Glimpse Into The Future: Nature's AI-Generated Articles On Correctional Healthcare; 1115 Approvals In Closing Days Of Biden Administration

Highlighted Stories

Editor's Note

As we await the impact of the new administration’s policies on healthcare within correctional facilities—particularly regarding Medicaid—we are featuring a series of articles from Nature. These AI-generated articles, based on previously published studies, offer overviews of palliative care, mental health disorders, and rehabilitation. While the summaries don’t present groundbreaking insights that would surprise our subscribers, they are among the first AI-generated stories focused on healthcare in corrections, and we thought our subscribers would find them of interest.

Also of interest to our readers, and included in the Highlighted Stories, are the 1115 waivers approved for Colorado and Maryland during the closing days of the Biden Administration. Following these announcements, we feature a study exploring the challenges of Medicaid enrollment and suspension within correctional facilities. Finally, the last two articles address the specific requirements outlined in the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2023 for incarcerated juveniles.

AI-Generated Articles

Palliative care in prison systems is an emerging area of research that addresses the unique challenges faced by incarcerated individuals who are nearing the end of life. As the population of older adults in prisons continues to grow, so do the health needs associated with aging and terminal illnesses. This has led to a greater focus on understanding the experiences of these individuals regarding death and dying, as well as the policies that govern their end-of-life care.

Mental health disorders are a significant concern within prison populations, where individuals often experience higher rates of mental illness compared to the general population. Recent research has focused on understanding the prevalence of these disorders, the impact of comorbid conditions, and the need for effective mental health interventions in correctional settings. The findings highlight the urgent need for comprehensive mental health programs.

Correctional theory encompasses the principles and practices aimed at understanding and improving the treatment and rehabilitation of offenders. Recent research in this field has highlighted the complex interplay between mental health, substance use, and the broader social context of incarceration. One significant area of research has been the prevalence of comorbid mental illnesses and substance use disorders among prison populations.

1115 Waivers & CAA, 2023

The Department of Health Care Policy and Financing (HCPF) is pleased to announce approval from the Centers of Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) on amendments submitted, April 1, 2024, and August 12, 2024, which will authorize services to specific eligible populations. This approval provides Colorado with the necessary authorities to cover prerelease services for individuals transitioning from correctional facilities.

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) approved an amendment to the “Maryland HealthChoice” section 1115 demonstration. Approval of this amendment provides the state authority to establish a reentry demonstration initiative. Under this initiative, the state will provide limited pre-release demonstration coverage to certain incarcerated individuals under Medicaid who have also been assessed and determined to have substance use disorder (SUD), are diagnosed with serious mental illness (SMI), or both, based on specific criteria, for up to 90 days prior to release from state managed prisons and jails.

Researchers conducted 19 semi-structured interviews with 36 multi-state leaders in carceral facilities, Medicaid agencies, local health departments and national policy experts from 2020 to 2021. Interviews covered 4 domains: (1) the role of policy in influencing carceral and reentry Medicaid practices, (2) implementation strategies to suspend and enroll incarcerated individuals into Medicaid, (3) barriers and facilitators to successful implementation, and (4) variation in implementation between jails and prisons. Participants identified logistical challenges with suspension and enrollment, including limited infrastructure for data sharing between carceral facilities and Medicaid agencies, burdensome bureaucratic requirements, and challenges with Medicaid renewal, particularly in the jail environment.

Section 2102(d)(1)(A) of the Act, as amended by section 5121 of the CAA, 2023 requires that “[s]tate[s] shall not terminate eligibility for child health assistance under the State child health plan for a targeted low-income child because the child is an inmate of a public institution, but may suspend coverage during the period the child is such an inmate.” This means that, effective January 1, 2025, states may no longer terminate otherwise-eligible children from CHIP at renewal if the only reason for the termination is that they have become an inmate of a public institution.

Since the 1960s, states and local jurisdictions have not been able to draw down federal Medicaid or Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP) funding to treat youth who are held in local detention centers or state-run commitment facilities do to the "Inmate Exclusion" policy. The Consolidated Appropriations Act (2023) made two changes to Medicaid and CHIP. Section 5121 is mandatory and requires states to leverage Medicaid and CHIP to support youth returning home after a period of incarceration by providing Early and Periodic Screening, Diagnostic, and Treatment (EPSDT) and Targeted Case Management (TCM) services. Section 5122 is optional and allows states to offer a broader array of services to youth pre-trial.

