Grant Co. Jail health care exceeds standard, despite inmate’s claim

EPHRATA – The Columbia Basin Herald received a letter from a previous inmate at the Grant County Jail, Wayne Symmonds, who expressed concerns around the medical care he has received alongside concerns that several inmates have died during his stay. 

“This medical at this jail is no help,” Symmonds wrote. “I am afraid I am going to die at this county jail from infection in my body. There was a guy three months ago who had infection going (through) his body and medical was no help to that guy as well. That was how come he die at this jail.”  

Despite Symmond’s claim, jail records obtained by the Columbia Basin Herald indicate there has only been one death in Grant County Jail in the past three years in December 2024. According to the Grant County Sheriff’s Office Public Information Officer Kyle Foreman, Symmonds is no longer in the custody of the Grant County Jail. According to Grant County Superior Court records for case 25-1-00097-13, he was arrested Feb. 25, 2025, for failure to register as a sex offender and booked into jail. As of July 8, 2025, he was sentenced to 546 days of confinement at Washington State Correctional Institution in Shelton. He has been previously convicted of 18 crimes beginning in 1987. 

Chief Deputy of Corrections Phillip Coats said the care at the jail exceeds federal standards, despite not having a 24-7 nurse, which the jail is working toward. 

“We are very confident in our care. We care about our inmate population,” Coats said. “We want to be able to make sure that we're maintaining a high level of care in our facility. Unfortunately, we just have two full-time (registered nurses), and right now we have a contracted medical assistant. We just haven't had the ability, as of yet, to provide 24/7 nursing. We have the largest, sickest population congregate setting in the county. With two nurses, that makes it very challenging, especially with the rapidly changing environment within the jail.”  

Deaths in the jail 

According to Grant County Jail records, there has only been one death in the jail in the past three years. 

Richard Lambert, 31, of Moses Lake was found dead in his bunk on Dec. 31, 2024. According to a GCSO statement, he was found in his bed in the dormitory, unconscious, unresponsive, pulseless and not breathing.  

The Ephrata Fire Department and LifeLine Ambulance responded, and he was declared dead soon after. Investigators do not suspect foul play at this time.  

Before this, Foreman said there was one death in August of 2018 where an inmate died from an overdose after contraband drugs were snuck into the facility.  

Booking process 

Coats said anyone booked into the jail, regardless of length of stay, has both a corrections officer assessment and a medical assessment done. Usually, the corrections officer completes an initial screening as they are booked. The medical screening is completed within the first 48 hours of being held at the jail.  

“We follow (National Commission on Correctional Health Care) national standard for medical screening,” Coats said. “The national standard is to have a medical screening within the first 14 days of their arrival. That is with them coming down, actually talking to a nurse, and a nurse is actually doing a medical screening on them. At the time of booking, we're just doing an assessment. Our nurses strive to do their medical screening within the first 48 hours. We're doing it a lot quicker than even what the national standard is indicating.” 

During both screenings, information is collected about the medical and mental health conditions. This includes questions about medications, counseling, suicide attempts and specific questions about accommodations needed, depending on medical history.  

“We are just trying to get a good picture to make sure that we are going to be able to house them appropriately,” Coats said.  

According to county records, the jail does not track the number of inmates seen by staff nurses. However, there have been 612 outside provider visits to the jail within the last three years.  

Prior conditions 

After the initial screening, standing orders are made to accommodate health care needs. Coats said the jail houses several diabetics with notable medical needs.  

“If they've been identified as a diabetic, then our nurses not only do they try to educate the individual on diabetes, long-term effects, side effects, on medications, but we also have a primary care provider who sees them,” Coats said. “We have, what we call, standing orders for a wide range of medical conditions, and what the treatment is for those medical conditions.” 

In Symmonds’ letter, he claims his cane was taken from him when he was placed in the jail, which he said made it challenging for him.  

However, Coats said canes are not typically allowed within the jail because they can be used as weapons by the owner of the cane or by another inmate.

“What we try to do is find reasonable accommodation that not only reduces the risk to staff and other inmates but also helps whatever medical need that they have whether it be a cane or a walker or a wheelchair,” Coats said. 

Some residents, not specifying Symmonds specifically, will ask for a cane, Coats said. Staff monitor behavior and mobility levels through cameras in the jail, as well as comparing inmate claims with medical records to assess whether mobility devices such as canes are truly needed.  

“We have cameras inside the dorms, so if staff and camera are watching and observing specific behaviors that do not indicate the need for a cane – we're not going to provide a cane,” Coats said.  

Injuries 

Injuries at the jail are handled promptly, but Coats said each case is managed as it happens because medical is not available on-site at all times.  

“We're limited in the availability of our nursing staff,” Coats said. “If the nursing staff is there, they will do their own triage to determine whether or not we need to go to Columbia Basin Hospital for additional medical services like X-rays or a CT scan.” 

However, if it is just a bump or a bruise there isn’t a whole lot the jail is able to do.  

“I mean, if you and I fall down, we just get up, we dust it off, and we walk back to wherever we need to go,” Coats said. 

Nurses off-site 

Since the jail is unable to have medical on-site all of the time, there are times when an injury occurs with no medical staff working. In these cases, Coats said corrections staff assess each situation to decide if a hospital trip is needed. If not, the inmate may be placed in medical observation and be seen by medical staff when they return.  

“We try to make the best decision at the time,” Coats said. “We remove the individual from the general population. If it's an obvious injury, then they're automatically going to be taking up the (Columbia Basin Hospital). If the guy is visually deformed by a broken bone, a large laceration, or an area swelling a lot – we're automatically going to take him up to (Columbia Basin Hospital).”

In cases, for example, where it's an individual complaining about pain because they fell out of their bunk but walked to the booking area without issue, the jail will monitor the situation.  

“We'll keep them under medical observation until the nurse can come in and triage and determine whether or not, ‘Yes, we need to go ahead and take him up to (Columbia Basin Hospital), just to make sure he doesn't have any broken bones,’ or ‘No, everything looks good. We'll just kind of continue to keep an eye on them,’” Coats said.   

New jail 

Everything is about to change when the county’s new jail facility opens, Coats said. 

“What I have done for the last 21 years inside that jail is going to change,” Coats said. “Our intake is going to change to where we have two nursing triage stations directly in the intake area.” 

Coats said GCSO is working to secure a contract with a provider to help provide full-time care.  

“We are working on getting a contract with a medical company that will come in to not only give us medical insight but also help adequately staff the jail to where we could provide care on a 24-hour basis,” Coats said.  

    Wayne Symmonds, a former inmate at Grant County Jail sent the Columbia Basin Herald a letter expressing concerns about the medical care provided at the jail. Reporting found Symmonds’ claims lacked validity. Symmonds was arrested Feb. 25, 2025, for failure to register as a sex offender and booked into jail.
  

    Chief Deputy of Corrections Phillip Coats is in charge of the Grant County Jail’s operations and said he and his staff work hard to ensure inmate and staff safety.