Out of the blue, a patient opened up to Mary Akinniyi '27 about the sexual abuse he suffered as a child. He turned to drugs, he told her, because the high – even if it only lasted a fews seconds – was his only escape from the trauma. The drugs led him on a path to the Washington County Jail. The patient considers his time behind bars as rehab, but he's worried he'll fall back into his old lifestyle when he's released. After finishing the story, Akinniyi asked rhetorically to no one or maybe everyone:
"Is he any less deserving of care?"
Akinniyi, a nursing major, was born in Nigeria, but spent much of her childhood in Kuwait before moving with her family to New York in 2019. Her parents have both worked as medical lab scientists, so medicine always felt like a natural fit. She earned her associate's degree in nursing out of high school, then worked full-time at a nursing home before pursuing her bachelor's at Siena. She credits her family and life experiences for her commitment to care in underserved areas. That's what drew her to work as a nurse in jail – not only is the prison population underserved, many believe they don't deserve the care to begin with.
"I do hear that a lot and it takes me aback. What's the difference in helping an inmate versus helping a grandma in a nursing home? The truth is - most of the prisoners don't want to be there. When you're on parole, you need a job. A lot of places don't want to hire criminals. But people need to eat, so they revert back to what they've always known. The system is broken. There's a stigma around prisoners. All I can do is help to take away the stigma."
Akinniyi says the medical department at the jail is small. They see plenty of inmates every day, some suffer from a chronic illness, like shortness of breath, others require a change to their medication. Akinniyi's bedside manner is deliberately clinical – there are rules against touching a patient, even for comfort. But she's able to provide the care while showing that she really does care.
"As a nurse, I'm able to impact someone's life and change how they view the world through small interactions. I can change people's perspectives about nurses and who they are. That's so important. Especially in today's world with so much divisiveness. I want to see people for who they are, not their diagnosis or circumstance."
Akinniyi says that Siena's nursing program emphasizes that every patient is different and no two stories are the same. Too often, people are taught to treat everyone like we all came from the same background, which Akinniyi says, "is a shame."
"Diversity is a beautiful part of life. Why take that away? Everyday I'm learning something new about the jail, and I'm putting so many skills from the nursing program to use, especially critical thinking. Really small situations that need an immediate decision can make or break your time there. You have to be quick on your feet."
Akinniyi began working at the jail last fall and she'll stay there through at least the spring. She's not looking too far ahead to graduation next year or what comes after.
"The one thing I can say about life: it's taken me places I've never expected. So I'm never going to say, 'I'm definitely going to do this, or I'm definitely not doing that.' But the one thing I know for sure, whatever comes next, I'll definitely take pride in it."