Oversite In Corrections

Editor's Comment: The first story in this section of the Weekly Update comes from Cuyahoga County, Ohio. It highlights yet another example of why COCHS considers organizations tasked with oversight of correctional facilities to be often ineffective (see Editor's Note of December 10, 2024). As the article reports, multiple deaths in Cuyahoga County’s jail have raised serious concerns. Recently, an incarcerated man, Glen Williams Jr., who had been pleading for medical attention, collapsed. A correctional officer’s response was to handcuff him. In another incident, Fred Maynard, a double amputee, choked on a peanut butter and jelly sandwich while a correctional officer looked on.

It is important to note that, like all jails in the state, this facility is under the oversight of the Ohio Bureau of Adult Detention, which is responsible for investigating medical complaints and ensuring jail standards for proper medical care. Inspectors have directed the county to address multiple deficiencies and placed it on a corrective action plan. Yet, incidents like these persist, even though Cuyahoga County's safety net provider, MetroHealth, serves as the healthcare provider in the jail.

The second article, this one from Oregon, might be even more alarming than the Cuyahoga County story. The state’s Judiciary Committee failed to question Oregon Department of Corrections Director Mike Reese about the state’s prison health system. If the legislature’s own Judiciary Committee chooses to ignore its oversight responsibilities, what is the purpose of oversight?

To help our readers understand why COCHS is being so harsh in this instance, here is a reminder of some of the troubling stories from Oregon last year (2024): women in the state prison system faced lengthy delays for routine care, such as cancer screenings (Salem Reporter); people needing medical devices like wheelchairs were denied them if they could not pay (OPB); and a man with multiple fractures was refused X-rays (Lund Report). In addition, two health officials at the Oregon Department of Corrections were placed on leave. Notably, in 2020, the department’s medical chief, Dr. Warren Roberts, had been placed on a corrective plan to avoid formal disciplinary action (Capital Chronicle).

It is truly astounding that the Judiciary Committee did not ask a single question about any of these issues.

As our readers know, COCHS believes that improvements to health outcomes have a better chance of being achieved when Medicaid coverage is extended behind the walls, granting incarcerated individuals the same rights as all Medicaid-covered individuals. However, as mentioned in today's Editor's Note, the future of Medicaid and its funding depends on the actions of Congress and the Trump Administration, leaving much uncertainty.

Cuyahoga County

After pleading for medical care for several days, Glen Williams Jr. collapsed to the floor in the Cuyahoga County Jail. No one checked for signs of life. A jail officer walked up and then walked away, pausing only to handcuff the fallen man. On that morning in January 2024, at least nine minutes passed before jail workers started CPR. Williams never responded and later died at MetroHealth Medical Center from a ruptured aorta.

Oregon

Oregon lawmakers this week had just a few questions for the Oregon Department of Corrections executive director during the agency’s first hearing of the legislative session. None of them were about the well-documented problems with prison health care, including the recent leaves of the department’s top two administrators who manage medical care for the state’s estimated 12,000 prisoners. Director Mike Reese also avoided the topic. The prison health system, meanwhile, struggles to adequately serve Oregon’s prisoners -- challenges extensively documented in court filings. Oregon last year paid a record-breaking $3.5 million to the family of a prisoner who died after court records say his heart attack symptoms went untreated at the Oregon State Penitentiary. The Oregonian/OregonLive emailed each member of both committees to ask why they did not pose any questions to Reese regarding prison medical care.

Aging

The aging of the prison population stems from a combination of factors, including longer sentences, harsh sentencing laws enacted in the 1970s and 1980s, and low rates of compassionate release. However, prisons are not designed for geriatric care. The implications for policy and practice are myriad. As the prison population ages, policymakers face mounting pressure to address the unique needs of this population group. The study calls for evidence-based interventions to improve care delivery. In the absence of evidence some facilities have introduced care units for cognitively impaired older adults, which require further evaluation to understand their efficacy. As incarcerated individuals with disabilities transition back into the community, they will place additional demands on healthcare and social service systems.

In New Jersey, a plan is being developed to create a program that would allow inmates who are 60 years old or older and who have spent 20 years in prison to ask a Superior Court judge for early release. If the individual was convicted of murder, they would need to be at least 62 and have served 30 years before they could make the same request. A judge would be required to grant this early release unless the judge decides the person is a danger to others or that releasing them would go against the interests of justice. The proposal is similar to earlier bills introduced by Senator Raj Mukherji.

