I've been hearing nothing but complaints about Wexford since they took over - especially about the delays in getting prescribed medications to people. The biggest snafu next to the Hep C incident seems to be the 4 cases of Botulism at Eyman in August, though, which no one is talking about. Check out the excerpts from the letter below. Three of the botulism cases went undetected for over a week, despite the fact that the first guy who got ill was on life support and the three who ate with him (no, it wasn't hooch - they were cooking food in their cell) were begging for medical care - which they were repeatedly denied - as their symptoms progressed. One guy told the guards it was hooch they got sick from just because that was the only way the guard would take him to medical. I'd think the CDC would have something to say about the prison medical (and security) staff blowing off something this significant...
------From ASPC-Eyman (September 3, 2012)----
--------from the AZ Republic------
Arizona fines provider of prison health care
by Craig Harris - Sept. 28, 2012
The Republic | azcentral.com
The Arizona Department of Corrections has levied a $10,000 fine
against Wexford Health Sources Inc., a new private medical-care
provider for inmates that is accused of improperly dispensing medicine
and wasting state resources.
The DOC called on Wexford to fix staffing problems, properly
distribute and document medication for inmates, show a sense of
urgency and communicate better with the state when problems occur.
Wexford was fined over the actions of a nurse who caused a hepatitis C
scare in August at the Arizona State Prison Complex-Lewis in Buckeye,
and for failing to properly report the problem to authorities.
Corrections Director Charles Ryan in a statement said the state's
demands, called a cure notification, give the state and Wexford an
opportunity to "improve communications and ensure the health care
needs of the inmates incarcerated by the State of Arizona are being
met."
Ryan was not available to answer questions. Bill Lamoreaux, a DOC
spokesman, declined to answer specific questions about the matter.
Wexford was hired after the Republican-controlled Arizona Legislature
pushed to privatize inmate health care to save money. The DOC in
strongly worded letters to Wexford alleges the company forced the
state to use public employees to fix its deficiencies. The amount of
wasted tax dollars was not disclosed. Arizona houses close to 40,000
inmates.
Lamoreaux declined to answer if taxpayers were still saving money with
Wexford's services.
The Pittsburgh-based company took over inmate care July 1 after
winning a $349 million, three-year contract. The company plans to
appeal the fine, according to Wexford spokesman Jason Rose. Wexford,
in a letter to Ryan, contends the conditions of health care in the
state prison system were poor and problems existed prior to
privatization.
The Arizona Republic learned of the punishment after filing a public
records request Friday. The state on Sept. 21 sent a seven-page letter
to Wexford outlining the company's alleged deficiencies, according to
documents obtained under the Arizona Public Records Law. The state on
Friday notified Wexford it had until Oct. 22 to respond to the notice.
In that letter, the DOC says:
A Wexford nurse on Aug. 17, at the Arizona State Prison
Complex-Perryville in Goodyear, improperly administered medication to
an inmate by having the inmate "lick the powdered medication from her own hand," instead of putting the medication in a small cup of water.
In August, the state learned that "a significant number of inmates may
not have been receiving their medications as prescribed due to expired
prescription(s) and inappropriate renewals or refills." The state said
Wexford showed a "lack of urgency" to correct the problem, and the
state had to deploy staff "to identify inmates in need of medication
renewals."
An inmate was found hanging from a sheet in his housing unit in
Florence on Aug. 23. The state determined that the inmate had not
received his psychotropic medication for the entire month of August,
prior to his hanging, and Wexford's failure to deliver the medication
was a "significant, non-compliance issue." Records do not indicate if
the inmate survived.
On Aug. 27, a nurse hired by Wexford contaminated a vial of insulin,
potentially exposing roughly 100 inmates at the state prison in
Buckeye to hepatitis C. Another Wexford nurse was aware of the problem
Aug. 27, but she did not file an incident report until Sept. 4,
violating policy. The state was forced to deploy additional compliance
monitoring staff to correct the problem. It said Wexford failed to
follow established nursing protocols, mismanaged documents and engaged
in inadequate and inaccurate communication.
At the Goodyear prison, meanwhile, a known case of whooping cough, a
reportable infectious disease, went unreported to DOC staff and
Wexford's state-level management for 30 days, indicating a "lack of
urgency" and a "lack of awareness of the situation's potential
seriousness."
"This is more proof that privatization is not saving us money, not
providing better services and is not any more efficient," said
Caroline Isaacs, program director for the prison watchdog group
American Friends Service Committee. "While the state clearly had its
problems, just inserting another layer to the bureaucracy is no way to
address the problems, and it complicates the matter."
Wexford, in a letter to Ryan, said it believed in being held
accountable, but added the DOC "must recognize that the system that
was in place less than 90 days ago was extremely weak." Wexford also
said 34 people who were previously in state prison management
positions were hired by the state as monitors, and that has created a
void in "leadership and institutional knowledge that Wexford Health is
working hard to fill."
Wexford said those monitors are the same people who allowed the system
to get to its current state, and they have interfered with Wexford's
efforts to provide appropriate health-care services to inmates.
Before the problems in Arizona, Wexford had issues in other states.
Clark County, Wash., declined to renew a contract with Wexford in 2009
at its county jail and juvenile-detention center after complaints that
Wexford was not dispensing medications to inmates in a timely fashion.
And New Mexico terminated a statewide contract with Wexford in 2007
after an audit by that state's legislative finance committee found
shortages of physicians, dentists and other prison medical staff, and
noted that Wexford had failed to issue timely reports on the deaths of
14 inmates the previous year.
