And now:Ish <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> writes: From: Madeleine Skinner <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Hello to all, Apologies for the length of this extract, but it is not on-line for access and as there are so many FNs men and women out there in the Iron House (some with relatives here in the Village) I thought this a relevant use of bandwidth. The first portion is general to Correctional Facilities throughout the country, the second portion deals with Michigan, but it is useful to read that too, to get an idea of what is facing prisoners in accessing basic medical care. If you require more information about medical care conditons that may be affecting one of your loved ones in the Iron House, I suggest the CURE Office in your own states would be a good place to start. MI-CURE will be able to point you in the right direction: MI-CURE PO BOX 2736 Kalamazoo, MI 49003-2736 Snow Deer (Thanks to Ish for the disclaimer at the end of the article) ################################################################## Extract from the Michigan Chapter of CURE (Citizens United for the Rehabilitation of Errants), July 1999, page 5. .................................................................. "Questioning the background of the country's correctional health care staffs." "Two articles in the October 28, 1998 edition of The Journal of The American Medical Association questions the quality of health care staff in some of the nation's prisons. (N.B. None of the cases cited Michigan DOC staff) The article "Prison Deaths Spotlight How Boards Handle Impaired, Disciplined Physicians," notes that "The deaths in recent years of several prison inmates under the care of physicians with records of criminal or professional misconduct has critics calling on medical licensing boards to be more vigilant in protecting patients from physicians who commit serious offenses. Stronger safeguards are needed generally, critics argue, but prison populations are particularly vulnerable. In some cases, rehabilitating physician offenders has included licensure restrictions that led them to jobs in correctional settings, where surging inmate populations have sorely stressed medical staffing and care. In a second article, 'Critics Denounce Staffing Jails and Prisons with Physicians Convicted of Misconduct', the author states that, "in an effort to provide health care in their burgeoning jails and prisons, some states are hiring physicians who have been convicted of crimes or who have lost their medical licenses because of professional misconduct. Some states are even issuing medical licenses that restrict the disciplined physician's practice to prisoners. That policy is not just bad for the incarcerated, say correctional health leaders and other critics, it is bad for correctional medicine and it's bad for society." Among the cases cited in this article is a psychiatrist who lost his medical license in two different states and is now heading mental health services for Alabama's state prisons. The article's author, Andrew A. Skolnick, concluded with some observations by E. Fuller Torrey, MD, executive director of the Stanley Foundation Research Programs in Bethesda, MD, and an expert on the treatment of severe mental illness. "The vast majority of men and women in jails and prisons do not remain behind bars. Last year, 12 million incarcerated men and women were returned to society. There is a great national commitment to punish offenders, he said, but very little commitment to make sure that offenders don't leave prison in worse shape than when they enter". As cited in the lead paragraph, none of the cases discussed in these articles involved the Michigan Department of Corrections medical staff. However, a review of the monthly reports from the MDOC's Bureau of Health Care reveals how vulnerable we could be: August 1998: "All facilities have physician coverage. Standish is still being covered on a contractual basis through Correctional Health Resources. All three physicians who interviewed did not accept the position." "Western Region has a number of nursing vacancies that we have been unable to fill. It has been difficult to find candidates for nursing vacancies, and when we do find them, they are unwilling to start at the first step of the Registered Nurse 12 salary scale." September 1998: "I am concerned about the quality of dentists or lack of dentists that we have been able to attract to staff the prisons (both Civil Service and contractual)." "Eastern Region has been unable to recruit a Civil Service hygienist due to the low Civil Service pay scale. The Civil Service dental hygienist's salary, even at the top, is 60% of what the private sector in Detroit/Ypsilanti area is offering". October 1998: "There is no ophthalmology in the Marquette/Baraga/Alger area due to differences between the health care providers and the CMS. There is also no oral surgery in the SMF (Standish) area for similar reasons". (Editor's note: Correctional Medical Services (CMS) supervises managed care services for the MDOC) December 1998: "Central Region is experiencing severe staffing problems in filling nursing positions. Vacancies and medical leaves are also a problem with the Dental staff. Dental staff in the Jackson Complex are being shifted between facilities which allows us to 'hold the line' on not exceeding the threshold of waiting patients at the Consent Decree facilities." February 1999: "The process for obtaining approval for speciality services appointments is becoming cumbersome. The process for obtaining approval, through CMS, is averaging four (4) to five (5) weeks. It appears that it takes another four (4) weeks to get an appointment with speciality services." "CMS has suggested that further savings could be generated in the managed care system by contracting physician and pharmacy services now operated by the State with Civil Servants. CMS is developing a proposal which will be scrutinized by the MDOC, Civil Service, Department of Management and Budget, and other State agencies." March 1999: "Regional dentists have stated they think the issue of salary increases needs to be revisited." Our concern is that competative salaries and acceptable working conditons are just as critical as thorough background checks and high standards in attracting and retaining competant medical staff." ###################################################################### Reprinted under the Fair Use doctrine of International Copyright Law. http://www4.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/107.html
