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US prisons outsource inmate healthcare to private companies. My son died in their care
http://www.theguardian.com ^ | 02/24/2015 | Tomi Lynn Harris

Posted on 02/24/2015 7:54:55 AM PST by redreno

One pill. I lost my son over one pill.

On the first Saturday in January this year, my son arrived at the Allegheny County Jail in Pennsylvania. On Monday – not long after midnight – he was declared dead by Mercy Hospital. If the guards and the Corizon staff (a for-profit correctional healthcare company) at the hospital had been willing to provide him with the medicine that he needed to stay alive, he would not have died.

You see, my son had seizures. The last major seizure he had was so bad that he bit off a piece of his own tongue. It scared him, and he took his medicine religiously, twice a day. He knew when a seizure was coming, and it took a few hours for it to come on. So when he was locked up, the Corizon staff listed the medications he needed to take, and when he needed to take them, on the intake form provided to jail authorities.

(Excerpt) Read more at theguardian.com ...


TOPICS: Business/Economy; Crime/Corruption; Culture/Society; US: Pennsylvania
KEYWORDS: badcopnodonut; corizon; jail; paping; prisonerhealthcare; usprisons
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To: peeps36
When prisoners are brought in off the street they go through a screening process at the county jail. That includes a medical assessment and a list of medication taken.

So when this guy started having a seizure, was being forcibly restrained, handcuffed, shackled, with a “spit mask,” strapped onto his face, then turned over on his stomach part of that county government medical process?

BTW, is everyone taken to government jails from, "Off the streets?"

41 posted on 02/24/2015 8:52:12 AM PST by dragnet2 (Diversion and evasion are tools of deceit)
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To: Regal

“Jails are getting to be the default answer to too many questions from mental illness, to unruly kids, to minor violations, even debt. When it becomes so common, the shame value is lost. It used to be a scandal to be locked up, now, since it happens a lot, to a wide range of people, there is no adverse social stigma.”

Too bad it isn’t the answer to illegal invaders, tax evading public officials, sexual perversion, looting and invasion of privacy any longer.


42 posted on 02/24/2015 8:52:13 AM PST by Aleya2Fairlie
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To: dragnet2
Would it be OK with you while your choking on your own saliva if the guards gang rape you till ya squeal?

You have a rich, albeit distasteful, fantasy life.

Please leave me out of it.

BTW, you must have been delighted when your fellow Eric Garner fan murdered those two police officers in cold blood. Did you throw a party?

43 posted on 02/24/2015 9:01:13 AM PST by wideawake
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To: Hulka
Yep! People will think, well if I'm going to be in jail for the weekend, I'm going to tell them I take Zoloft or whatever (not an expert on drugs) so I can be high all weekend. Inmates and arrested people often, LIE! The med staff have to contact docs to find out if the guys are telling the truth or not. Weekend jail in Pittsburgh or any big city is a zoo at best.
44 posted on 02/24/2015 9:04:32 AM PST by defconw (If not now, WHEN?)
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To: wideawake
One of the occupational hazards of being a drugdealer. Maybe he should have earned an honest living instead. Just a thought.

Ya like treating people with medical issues like they're in some 3rd world Turkish prison wideawake? You think it's cool? Deserved?

So if you or others with multiple health issues, get jailed on trumped up or BS government charges, you'll support them withholding your life saving medications right wideawake?

Would it be OK with you while your choking on your own saliva if the guards gang rape you till ya squeal?

Just a thought wideawake.

You have a rich, albeit distasteful, fantasy life.

More of your evasive diversionary thoughts wideawake? Then ya have the nerve to lie and suggest I supported some cold blooded murderer regarding an issue which has nothing to do with this event?

What a desparate piece of work you are.

45 posted on 02/24/2015 9:09:39 AM PST by dragnet2 (Diversion and evasion are tools of deceit)
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To: redreno

This is a tough one. Sure HE should have been given his medicine, but don’t think for a second he was the only person making noise in jail demanding medicine or other stuff. Prisoners make noise, it’s what they do, most of them are just looking to break the monotony, get some special treatment, maybe even destroy some evidence if they get half a chance (you get busted for drug dealing then demand access to pills you had, most of the time that’s not medical). And there’s really no way for the guards to know, especially in temporary holding where they have little if any knowledge about a specific prisoner. It’s easy to say “they should have...” it’s harder to figure out how they were supposed to separate the legit guy from the rest of the crowd.


46 posted on 02/24/2015 9:16:29 AM PST by discostu (The albatross begins with its vengeance A terrible curse a thirst has begun)
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To: Hulka
law-suites and such. . .

Well, I'm not a lawyer, but I did stay in a Law Suite once.

FMCDH(BITS)

47 posted on 02/24/2015 9:18:50 AM PST by nothingnew (Hemmer and MacCullum are the worst on FNC)
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To: nothingnew

HAh. . .good one.


