Tacoma woman jailed for evading tuberculosis treatment is going home. Here’s what we know
A Tacoma woman detained after she repeatedly evaded court-ordered treatment for tuberculosis will be released from custody to her home, where she must comply with conditions or face returning to jail, court records show.
Pierce County Superior Court Judge Philip Sorensen ruled on Friday that the woman, who’s identified in court records only by her initials, “V.N.,” may go home for treatment, isolation and quarantine.
The decision Friday came after the woman’s court-appointed attorney, Sarah Tofflemire, filed a motion earlier this month seeking her client’s release from custody and “an effective alternative to incarceration.” The woman was detained June 1 following unsuccessful efforts by health officials over the past year and a half to compel her through the court to get treated, citing a threat to public health.
It’s not clear what exactly the conditions of the woman’s release were.
Minutes from the hearing Friday show that Sorensen granted the “Order Approving Fees, Home Detention Order and Order for Release from Involuntary Detention on Conditions,” but the official filing hadn’t been uploaded to the court’s online docket as of 5 p.m.
An unsigned, “working copy” of an “Order For Release From Involuntary Detention On Conditions” — uploaded Thursday by Lori Marie Bemis, attorney for the Tacoma-Pierce County Health Department — offered insight into what the conditions could be.
Under the working copy, the woman would be subject to electronic monitoring and be required to take medication.
She would also be required to answer the door for any health department staff member administering medication and testing, any law enforcement officer and any personnel associated with the electronic-monitoring program, according to the document. She wouldn’t be allowed to leave her home, except for medical care, until she showed three consecutive negative sputum tests, which detect germs that can cause an infection in the lungs or airways.
Tuberculosis is caused by airborne germs spread person to person and can be deadly if not treated, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The county averages between 15 and 25 cases of tuberculosis each year, the health department says.
V.N. had been hard to track down prior to being taken into custody earlier this month. Since her detainment, she has been confined in a negative pressure room at the Pierce County Jail, which officials had said was equipped to prevent the communicable disease from spreading.
The News Tribune first reported on the situation upon discovering court filings following the health department’s announcement in January of an active tuberculosis case in the area. An arrest warrant was issued for the woman in March after she was found to be in contempt of court orders.
Tofflemire filed a brief at that time, suggesting that her client hadn’t voluntarily sought treatment because she didn’t understand what was happening. The woman had not acknowledged her medical condition, and she repeatedly threatened suicide due to papers being served at her home, the filing said.
Tofflemire did not return a message seeking comment Friday afternoon.
In its most recent court filing, the health department said that the state Legislature grants local health officers broad powers to force a tuberculosis patient into treatment, but The News Tribune’s archives show that it’s rare. The last documented instance occurred in 2005, when health officials rented a Lakewood hotel room for a 35-year-old sex worker to isolate and be treated for the disease.
In a brief post to its blog, the health department acknowledged Friday’s ruling authorizing V.N.’s release under court supervision.
“We will continue to work with her to provide testing and treatment to help cure her tuberculosis,” the department wrote.
A new court hearing was scheduled for July 14, court records show.
This story was originally published June 23, 2023 at 5:26 PM.
