Prison Affliction: A Reporting Series on Prison Health Care in CA

Today, KPCC broadcasted the first in a series of reports by Julie Small on the California health care system. Examining the changes and improvements to the system, Small finds mixed results. Among her discoveries:

• While the overall number of deaths of inmates decreased, the number of inmates whose deaths might have been prevented with better care actually increased.
• Independent reviews of medical facilities conducted by California's inspector general for prisons reveal that California's prisons routinely violate medical policies and protocols, leading to delays and denials of treatment for inmates.
• California officials' repeated refusal to fund the receiver's turnaround plan has delayed construction of sanitary medical facilities, computerization of health records and hiring independent executives to oversee medical care at prisons.
• The lack of infrastructure improvements and systemic change contributes to lapses in care for inmates that range from dangerous to deadly.

The presentation comes accompanied by a slideshow, but the images represent the situation a few years ago.

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props to my colleague Gail Silverstein for the link.