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California Prison Health Care Under Attack
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May 24, 2005 - The Fresno Bee paints yet another outrageous picture of the CDC Health Care System in an article published online this week. The story of a Salinas Valley inmate who doctors diagnosed as "faking it" after telling medical staff that he couldn't get out of his bunk following a fight with other inmates, who ultimately became a quadriplegic due to a traumatic dislocation of his spine.
The Medical Board suspended the doctor that treated the inmate, however a court order recently issued by U.S. District Judge Henderson and legislative reports, this type of incident is reportedly far from isolated. The Judge is currently considering appointing a receiver under his control to manage the ailing system that he calls "highly problematic, with multiple instances of incompetence, indifference, neglect and even cruelty by medical staff." A series of hearings will run between May 31st and June 9th, and the Judge has scheduled a July 11 hearing date on the appointment of the receiver.
Rod Hickman told reporters that after the budget revise in May, that the state would do "whatever it has to do to comply with the court's wishes" - even if that means turning over a huge chunk of his authority to the federal judge. Hickman agreed that the state has been incapable of resolving the current health crisis on its own, but avoided answering questions when asked if he would welcome a receivership.
Other incidents were mentioned in the Fresno Bee article. Examples such as one doctor who prescribed "anti-psychotic medication" to an inmate suffering from pneumonia; obstetricians and pediatricians being assigned to male institutions - even a physician whose license was suspended 7 years earlier who was appointed vice chairman of a medical care review committee.
Doctors say that they are not completely to blame. They cite a poorly run records tracking system, lack of and aging of equipment, absence of sinks in some institutions and other obstacles as making their jobs "all but impossible."
Former Deputy Director in charge of Health Services at CDC, Michael Pickett, a 34-year corrections employee who retired in 2003, spoke of the health system he once oversaw and said simply, "I wouldn't go to a CDC doc for nothing."
However, those who work the inside know that poor medical care isn't always the case - in fact, it is well known that if an inmate complains, they can be seen at an outside facility, sometimes getting better care than most tax-paying, insurance-contributing citizens. One Folsom officer reminded reporters of the highly publicized case of one inmate who received a heart transplant which cost taxpayers more than $1.25 million, and said that in some cases, inmates are getting better health care than people on the outside.
Chuck Alexander of CCPOA agreed with the Folsom officer and told the Fresno Bee, "All an inmate has to do is complain loud enough, and they send them to outside doctors… an inmate doesn't get told 'no.'"
* Source: FresnoBee.com
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