Shoshone sheriff creates new medical staff position

WALLACE — The Shoshone County Sheriff’s Office is hiring for a medical position it recently created after meeting with county commissioners.  

The new jail officer was an idea that Sheriff Holly Lindsey and Undersheriff Lance Stutzke mentioned to the board a few weeks ago but were still ironing out details before requesting permission to open the job to applicants.  

According to Stutzke, the position is an attempt to address several issues within the jail, primarily how the jail handles medical situations.

“We’re trying to solve a two-fold issue,” Stutzke said. “First, we’re having a hard time hiring in the jail and we’re trying to find help with the medical issues going on.”  

Stutzke did not elaborate on what he meant by medical issues, but he did say that jail standards and policy dictate that the jail has some health-trained staff. Currently, the jail features just four detention deputies but is supposed to have 12, including the jail captain.  

The new position would be a hybrid position combining a jail technician and a medical officer. Stutzke told the board they’re seeking applicants with three years of work experience and training as a nurse, EMT or a related medical field.  

The job would include reviewing medical screening upon intake for inmates, conducting 14-day health appraisals, assisting the jail’s contracted medical provider and managing medication distribution.  

Stutzke said the current system, which utilizes full-time detention deputies and fill-in patrol deputies, results in “too many hands in the medical stuff.” Adding this position is expected to help relieve a burden on the short-handed detention staff and help simplify medical treatment in the jail.  

Stutzke told the board he spoke with the Idaho Counties Risk Management Program, which handles liability insurance across the county’s departments.

“They think this is a really good idea,” Stutzke said. “It would definitely help us be more efficient in the way we handle medical. We’d have someone dedicated.”  

The jail tech side of the job allows a potential candidate to apply for the job without taking POST training, which restricts some of what they’re able to do in the jail. It also allows the person to handle duties like yard supervision from the watch tower, assist in getting inmates to and from court and other simple duties. 

The position would come out of the jail’s detention staff budget, which has been largely unused due to the shortage of jail staff. The new position starts at $23.63 per hour, more than $2 more than the entry-level detention deputy makes.