OTAY MESA (KGTV)- After months of legal battles to gain access, San Diego County health officials completed an inspection of the Otay Mesa Detention Center in June — and found conditions were generally within state standards, though serious concerns remain.
County officials first attempted to inspect the facility in February but were turned away, prompting a lawsuit. A federal judge ruled in favor of the county, allowing the inspection to move forward.
The biggest concern to emerge from the eight-hour inspection involved tuberculosis. The report found that two TB cases were not reported by the facility's medical staff.
Supervisor Paloma Aguirre, who represents District 1 and helped lead the fight for access, said the county only learned of the cases through a third party.
"If there is a positive case of tuberculosis, the protocol is to immediately let the county know, and in this particular case, it wasn't until we heard from a third-party provider that that was the case," Aguirre said.
Inspectors also found that one person had not received a medical device 18 months after being admitted, and that the facility did not have vaccines in stock.
The inspection findings come as CoreCivic sold the detention center to the Department of Homeland Security, raising questions about what the ownership change means for the county's oversight authority going forward. CoreCivic continues to manage the facility.
"We are analyzing that to see what the implications are, specifically to how and what type of jurisdiction local agencies continue to have," Aguirre said.
Aguirre also raised questions about what an unannounced inspection might have revealed.
"It does beg the question what would we have found if we had been able to conduct the inspection unannounced," Aguirre said.
The county is recommending faster communication on disease cases and full cooperation with future inspections.
In a statement, Ryan Gustin, the Senior Director of Public Affairs for CoreCivic said: "We take those recommendations seriously and have reinforced procedures to support timely communication, transparency, and continued collaboration with public health authorities. Protecting the health of those in our care, our staff, and the broader community remains an ongoing responsibility we approach with the highest level of seriousness."
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