Hospitalized Pinellas County Jail inmate dies

Thursday, February 28, 2008

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Palinchik's family said she suffered from a severe case of the staph infection MRSA and pneumonia in both lungs.

PINELLAS COUNTY (Bay News 9) -- A Pinellas County Jail inmate hospitalized with an apparent staph infection and pneumonia has died, her mother said this afternoon.

Earlier Thursday, a doctor at Largo Medical Center told Dorothy Palinchik's family the infection had done irreversible damage to her arms and legs, turning them black and cold because there is no circulation in them, according to Bay News 9's partner, the St. Petersburg Times.

Doctors recommended amputating the limbs, according to the family.

But family friend Lisa Hillary said doctors later amended their decision and told the family Palinchik would probably die even if the surgery was performed. So family members opted not to have her limbs amputated and were planning to take her off life support, Hillary said.

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Palinchik, 42, of St. Petersburg was in the intensive care unit at Largo Medical Center, where she had been hospitalized since Friday.

She was booked into the jail on Feb. 13 on a charge of stealing a $9 Philly cheesesteak sandwich from a St. Petersburg Publix. She declined her boyfriend's offer to post her $250 bail, opting instead to to serve the time, he said.

But during the next week, Palinchik grew gravely ill. On Feb. 21, she was transferred to the jail's medical wing. Her family said she had a staph infection caused by the antibiotic-resistant MRSA bacteria. The next day, she was taken to Largo Medical Center.

Her family has contended Palinchik repeatedly asked for help at the jail but received inadequate care, getting one Motrin and one Sudafed despite running a 101.5-degree fever for five days.

When she arrived at Largo Medical Center on Friday night, Palinchik was scared, conscious and complained of trouble breathing and chest pain, Hillary said after talking to a nurse. Later, she lapsed into a coma.

Sheriff's officials say medical privacy laws prevent them from releasing any information about Palinchik's medical history or care at the jail, although they have said she did not have any open wounds that would suggest an infection when she was booked.

The Sheriff's Office is investigating the care she received. That's a standard practice, officials said, when an inmate becomes seriously ill.