The number of inmates in the Lake County Jail with HIV has tripled this year, but Warden Todd Wasmer said the increase was a result of the jail population increasing this year as well.

The jail had 934 inmates as of Tuesday, Wasmer said, which has been the new jail population trend for the majority of 2024. From 2018 to 2023, the jail population had a daily average of 756 inmates, he said.

Historically, the jail has had around five inmates with HIV, Wasmer said, but this year the jail has treated about 15 inmates with HIV.

“It can be anything that you would see as a disease or condition out in the civilian population; they are all generally represented in the jail population. When your population increases those numbers increase,” Wasmer said. “With the growth of Lake County, the inmate population tends to trend in the same direction.”

Jail staff goes through annual training on what to do in the case of blood-borne pathogen exposure, which is one way HIV can spread, and they have personal protective equipment whenever they have to clean any area of the jail, Wasmer said.

Inmates are instructed to call on jail staff to clean any mess with bodily fluids, Wasmer said, which protects them from exposure to illness.

Wasmer requested a budget transfer of $265,000 within the jail budget from the Lake County Council Tuesday. Of that, $200,000 was transferred into the health care and lab supplies budget item. The council approved the transfer in a 7-0 vote.

The $200,000 will go toward medications, like HIV medication, as well as treatment and transportation for procedures some inmates need in Indianapolis or Chicago, Wasmer said.

In the past, for example, Wasmer said there have been inmates who had a heart transplant before their arrests, which means that jail officials have to ensure the inmates receive post-surgery care. Care like that has previously required inmates to travel outside of Lake County, he said.

Lake County Councilwoman and President Christine Cid, D-East Chicago, said the jail requested the transfer to cover prescription price increases.

“The county must care for the inmates and with the rise in prescription costs it was necessary to provide additional funds to the line item,” Cid said.

The sheriff’s department and jail officials review their budgets to ensure the spending matches the need and within budget, Wasmer said.

“We keep our eyes on the numbers as far as the budget goes to ensure that we see the trends, we prepare for them because I definitely want to be a good steward with the taxpayer money,” Wasmer said.

akukulka@post-trib.com