Imprisonment has a major impact on a person’s psychological well-being. The proportion of older imprisoned persons is dramatically increasing worldwide, and they are likely to have greater physical and mental health needs compared to younger persons in prisons. However, there is currently a lack of research on the psychological stressors and the coping strategies of older imprisoned persons. This study has identified various ways in which the prison environment not only undermines older incarcerated persons´ psychological well-being, but also their ability to manage the stress they are experiencing.

Violence In Corrections

An inmate who suffered a violent attack in December while in custody at the Catoosa County Jail has passed away from his injuries. Now, his family is fighting for justice. Robert White was left to fight for his life after fellow inmate Erwin Vanegas reportedly attacked him while White was asleep in his cell. The Catoosa County Sheriff's Office says the two had an altercation earlier that day, and an anonymous inmate says the attack could have been prevented.

An inmate died at Onvida Health Yuma Regional Medical Center on Jan. 22, the Arizona Department of Corrections, Rehabilitation & Reentry announced on Friday. ASPC-Yuma staff found 77-year-old inmate John Smith with injuries likely caused by a physical altercation. They began performing life-saving measures with medical personnel. After emergency services were contacted, paramedics transported Smith to Onvida Health Yuma Regional Medical Center, where he was later pronounced dead.

Transgender Bans

After a district judge found “animus” toward transgender people, a federal appeals court heard arguments in a battle about a Florida law and regulations that restrict treatments for people with gender dysphoria. A three-judge panel of the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals took up Florida’s appeal of a decision last year by U.S. District Judge Robert Hinkle that the restrictions were unconstitutionally discriminatory. The restrictions prevented minors from beginning to receive puberty blockers and hormone therapy for treatment of gender dysphoria.

President Trump has ordered federal prisons to house inmates who are transgender women in men’s facilities and halt medical treatments related to gender transition. The move was part of a wide-ranging executive order issued by Mr. Trump on his first day in office meant to limit government recognition of an individual’s gender to their sex at birth.

BOP

The troubled Metropolitan Detention Center jail in Brooklyn has just two doctors on staff to care for its more than 1,100 inmates, and an opening for a third physician has gone unfilled for nearly a decade. That detail about the city’s only federal jail — which has long been plagued by delays in medical treatment, missed medical appointments, and botched cancer diagnoses — came out in a Brooklyn Federal Court hearing last week about why an inmate didn’t get all his antibiotics while in solitary, shedding more light on the horrific conditions at MDC that include a string of violent incidents and instances of medical mistreatment.

State Roundup

California

After last year’s passage of Proposition 36 — a ballot measure that allows more theft and drug crimes to be charged as felonies — some opponents warned it would trigger steep funding cuts to both reentry programs that help state prisoners and services for crime victims. But a new spending plan from the governor’s office for the upcoming fiscal year projects a relatively minimal impact to key programs. Today, it costs $133,000 a year to incarcerate a person in California, a figure that has gone up dramatically in recent years. When voters passed Proposition 47 in 2014, fewer people were serving prison time for low-level, nonviolent theft and drug crimes, and as a result, the state saved more than $100 million a year.

A prison guard sued the state Friday alleging the Corrections Department failed to protect her from being held hostage and sexually assaulted by an inmate. The complaint lays out in horrific detail the ordeal Katie Jackson, a correctional officer who worked the Sierra Conservation Center, allegedly suffered after Robert Lawrence Ransom Jr. managed to hold Jackson hostage in control booth for four hours, where she claims he repeatedly threatened, strangled and raped her. In the complaint filed in Tuolumne County Superior Court, Jackson alleged the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation failed to alert correctional officers that inmates with violent conviction had been transferred to facilities designed for lower-level offenders.

Another city is considering a no-confidence vote against San Mateo County Sheriff Christina Corpus, who is accused of nepotism, racism, homophobia, abuse of power, retaliation, conflicts of interest and lies. Millbrae has a resolution of no confidence on its agenda for Tuesday. Millbrae has a contract with the sheriff to perform police services, and Corpus was the captain assigned to run that bureau. In November, the San Carlos City Council unanimously approved a no-confidence resolution. At that time, council members were harsh in their assessment of Corpus.

