$ 133,000: Ohio prison nurses raking in overtime

CLEVELAND — Thousands of hours of overtime worked by Ohio prison nurses in recent years have cost taxpayers millions of dollars.

The Plain Dealer reported that overtime for registered nurses in the prison system has increased by nearly 60 percent since 2012. The newspaper said its analysis of payroll records show some prison hospital nurses have earned over $ 100,000 in overtime in one year.

The state presently has about 480 registered nurses working in prisons and about 50 job vacancies. Ohio has relied on volunteer overtime to fill the staffing gaps.

Union leaders said they have urged administrators to hire more nurses, but retention remains an issue. Many candidates are fearful of prisons, and most of the state’s prisons are in rural areas.

Stuart Hudson, the managing director of health care and fiscal operations for the Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Correction, says hiring more nurses would spread costs out over more people, but the state would still have to pay to make sure all shifts are covered.

“At the end of the day, we’re still going to have overtime, and most folks making those large sums of money are those people who volunteer for it,” he said.

State Sen. Gayle Manning, a Republican, said the amount of overtime payments raises questions about quality of care.

“We trust the Department of Rehabilitation and Correction, but I think a person making $ 133,000 in overtime in one year is a concern,” she said.