48 posted on 02/24/2015 9:27:33 AM PST by Hulka
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To: discostu

Well stated.


49 posted on 02/24/2015 9:29:23 AM PST by Hulka
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To: Star Traveler
Very few people are held for 72 hours - that only happens when the police think they are very close to having enough evidence to charge someone with a felony.

Again, the article was written from the viewpoint of the decedent's mother.

Not only is she sure that her little angel did no wrong, but she stands to make more money than she's ever seen in her life if her claims are true.

It's amazing to me that - on a site whose entire purpose is to critique facile, liberal media spin - everyone here accepts the story of a clearly biased party as gospel truth.

50 posted on 02/24/2015 9:31:19 AM PST by wideawake
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To: dragnet2
The Jail handles over 350 temporary and permanent "movements" in and out of the institution every day. On an average day, some 100 arrestees come through the intake department. After their arraignment, arrestees who do not make bond are committed to ACJ in lieu of bond. These average around 60.

Additionally, each day the Jail receives prisoners who are brought in by Constables, Federal authorities and Sheriff's Deputies. These persons may be apprehended fugitives, persons who had bonds revoked, persons who have been sentenced to Jail at Court, Parole or Probation Violators. These numbers vary. Overall, commitments to the Jail range between 50 and 70 per day. The number of permanent releases runs slightly less than admissions. Thus, the Jail's population has been growing.

Depending upon Court activity, each weekday, well over 100 persons move out and back from Criminal Court hearings or trials. This heavy movement on a daily basis requires devotion of considerable administrative, services and security resources in order to run properly.

The volume of movement is one factor that distinguishes a county jail from a prison facility that houses sentenced prisoners. There is much less movement in and out of a prison facility. Another distinguishing factor is length of stay. In prisons, length of stay is predicable and usually longer than Jail.

In Jails, the length of stay is usually unpredictable and shorter. Shorter Length of stay (30-31 days at ACJ) results in a transient population that may be volatile. This has implications for programs and services and for management and operations procedures.

51 posted on 02/24/2015 9:31:42 AM PST by defconw (If not now, WHEN?)
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To: wideawake

That can easily happen over the weekend.


52 posted on 02/24/2015 9:32:01 AM PST by Star Traveler (Remember to keep the Messiah of Israel in the One-World Government that we look forward to coming)
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To: Star Traveler
Very few people in law enforcement have a standard weekend.

Typically one has to work either a Saturday or a Sunday shift.

As in retail and pastoring, it's a profession where the weekend makes up the busiest days of the workweek.

53 posted on 02/24/2015 9:37:10 AM PST by wideawake
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To: wideawake
It's amazing to me that - on a site whose entire purpose is to critique facile, liberal media spin - everyone here accepts the story of a clearly biased party as gospel truth.

It's amazing to me that - on a site whose entire purpose is to critique government bureaucracy - everyone here accepts the story of a clearly biased government as gospel truth.

54 posted on 02/24/2015 9:39:19 AM PST by Half Vast Conspiracy (!)
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To: redreno

There is no solution to the problem of prison health care.

The law will not be changed to make inadequate care part of the sentence, and the money will not be allocated to make the care adequate.


55 posted on 02/24/2015 9:40:53 AM PST by Jim Noble (When strong, avoid them. Attack their weaknesses. Emerge to their surprise. .)
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To: defconw

It sounds like they should stop arresting so many people.


56 posted on 02/24/2015 9:41:49 AM PST by Half Vast Conspiracy (!)
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To: Half Vast Conspiracy
LOL! I have worked with corrections guys, it is a little like a dog chasing it's tail.

But take St. Skittles for example. That kid could not spell Skittles if you spotted him all the letters but the s, but he knows how to get high off them.

57 posted on 02/24/2015 9:44:29 AM PST by defconw (If not now, WHEN?)
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To: Half Vast Conspiracy
This is not a government account - the story deals with a private security firm. The article above is from a foreign socialist newspaper, and its source is the main litigant against the firm.

And FR is about more than government bureaucracy - the purpose of the site is to bring a conservative critique to mainstream media articles - hence the structure of the site as commentary on . . . posted articles.

58 posted on 02/24/2015 9:45:06 AM PST by wideawake
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To: defconw
I have no idea what all that has to do with my comments. I fully understand the numbers of people going through the government machines and the fact there are now so many laws and regulations, half the population are now in violation at any given time. I think something like 900 new laws went into effect Jan 1......Again.

Just look at your courts nowadays. They have more cash registers than your typical Super Walmart with lines of people to match.

59 posted on 02/24/2015 9:47:53 AM PST by dragnet2 (Diversion and evasion are tools of deceit)
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To: Jim Noble

There is no definition of “adequate healthcare.”


60 posted on 02/24/2015 9:48:38 AM PST by wideawake
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