Medical Care and Opioid Treatment at Allegany County Detention Center: What Families Should Know

People in custody at Allegany County Detention Center request medical help through sick call. The facility runs sick call seven days a week and says requests are handled within 12 to 24 hours. That's reassuring if your loved one has something that feels urgent but isn't a true emergency. For actual emergencies, nursing staff are available around the clock - an RN or LPN can respond at any hour.

Money is a common concern - especially if your loved one's account is low. The facility says no one is denied medical services, medication, or treatment because they can't pay. That said, there's a nominal one-time fee for sick call requests and a low monthly fee for medication. Bottom line: your loved one should still request care when they need it, even if they're worried about cost.

• ✓ Ask your loved one to request sick call when they need care, even if they’re worried about money.
• ✓ If you’re trying to plan for costs, confirm with the facility how the one-time sick call fee and monthly medication fee are applied.
• ✓ When a charge comes up, ask whether it relates to a sick call request, medication, or something else.

Medical care starts before anyone gets sick. The facility conducts an initial intake screening when someone is admitted, followed by a full physical within 14 days. After that, yearly physicals and PPDs are provided. This gives you a sense of what routine care looks like if your loved one remains in custody over time.

1. Admission and intake screening - Medical performs an initial intake screening when someone is admitted.
2. Physical and PPD timeline - The facility says physicals occur within 14 days of incarceration.
3. Ongoing routine care - Yearly physicals and PPDs are provided after that.

If your loved one struggles with opioid use disorder, Allegany County Detention Center offers a Medicated Opioid Use Disorder (MOUD) program. It's grant-funded and available to qualifying inmates. The facility describes the goal as replacing self-administered addiction with a safe, physician-monitored program. On average, 42 inmates receive daily doses of medication for opioid addiction - a sign that medication-based treatment is an active part of how the facility handles addiction.

There's also JSAP - the Jail Substance Abuse Program - which operates in partnership with the Allegany County Health Department. It's an intensive recovery program with individual and group sessions covering education, counseling, treatment, and referrals. To identify needs early, the facility uses the SBIRT model (Screening, Brief Intervention, Referral to Treatment) at intake. This screening helps determine who gets connected to services.

From the outside, your best tool is understanding how the system works. If your loved one feels unwell, encourage them to submit a sick call request - those are handled within 12 to 24 hours, seven days a week. If opioid use disorder is the concern, ask what support they're getting and whether they've been considered for the grant-funded MOUD program. You can also reach out to the facility to ask how someone gets connected to MOUD or JSAP, without assuming eligibility rules that aren't publicly spelled out.

1. Get clear on the need - Ask your loved one what symptoms or issues they’re dealing with and whether it’s medical, mental health, or substance-use related.
2. Have them request sick call - Sick calls are completed 7 days a week, and the facility states requests are handled within 12–24 hours.
3. Ask about opioid treatment options - If opioid use disorder is part of the picture, ask whether the grant-funded MOUD program is available to them if they qualify.
4. Ask about recovery programming - Inquire about JSAP, which the facility describes as a substance-abuse recovery program run in collaboration with the Allegany County Health Department.