responds to antibiotics, but recently there's been a new, more potent form of staph bacteria, one that's proving resistant to antibiotics. As Toni Guinyard tells us, health officials are concerned. Toni Guinyard>> We touch each other every day usually without considering the transfer of germs, but doctors are now warning the public to think twice before reaching out to touch someone or some things. They're seeing an increase in a strain of staphylococcus aureus, the bacteria commonly known as staph. Dr. Jonathan Fielding>> It can occur on abrasions, a cut in the skin, or sometimes on intact skin, and it can be red and raised and can get pus inside it. It's something we usually call a boil, sometimes an abscess or just a big pimple. Toni Guinyard>> Dr. Jonathan Fielding is Director of Public Health for the Los Angeles County Department of Health Services. He points out that twenty-five to thirty percent of the population carries the bacteria in their noses or on their hands without any sign of infection. But over the past few years, there has been an increase in a strain of staph that is resistant to a family of widely-used antibiotics. It's called MRSA. Dr. Jonathan Fielding>> It means Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus Aureus. Dr. Peter Miao>> It complicates what I do if I only have four antibiotics that I can use for certain infections and the patient happens to be resistant, sensitive or allergic to three of the antibiotics. Now I'm stuck with one. Toni Guinyard>> Dr. Peter Miao is an internist and infectious disease specialist at Sherman Oaks Hospital in Sherman Oaks. He is the hospital's chairman of Infection Control. He says just thirty years ago, most antibiotics used were effective in treating staph infections. Dr. Peter Miao>> Now the opposite. We're seeing more and more resistance, resistance, resistance and only very few sensitive. Toni Guinyard>> What is that telling you? Dr. Peter Miao>> That's telling me the bugs are winning, in a sense. As time goes on, they're learning to adapt, they're learning to become resistant to the antibiotics that we have and that we have to find more or newer antibiotics to try and overcome these resistant organisms, the so-called super bugs. Dr. Jonathan Fielding>> There have been outbreaks in sports teams, in some neonatal units and a bunch of different places around and there's no question that this has increased all around the country. We don't know exactly why. Toni Guinyard>> What they do know is that staph has been around for a long time. It's not uncommon for hospital patients to contract antibiotic-resistant staph infections. Dr. Jonathan Fielding>> Hospital-acquired MRSA as opposed to community has been with us a long time. It's been with us for decades and it's the result of a lot of antibiotic use within health care institutions, particularly hospitals, and that has grown staph that is resistant to a number of classes of antibiotics. Alan Cronin>> I never really found out the results of what a staph infection can do until after this happened to me, after I acquired a staph infection. Toni Guinyard>> Simi Valley resident, Alan Cronin, contracted a staph infection after a hernia operation in 1998. Alan Cronin>> And after I came out of the coma and realized what had happened to me, that's when I really started learning anything at all about how deadly staph infections can be. >> "Let's see how it is when you lay down and when we put some pressure on it." Alan Cronin>> The hospital had to amputate my legs and arms to save my life because the staph infection that I had acquired was causing gangrene to settle into my limbs because of the lack of circulation. Toni Guinyard>> We met with Alan as he was being fitted for prosthetic legs. >> "You're not even close to getting down in that, are you?" Toni Guinyard>> Alan has become somewhat of an expert about staph infections, forced to learn from his own situation. He is a one-man force fighting to educate the public. Alan Cronin>> We hear about them all the time and people think that, well, you know, geez, that's a horrible thing, but they never think it's going to happen to them. It's a real scary thing and I just don't think enough is being done about it. Alan Cronin>> "It is pretty tight." >> "The leg's gained weight, man. That's all there is to it. You want to try standing up or not?" Alan Cronin>> "No." Alan Cronin>> You know, I'm not angry and I don't want to be angry, but it's really disappointing for me after this has happened to me just to see additional staph infections in various hospitals. Toni Guinyard>> Even more frightening is the spread of a strain of staph resistant to antibiotics. Alan Cronin>> You know, if I can get a staph infection and almost die, then it can happen to anybody. Toni Guinyard>> Consider this: while Alan contracted the common form of staph in an outpatient medical facility, the concern now is the somewhat alarming spike in the number of antibiotic-resistant cases found in the community, so-called community-acquired MRSA. Dr. Peter Miao>> I don't want to alarm everybody, but we are seeing community-acquired infections that are due to MRSA in people who have never been in a hospital, never had surgery, never had antibiotics. Toni Guinyard>> In 2002, an outbreak was first reported among Los Angeles County jail inmates. The jail sees an average of one hundred eighty to two hundred new cases each month. Dr. Jonathan Fielding>> When we started out, of the cases we found in the jail, only nine percent were coming in from the community already with MRSA. Now that percentage is at least twenty-five percent, so part of what we're seeing in the jail is that there's a lot more in the community and people coming into the jail are more likely to have MRSA than before. Toni Guinyard>> The Centers for Disease Control has already investigated outbreaks of MRSA among athletes, military recruits and even children. Environment does not seem to play a significant role in its transmission, but overcrowded living conditions and poor hygiene are factors. Dr. Jonathan Fielding>> Skin to skin is absolutely one of the ways that it can be transmitted and we certainly have seen situations where it's been transmitted that way. Dr. Peter Miao>> There was at one time an infectious disease conference and they did a study, set up observers, and saw how many people actually go in and out of the bathroom and wash their hands or not. I don't want to tell you the answer. Toni Guinyard>> Oh, go ahead and tell me. Dr. Peter Miao>> There were quite a few that did not wash their hands. Toni Guinyard>> And that raises concerns about how easily the bacteria can be transferred as we go about our day-to-day routines at home, at work or at play. Dr. Jonathan Fielding>> In your average gym, this is not going to be a significant problem. Is there a possibility that, you know, somebody could contract it from somebody else there? Sure, but there's a lot of other places that that could occur as well, so I don't think there's any reason for people to be afraid to go to gyms. But they shouldn't share personal articles and they should observe good hygiene. Dr. Peter Miao>> With the bugs getting smarter, hopefully we're a little smarter than the bugs and we're one step ahead and we can find new antibiotics that will help take care of that. Toni Guinyard>> For now, antibiotic-resistant staph is part of our lives, forcing us to think twice before we touch. I'm Toni Guinyard for Life and Times. Val Zavala>> And that's our program. I'm Val Zavala. For everyone at Life and times, thanks for watching. We'll see you next time. Announcer>> Life and Times was made possible through the generous support of the L.K. Whittier Foundation dedicated to improving the quality of life by supporting innovative endeavors in the fields of medicine, health, science and education. And by a generous grant from Jim and Anne Rothenberg. Sponsored in part by:  | |
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