Prison Medical Photos



See the Prison Medical slideshowShare your prison stories "I invite you to go in to any prison and walk in to any of those medical facilities, and you tell me if it’s not just as good care as you’ll get at Blue Shield or Kaiser or anywhere else."

– Secretary of Corrections Matthew Cate denying allegations in a 2009 federal court ruling that overcrowding in California prisons prevents inmates from getting adequate medical care, "often with tragic consequences."

Part 1: California’s budget woes thwart improvements to prison medicine

Aug. 23, 2010
Julie Small
KPCC

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Nearly a decade ago, medical care at California’s state prisons was deadly – bad enough to kill one inmate a week by some accounts. A federal judge ordered it fixed. Read on...



Sidebar: Prisoner's wife talks about her husband's prison cancer treatment

Part 2: Chino prison sees some improvements in medical care

Aug. 24, 2010
Julie Small
KPCC

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A federal judge appointed a receiver to fix California's prison medical system. KPCC toured the California Institution for Men in Chino to see whether conditions have improved. Read on...



Sidebar: Report on Chino prison cited problems threatening inmate health

Part 3: California inmates still suffer from lapses in prison medical care

Aug. 25, 2010
Julie Small
KPCC

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Today, changes ordered by a federal receiver have brought in better doctors and better care - but inmates continue to suffer misdiagnosis and delays in treatment. Read on...



Sidebar: Chino prisoner's wife's journal shows problems with prison medical care

Part 4: Vacaville's California Medical Facility – The 'gold standard' for prison medical care in California

Aug. 26, 2010
Julie Small
KPCC

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The federal receiver in charge of prison medicine considers one facility the gold standard for inmate care. KPCC goes inside a prison hospital for inmates who need constant care. Read on...



Sidebar: Prisoner has trouble getting protection from recurring skin cancer

Part 5: Fewer improvements planned for prison medical care

Aug. 27, 2010
Julie Small
KPCC

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KPCC looks at whether the improvements to the prison medical system have improved care enough to satisfy the federal judge and for the receivership to end. Read on...

Background



A decade ago, medical care at California’s state prisons was worse than bad – it was deadly. Attorneys at the Prison Law Office successfully sued the Department of Corrections for violating inmates' constitutional rights to freedom from cruel and unusual punishment (Plata v. Schwarzenegger).



In a 2002 consent decree, California's Department of Corrections agreed to implement new medical care policies and procedures at all state prisons.



But in 2005 it was clear the department had failed to make those improvements.



A court investigation of inmate deaths found that one inmate a week was dying as a result of misdiagnosis, delayed or shoddy treatment or no treatment at all. The findings prompted Judge Thelton Henderson to take the unprecedented step of appointing a federal receiver to run California's prison medical care.



The federal receiver, Robert Sillen, began work in April of 2006. (In 2008 Henderson replaced Sillen with Clark Kelso.) Sillen determined that problems in prison medical care were so innumerable it would take at least a decade and untold billions to fix them.



But only a year later, California officials – including the Secretary of Corrections Mathew Cate, Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger and Attorney General Jerry Brown – claimed that medical care for inmates had reached an acceptable standard. They say it’s time to put California back in charge of it.





Credit: California Legislative Analyst's Office



About the Series



Over a year, KPCC’s Julie Small interviewed state officials, prison medical experts, prison volunteers, inmates and their families, corrections officials and medical staff to determine if the quality of medical care in California's prisons is, as officials claim, "fixed." This investigation found:



While the overall number of deaths of inmates decreased, the number of inmates whose deaths might have been prevented with better care actually increased.

Independent reviews of medical facilities conducted by California's inspector general for prisons reveal that California's prisons routinely violate medical policies and protocols, leading to delays and denials of treatment for inmates.

California officials' repeated refusal to fund the receiver's turnaround plan has delayed construction of sanitary medical facilities, computerization of health records and hiring independent executives to oversee medical care at prisons.

The lack of infrastructure improvements and systemic change contributes to lapses in care for inmates that range from dangerous to deadly.

Over five days beginning Monday, Aug. 23, 2010, KPCC reveals its findings on-air and online.



Web Resources



Federal Receiver’s California Prison Health Care Services

California’s Office of the Inspector General for Prisons - Medical inspection results

Prison Law Office

Don Spector’s law journal article on California’s prisons, "Everything Revolves Around Overcrowding: The State of California's Prisons" (PDF)

U.S. District Court of Northern California - Plata v. Schwarzenegger court documents

Legislative Analyst Office’s “Overview of Adult Correctional Health Care Spending”

California Correctional Medicine Consultation Network

Correctional Medicine Consultation Network: "Prison 911: Avenal"