Colorado

The House Judiciary Committee today passed bipartisan legislation sponsored by Representative Regina English that would reduce recidivism by improving access to quality behavioral health care in the criminal justice system. The bill passed by a vote of 6-5. HB25-1008, also sponsored by Representative Mary Bradfield, R-El Paso County, would allow for funding to be utilized to increase training opportunities for jail staff to provide services and treatments for various behavioral health disorders for Coloradans in custody.

Georgia

On Wednesday, the Chatham County Sheriff's Office (CCSO) revealed via press release that Marquan Bryant, an inmate in the Chatham County Detention Center, died on Jan. 22 at Memorial Health University Medical Center. Chatham County Sheriff Richard Coleman said he believes Bryant, 24, died from natural causes. The Georgia Bureau of Investigation (GBI) is investigating.

Hawai'i

A new survey has revealed that the vast majority of correctional staff in Hawaii are struggling with serious health conditions due to understaffing and overwork. The survey, conducted among more than 800 employees across eight correctional facilities statewide, found that 3 out of 5 workers reported suffering from conditions such as PTSD, anxiety, and depression.

Indiana

A new study shows how mental health crisis services in Indiana save the state millions in healthcare and jail costs by diverting those in crisis away from jail and hospitalization. According to a new study conducted by the company Blue & Co. and shared by the Indiana Council of Community Mental Health Centers, crisis services save the state $45 million in jail services every year. According to the study, these services also save $80 million annually in healthcare costs by cutting the need for emergency room visits and inpatient hospitalizations.

Maine

A group of female inmates at the Cumberland County jail have been taking part in a trauma-informed yoga class as a form of rehabilitation while serving their sentences or awaiting trial. The nonprofit Sea Change Yoga partnered with jail staff to hold the class weekly in the jail's gymnasium. Trade candles for fluorescent lights and yoga outfits for scrubs. Kieran Sheehan is the jail's lieutenant in charge of programs. He heard about the class through a recovery coach and worked to get a meeting with Sea Change staff and jail staff.

Maryland

A positive case of legionnaires' disease has been found at the Dorsey Run Correctional Facility in Jessup, the Department of Public Safety and Correctional Services said Sunday. According to the DPSCS, an inmate at the facility was experiencing shortness of breath, and a persistent cough earlier this week. He was taken to a local hospital, where he tested positive for legionnaires' disease. The inmate is still hospitalized, and his condition is improving, DPSCS said.

Mississippi

Mississippi lawmakers will consider requiring state prisons to provide inmates on work assignments with protective gear. The legislation follows an ongoing federal lawsuit alleging inmates at a Mississippi prison were exposed to dangerous chemicals, with some later contracting late-stage cancer.

Missouri

For nearly a year and a half, a woman has been languishing in Greene County jail, waiting to be transferred to a state mental health facility. The woman was charged with a misdemeanor, found incompetent to stand trial and ordered by the court into state-run psychiatric treatment, Greene County Sheriff Jim Arnott told The Independent. There are 418 Missourians across the state on a waiting list for a mental health bed, up from around 300 at this time last year.

In 1957, after a riot at the Missouri State Penitentiary left four men dead and 50 wounded, Missouri lawmakers created a bipartisan committee to keep watch over the state prison system. This year, with in-custody deaths at their highest level in state history and watchdogs warning prisons are overrun with drugs, three lawmakers have filed bills creating a new oversight panel with duties mirroring those given to the joint committee. With the help of the national prison advocacy group FAMM, a coalition of state and national liberal and conservative groups are pressing for Missouri to join the 19 states and the District of Columbia with an independent prison oversight board.

New Mexico

Attorney Parrish Collins says in his lawsuit the state agency has violated the Inspection of Public Records Act by failing to produce records of settlement agreements and attorneys’ fees in every civil case over inmate care since 2016 against the Corrections Department or its medical and mental health providers. Collins accuses the department of violating the state public records law by failing to provide the information within 15 days; failing to explain why it found the request “broad and burdensome”; failing to permit the records to be inspected within a reasonable amount of time; and failing to provide complete responses to his request.

New York

New York does not publish data on how many inmates are waiting for nursing home placements. One 2018 study found that, between 2013 and 2015, six of the 36 inmates granted medical parole died before a placement could be found. Complex and costly medical conditions require more nursing care, both in prison and after an inmate’s release. Prison systems attempting to discharge inmates convicted of serious crimes often find themselves with few options. Nursing home beds can be hard to find even for those without criminal records.

