Recently in Corrections Health Category

Source: By REBECCA BOONE, Associated Press,  Jun 1, 2010

BOISE, Idaho -- The state is ordering private prison company Correction Corporation of America to pay thousands of dollars and fix problems with drug and alcohol treatment and medical care at the Idaho Correctional Center.

Ten of 13 drug and alcohol counselors at the prison near Boise aren't qualified to provide treatment under CCA's contract with the state, according to records obtained by The Associated Press.

... Among other problems found in the audits, inmates in the prison's infirmary were sometimes left alone, without any working pager or call-light system to call a nurse or doctor in an emergency. They also were going too long between medical checks by nursing staff, according to the records.

Source: AFSCME Council 31 On The Move, April 2010 (see p. 11)

 

When a new and unwelcome boss came in, 22 therapists, psychologists and counselors who work with sex offenders at the Kewanee Youth Center fought and won. By choosing AFSCME representation, the workers eventually upended the vendor that once employed them and be new state employees.

 ..... "We did the research and we were able to show the state that it wouldn't cost them any money to hire the frontline employees and get rid of ABTC." In addition, the turnover would go down, and with a more stable workforce, services would be improved. The state agreed. By July 1 the workers will be state employees, covered by the AFSCME master contract, and ABTC will be gone from Kewanee

Source: Jeffrey A. Beard & Richard S. Ellers, Corrections Today, October 2009 (not online)

The delivery of health care services in the Pennsylvania Department of Corrections evolved from a decentralized system in the 1970s, during which time institutions contracted with separate local vendors, to a system of separate regional vendors in the 1980s and 1990s.

In 2002, the DOC issues a statewide request for proposal. The belief was that "economics of scale" would result in greater savings for DOC.

 

.....The lessons learned from the previous unsuccessful contract was that vendors would underbid a request for proposal to secure a contract and then try to recoup additional funding later, or they would inflate their initial bid to protect themselves from unpredictable, catastrophic outpatient expenses.

 

 

Source: By Terry J. Allen, In These Times, December 8, 2009

 

Ashley Ellis's misdemeanor arrest turned into a death sentence. Her crime: "careless and negligent operation of a motor vehicle." Less than two days after entering a Vermont prison on a 30-day sentence, she died from the careless and negligent operation of a privatized for-profit prison healthcare system.

Her death shows what can, and does, happen across the country when states outsource prisoner medical services: states cut corners on monitoring, and contractors skimp on care.

..... Prison Health Services (PHS) never gave her the prescribed medication that could have saved her life. An autopsy put the cause of death as heart failure caused by "denial of access to medication."

Source: By Steve Bousquet, Times/Herald (FL), Friday, June 26, 2009


An "appalled" state judge said Thursday that Florida's prison system "blatantly violated the public trust" by secretly negotiating with a new firm to provide for inmates' mental health.

Leon County Circuit Judge Frank Sheffield said the actions by the Department of Corrections were "at best, offensive, and at worst, illegal" in its secret dealings with Correctional Medical Services of St. Louis.

Related: Explosive new charge in prison vendor lawsuit

Source: BY STEVE BOUSQUET, Miami Herald (FL), June 5, 2009

Florida's prison system is embroiled in a lawsuit filed by an ousted vendor on a major contract that accuses the state of illegally favoring a competitor. The lawsuit was filed by MHM Correctional Services, which wants to extend its 2 ½-year contract to provid

 ...... The Department of Corrections wants to fire MHM and replace it with a rival, Correctional Medical Services of St. Louis, even though CMS would charge the state $5.5 million more for the same service over a five-year period.

Source: By KELLY NOLAN, Wall Street Journal, April 7, 2009

In the midst of a deep recession, prison health-care company America Service Group Inc. seems to have most things going in its favor.

The only major publicly traded player in the $9.3 billion prison health-care market, America Service Group looks well positioned in the near term, with no debt on its balance sheet and major government contracts locked in until 2011.


...... Through its Prison Health Services and Correctional Health Services subsidiaries, the company provides care in 23 states to 179,000 inmates through 64 local and state government contracts. Its major competitors are closely held companies, Correctional Medical Services and Wexford Health Sources Inc.

Source: By Kurt Erickson, Pantagraph (IL), Wednesday, April 22, 2009

 

 Hoping to combat rising medical costs, Illinois prison officials have quietly begun investigating a new way to treat inmates.  A review of state documents shows that Illinois Department of Corrections Director Roger Walker met late last year with a top doctor from the Texas prison system.  The subject of their December 11 meeting at Corrections headquarters in Springfield was telemedicine, in which inmates receive medical advice from a doctor linked to the prison via video conferencing equipment.

..... "We don't know what they might be looking at. At face value we don't believe telemedicine in a prison setting is a good idea," said Anders Lindall, spokesman for the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees union. ...... It isn't clear how much Texas saves by using telemedicine.

...... Schnapp said there is no timetable for implementing telemedicine.

Source: By DAVID EGGERT, Associated Press (MI), updated 8:36 a.m. ET, Wed., Feb. 11, 2009

Fighting to curb rising prison health costs and stem criticism over inadequate care, Michigan on Tuesday chose a new company to help treat state prisoners with medical problems.

Brentwood, Tenn.-based Prison Health Services won a three-year, $326 million contract and will take over for St. Louis-based Correctional Medical Services starting April 1.

CMS has been overseeing hospital and specialty care for the Michigan Department of Corrections for a decade. But a year ago, a review ordered by Gov. Jennifer Granholm revealed that most doctors, nurse practitioners and physician assistants hired by CMS were seeing too few inmates a day.

Source: by Jeff May, The Star-Ledger, Tuesday August 12, 2008, 1:47 PM

Correctional Medical Services said it plans to lay off 949 workers in New Jersey next month, after losing its $85 million contract for prison health care services in the state to the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey.

CMS, a private St. Louis firm, notified the state it would begin the layoffs on Sept. 30, a day before UMDNJ begins providing service to New Jersey Department of Corrections inmates. A majority of the workers facing layoffs are expected to be offered jobs with the university, UMDNJ spokesman Gerald Carey said.