Cass County Jail installs radar devices to monitor inmate health in booking area

FARGO — The Cass County Jail has installed technology that one leader says could help detect early signs of medical complications and save lives.

The jail installed radar devices in 18 booking cells, Cass County Jail Administrator Andrew Frobig said. The units are the size of a softball and were mounted to the ceiling about three weeks ago, he said.

“This is a great additional tool to help us reinforce keeping them (inmates) safe and getting them connected with any additional medical care if it (a need) ever arises,” he said.

The jail paid $144,900 to install the devices, Frobig said. That includes three years of maintenance and servicing costs, he said.

Income from the jail commissary covered the costs, meaning taxpayer funds were not used to pay for the devices, he said.

The system can monitor inmates' heart rates, breathing and movements in individual cells without attaching medical devices to them, Frobig said. Inmates likely won’t know the device is in the cell, he said.

Correctional officers watch a monitoring board that alerts them to abnormal vital signs, he said.

A radar device attached to booking cell ceilings in the Cass County Jail can help monitor inmate vital signs.

Contributed / Cass County Jail

“If we have an alert that goes off, the staff can go check with that inmate,” he said. “It’s like an early warning system.”

Typically, the jail checks on inmates every 30 minutes, Frobig said. Corrections officers check on people who are intoxicated or have other medical concerns, including thoughts of harming themselves, every 15 minutes, he said.

That will continue with the radar devices, he said.

The monitoring system also keeps a log of vitals for medical professionals to review if needed, Frobig said.

“It’s really useful for real-time monitoring of people who have first arrived but also for our medical staff because they can use those things for medical evaluation,” he said.

Some nursing homes use similar devices to monitor patients and alert medical staff to declining health, Frobig said. He said he got the idea to purchase the devices after hearing that the McKenzie County Correctional Facility in Williston used them.

The first hours after an inmate is booked into the jail are the most risky, Frobig said. A person who is overdosing or suffering from alcohol poisoning may not show visible signs of needing medical attention for hours, he said.

The devices can detect early warning signs that a person could experience health complications, such as a slow increase or decrease in vital signs, Frobig said. That gives staff a chance to get inmates help more quickly, he said.

“I like to equate it with a smoke detector,” he said. “Sometimes they go off and you go check it and there’s no fire. Sometimes it gives you a really early warning so you can put out a fire before it gets too big.”

Original Article: https://www.inforum.com/news/fargo/cass-county-jail-installs-radar-devices-to-monitor-inmate-health-in-booking-area