CMC losing its warden as COVID numbers soar and prison copes with its worst outbreak
As California Men’s Colony works to control a massive outbreak of COVID-19 among its inmates and correctional staff, prison administration is now also searching for a new warden to oversee the facility.
The prison confirmed Tuesday that Josie Gastelo, who has served as top administrator at the San Luis Obispo state prison since 2016, will retire Dec. 30.
Lt. John Hill, spokesman for the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR) at CMC, said Gastelo’s replacement has not yet been named, but that the agency “will ensure a seamless transition of leadership occurs.”
Hill declined to comment further on what he said is a personnel matter. Gastelo declined an interview request.
The change in leadership comes as prison staff is implementing the facility’s most intensive anti-coronavirus safety measures after reporting 256 positive inmate cases within the last 14 days, roughly a third of the prison’s total number of positive cases since the beginning of the pandemic.
CDCR and county public health officials contacted for this story have declined to disclose what contact tracing investigations indicate is causing the outbreak as transfers, visitations, and other inmate movement has been restricted.
Worst outbreak since beginning of pandemic
The prison, which lies just outside San Luis Obispo on Highway 1, houses roughly 3,800 inmates and has a staff of about 1,800 employees.
The first positive COVID-19 case at the prison was reported in April.
Though there were surges in COVID-19 cases toward the end of summer, the facility in the last two weeks has experienced the worst outbreak of coronavirus since the pandemic began to spread locally in March.
Of the 343 new coronavirus cases reported across San Luis Obispo County over the past weekend, 100 of those came from CMC.
On Wednesday, CDCR data appears to show there has been a total of 679 inmate positive COVID-19 cases at the prison. The agency reports 310 active cases among the inmate population, with 256 of those inmates testing positive within the past two weeks.
Seven inmates had been released from custody while positive, CDCR reports, and 360 inmates have contracted the virus and recovered.
Two inmates have died.
Since March, 182 correctional and other staff have tested positive, with 72 of those testing positive in the last two weeks. Of the total staff cases, 124 staff members have returned to work, as of Wednesday.
Across the state, 11 CDCR staff members have died from complications of COVID-19; none worked at CMC.
Intensive anti-COVID-19 measures in place
California Men’s Colony Lt. Hill said in an email Tuesday that the well-being and safety of inmates and staff is the prison’s top priority.
“We are immediately responding to the increase in positive COVID-19 cases at California Men’s Colony by increasing the frequency of testing, conducting contact tracing, and implementing isolation and quarantine measures to mitigate the spread of COVID-19,” he wrote.
Hill said that testing of inmates has been ongoing since the beginning of the pandemic, and that all staff are now required to submit to COVID-19 testing on a weekly basis. Those who test positive as well as those fail verbal and temperature check screenings at the prison’s entry points are prevented from entering the institution, Hill said.
Though CDCR’s COVID-19 website reports that since Dec. 9, the prison has administered 2,415 tests to roughly 77% of its inmate population, Hill says the prison is now testing 100% of its inmate population “in order to identify, isolate, and treat those who are infected with COVID-19.”
Those who are infected or are showing symptoms are treated by members of the prison’s medical staff who “are working around the clock,” Hill said.
The agency established an incident command post on prison grounds in July, which Hill said streamlines coordination between the prison’s custody and health care operations with public health experts and community stakeholders.
In terms of safety precautions, Hill said that every CMC employee is required to wear surgical masks while at work, and additional personal protective equipment is required for staff working in any designated isolation or quarantine area.
Hand sanitizer, cleaning materials, and disinfectants are also being provided throughout the facility, Hill wrote, and all areas where inmates live, work and recreate are cleaned multiple times during the day.
Prisoners are also required to wear face coverings and practice social distancing at all times.
Visitation has been canceled since March, and inmate transfers are being limited in accordance with a new policy mandated by CDC, Hill said. Recreation yard access, meal service, and medical appointments are also being scheduled in a manner that limits the number of inmates who can be present in an area at a given time, Hill said.
Asked where contact tracing indicates the recent COVID-19 cases have come from given the limited inmate transfers, Hill wrote Wednesday that “those investigations are ongoing and no further information can be provided at this time.”
“California Correctional Health Care Services (CCHCS) nursing staff conduct contact tracing investigations for staff and incarcerated persons who test positive COVID-19 in order to immediately implement isolation and quarantine orders,” he wrote. “(CMC medical staff) are in regular, direct contact with the San Luis Obispo County Public Health Department in order to share information regarding staff and inmate positive test results and the resulting isolation/quarantine orders.”
Asked for information about the county’s response to the CMC outbreak and contact tracing efforts there, SLO County Public Health Department spokeswoman Michelle Shoresman declined comment.
The county’s health agency has taken policy to not comment on local facilities that aren’t operated by the county, such as CMC, Atascadero State Hospital, and Camp San Luis Obispo.
However, Hill said the health department conducts contacting tracing investigations independent of those conducted by the CDCR’s Office of Employee Health (OEH). The OEH may order staff members to quarantine or isolate based upon the conclusion of their investigation.
“CMC staff will comply with the most restrictive orders resulting from the OEH and the SLO County Public Health Department investigations,m” Hill wrote Wednesday. “In a case where the SLO County Public Health Department recommends a stronger or lengthier restriction than that recommended by the OEH, the staff member will adhere to the restriction imposed by the SLO County Public Health Department.”
This story was originally published December 23, 2020 at 1:31 PM.