A coalition of advocates is rallying behind the "Treatment Not Jail" act, a proposal aimed at prioritizing mental health treatment over incarceration in New York. The initiative has garnered support from Albany Interim Police Chief Brendan Cox. Ibrahim Ayu, who spent time at Rikers Island while suffering from bipolar disorder, shared his personal experience. "For months I languished at Rikers Island, thinking I didn't have a chance to see my daughter again," he said. Ayu credits mental health courts for giving him a second chance, allowing him to live freely in his own apartment.

Oklahoma

In less than one month, Oklahoma County voters will have their say in a special election to decide who should be on the Board of County Commissioners. All four candidates for District 1 Oklahoma County commissioner said the jail is the first thing they want to fix. The election will be held on Feb. 11.

The number of inmates that died in Oklahoma prisons rose in 2024, despite Department of Corrections officials saying they had reduced violence and improved conditions across the system. According to records obtained from corrections officials through an open records request, 140 inmates died in 2024, outpacing 2023 when 126 inmates died. Natural causes was listed as the top reason for inmate deaths. The number of inmate suicides increased from six in 2023 to nine in 2024.

Pennsylvania

The City of Philadelphia is launching a new program in the Kensington neighborhood on Wednesday, with the goal of sending those with drug addictions to treatment rather than jail. Mayor Cherelle Parker signed an executive order introducing what she calls "Wellness Court." The Kensington Wellness Court, which is a first of its kind in Philadelphia, offers an alternative to jail time for those struggling with substance abuse. It's part of the city's effort to address the ongoing challenges in Kensington.

As recently as July, the Allegheny County Jail was dosing people in its custody with addiction medication in the middle of the night. Advocates called the regimen “triggering” and “detrimental,” and doctors in the community said they wouldn’t treat patients that way. Now, the jail is dosing people at a more reasonable time and offering more types of medication — improvements that some of those same advocates are praising. Jail health care staffers are administering medications for opioid use disorder [MOUD] around 7 p.m. each night. They previously woke patients up during the overnight shift — often at 3 a.m. — to administer a single, large dose of buprenorphine, a practice officials said was due to logistical challenges around MOUD programming in a correctional setting.

South Carolina

ASGDC is in Columbia, South Carolina. It serves as the intake and detention center for unsentenced individuals charged with misdemeanors and felonies, as well as an incarceration facility for sentenced individuals. Despite positive changes, however, our investigation found systemic deficiencies in security operations that remain unaddressed and, in some cases, have worsened in recent years. These deficiencies directly relate to widespread violence in the facility and continue to require urgent and comprehensive reforms.

Over the past several years the Richland County jail has acquired an unusually grim reputation. Nine people have died in the jail since January 2023, four of them by overdose in the span of just nineteen days during the summer of 2024. High profile incidents including a riot in 2021 and the death of detainee Lason Butler, who died of dehydration during a mental health episode (his death was ruled a homicide by the Richland County coroner), have cemented the jail’s reputation. The jail is currently facing an investigation by the U.S. Department of Justice and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for South Carolina. In an effort to improve conditions and combat the jail’s negative reputation, the Richland County Administration and the county council have undertaken a monumental overhaul of the facility.

South Dakota

The South Dakota Department of Corrections is searching to fill 63 vacant medical staff positions, department officials told lawmakers Thursday at the Capitol. That’s a vacancy rate of 53% among licensed practice nurses and 40% among registered nurses. Both rates are greater than the 27% average among security staff in 2022, which garnered headlines at the time. Three years later, the prison system’s security staff vacancy rate averages 10%, department.

Wyoming

Wyoming sheriffs for years have been frustrated with the amount of time they’re holding inmates in their jails after judges order them sent to the state mental hospital for evaluation and treatment. Now, they want lawmakers to force the Department of Health to foot the bill. In an email to every member of the Legislature, Uinta County Sheriff Andy Kopp wrote that the state’s jails were housing people with mental illnesses “more than ever,” and were doing so for long periods, challenging staff, costing counties hundreds of thousands of dollars and keeping incarcerated people themselves from the care they need.

Technology & Health Monitoring

Kenton County Detention Center in Covington, Kentucky has adopted XK300 which monitors detainees vital signs. It uses highly sensitive ultrawideband radar technology to track four key things: heart rate, respiratory rate, motion and presence. It requires no participation from inmates. It can detect when the body is at rest or asleep and only captures vital signs when signal qualification requirements are met – no video or audio is collected. It also requires nothing of staff but a monitor with a web-based dashboard display – alerts are automatic when anomalies are detected. These can include configurable audio and visual signals to grab officers’ attention.

