Shelby Co. jail’s heart rate monitors saving inmates’ lives

SHELBY CO., Ala. (WBRC) - The Shelby County Sheriff’s Office is already seeing a return on an investment to monitor their inmates’ health in the jail.

In November they purchased eight heart monitors and it saved a life within the first month.

In the last couple of months these heart monitors have saved three lives.

The sensors use bluetooth technology to transmit real-time heart rate data.

But they don’t look like traditional heart monitors. These strap to the inmates’ ankles.

In the past, the jail had an incident with an inmate who had a coronary issue.

Whenever there is an incident at the jail, the sheriff’s office discusses ways, they can prevent them from happening.

After this incident Sheriff Samaniego saw an ad for the heart rate monitors and said it would be a helpful tool for the jail.

These are reserved for medically at-risk inmates and those who are going through a drug detox.

Right now, they only have eight active monitors, and they were funded through the Shelby County Commission.

Captain Russell Bedsole said, they owe it to their employees, the jail deputies and the contract medical providers to assist them with some technology that will help all of them be better at their jobs.

“So, it’s sort of that two-way street where we are serving our citizens by using technology that is going to make sure that our inmates are safe and secure, but we are also making this job a little bit easier for our employees along the way,” Bedsole said.

The sheriff’s office is the first in the country to launch this program.

They’re planning to buy more monitors soon.

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