COBB COUNTY, Ga. — Every day there is a steady stream of inmates heading to the Cobb County infirmary—for more than just checkups.
“You’re local jails have turned into the defacto hospitals and mental health care facilities,” Cobb County Sheriff Craig Owens said.
According to the Sheriff’s office, a 68-year-old homeless man with terminal cancer chose to get arrested to get healthcare.
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“He re-committed a crime to get put back in the facility so he could receive treatment,” Owens said.
The man died last month at a nearby hospital. The office did not release his name as next of kin has not been notified.
Sheriff Owens says this is not the first time a person has been arrested for healthcare.
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“They have no money, no job. Where else can I go get free healthcare? Where else can I get healed?” Owens said.
“Everything is also a trade-off. if you trade a little bit of your freedom to survive cancer,” Dr. Edward Valentin with HOPE Atlanta said.
Dr. Valentin works to help address homeless medical needs throughout Atlanta. Hope Atlanta is one of the few resources that works to give care to those in need. The doctor says many unhoused individuals are in survival mode and will take desperate measures for healthcare.
“It’s a huge expense, it’s a huge undertaking, but it’s the right thing to do,” Owens said.
The jails are legally obligated to provide healthcare to inmates. That costs taxpayers tens of millions of dollars throughout the metro.
In Cobb County, every inmate gets a complete physical within 14 days. The jail has full-time doctors and nurses on staff. They have dentists who come by three times a week. Whatever the care, the county tries to provide the service and pay for it.
However, Owens says the state or feds should step up to find a way to provide healthcare for the less fortunate --- that doesn’t require committing a crime to get it.
“We are not designed to be a healthcare facility, we are designed to be a detention facility,” Owens said.
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