Correctional Health Care Providers

Wellpath

Editor's Comment: To help connect the dots for our readers, COCHS would like to draw your attention to the first three Wellpath articles. As many are aware, Wellpath has declared bankruptcy. Despite this, the first article reveals that Wellpath is seeking court approval to pay nearly $4.6 million in incentive bonuses to 12 executives. Meanwhile, the second article reports that in Charleston County, South Carolina, Wellpath failed to pay the medical bills of an inmate who was transferred from the jail to a care center. The third article highlights that two hospitals in Florida may be forced to close due to the bankruptcy of their parent company, Wellpath, potentially resulting in the loss of 170 jobs.

Additionally, COCHS would like to remind readers of the Editor’s Note from November 12, 2024, which discussed Wellpath’s failure to pay ambulance service bills in Michigan while serving as the healthcare provider for the state’s prison system. Clearly, those incentive bonuses are well-deserved.

Distressed prison health-care provider Wellpath Holdings Inc. wants a bankruptcy court’s permission to pay up to nearly $4.6 million in incentive bonuses to 12 executives if they meet certain performance targets. The incentive program is necessary because Wellpath’s senior management team is essential to helping the prison health firm restructure and continue running, the company said in a Jan. 17 filing in the US Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of Texas. Wellpath, which is one of the country’s largest jail and prison health-care companies, filed Chapter 11 in November.

Charleston County, the Charleston County Sheriff’s Office and its jail medical provider are being sued for failing to pay the medical bills of an inmate who suffered serious injuries inside the Al Cannon Detention Center. At the time, Wellpath was the jail’s medical provider and decided the resources and facilities at Al Cannon Detention Center could not provide the level of care required by John Doe. The lawsuit states it was determined he would be transferred to Correct Care’s Columbia Regional Care Center. Following the transition of Wellpath to VitalCore, the company did not pay John Doe’s expenses from July 1, 2023, until January 2024 when VitalCore was notified that Correct Care’s invoices had not been paid.

NeuroBehavioral Hospitals of the Palm Beaches, which operates two facilities in Boynton Beach and West Palm Beach, may close in the coming months due to the bankruptcy of its parent company, Wellpath Holdings. This potential closure could result in the loss of more than 170 jobs, according to a Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification (WARN) notice filed with the state of Florida. According to Reuters, the bankruptcy has placed immense pressure on its subsidiaries, including NeuroBehavioral Hospitals, which provide vital mental health and substance abuse treatment services.

The Santa Barbara County Board of Supervisors recently decided to allow the Sheriff’s Office to negotiate a new shorter-term contract with the current jail health care provider, despite voicing concerns about the company’s money troubles and ability to offer quality care. Since 2017, the Sheriff’s Office has contracted with California Forensic Medical Group (CFMG), often referred to by the name of its umbrella company, Wellpath. In April 2024, the Santa Barbara County grand jury uncovered systemic issues with the health care provider, including persistent staffing vacancies, lack of 24/7 mental health care, insufficient financial oversight of contract-mandated credits for staffing shortages, and significant delays in annual reporting.

In 2023, staff at Wellpath — which receives $37 million a year from the Department of Corrections — accidentally administered Tylenol and codeine to an estimated 15 people at Northwest State Correctional Facility instead of their opioid addiction medicine. Later that year, VTDigger reported that the top health care administrator at Southern State Correctional Facility had his nursing license suspended or revoked in three states. Nationally, the company faces hundreds of lawsuits, many alleging substandard care and wrongful death or injury, and the company is currently filing for bankruptcy.

YesCare/Corizon/Tehum Care

The city’s health chief says the downtown jail has made a “truly unprecedented” turnaround after a string of detainee deaths and years of complaints of inadequate medical services. Mike Milton, the executive director of the nonprofit Freedom Community Center, said he appreciated Davis’ words, but people are still suffering and waiting for help. Eighteen people have died in custody since 2020, and inmates and their family members have complained about dismal health care services. The city’s contract with its previous jail medical provider, YesCare, expired in late 2023. And in November 2023, Florida-based Physician Correctional USA was hired on a one-year emergency contract.