The receiver who once ran California's prison health care system promised three years ago that he would use his court-backed muscle to build a new medical facility in record time.
The pledge has come true with the opening of a $136 million, five-story hospital at San Quentin State Prison - four months earlier than its ambitious schedule and $10 million under budget.
Yet the state-of-the-art facility already is a relic from a time when California had money and the federal receiver could act with impunity. Its aggressive advocate, receiver Robert Sillen, is gone, too.
Officials showed off the 50-bed hospital and its dental, medical and mental health outpatient clinics in an exclusive tour for The Associated Press last week, even before it was seen by top state officials. Parts of the facility are already in use and the rest are scheduled to open in January.
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