Health Horror Stories
"These stories of health abuse are not independently verified by the editors of this website. However, all of the women have agreed to a HIPPA release to any qualified attorney willing to take their case, or to an investigative reporter from the media."
Break Them Bones No Care Naphcare…TWICE
Two stories, in a huge list of similar orthopedic stories from Perryville.
Patient #1 fell at the kitchen and came down hard on her knee. She received the usual dismissive treatment from medical, with no ice chrono or promise of an x-ray. Her knee was the size of a basketball for a week before the nurses would even look at it. They put her off for 6 weeks before giving her an x-ray, and finding out the knee was broken in 2 places. Another 3 months went by before she saw a real doctor. He shook his head and told her he’d have to re-break it and do extensive reconstruction before she could walk on it again.
Patient #2 fared no better with her broken wrist. Medical had no time for an x-ray until 2 months later, and that showed her wrist broken in two with a chip out. Another two months for “urgent” orthopedic consult, and the doctor was amazed the prison let her arm knit crooked, with her fingers being numb. The orthopedic doctor said this would require extensive complex surgery to even restore partial use of her wrist and fingers.
Naphcare cripples.
Lori’s Strip Mall Surgeon
Lori has extreme arthritis that affects her joints, especially the hands. Six months ago she had a reputable surgeon in a hospital reconstruct her right hand….it went well.
Since then, Naphcare has had cost cutting front and center. Lori was thinking she was returning to the same place and doctor for her left hand, but she grew concerned as her van parked in a strange part of town. They went to a strip mall with the usual fast food joints, and one sign that only said “surgeon”.
The guards took her through the back alley where she met a surgeon she’d never seen before. The nurses (?) took her history and wrote down her allergies. It was plain the prison hadn’t supplied this doctor with any information about his new patient he was about to operate on.
When Lori explained the complex surgery she received on her other hand, the doctor said, ” Uh, I don’t do that kinda work. I just cut the nerves so you don’t feel pain.” Lori was horrified but was afraid to refuse for a host of reasons, retaliation being one of them. As she vacillated, the doctor grew impatient and said, “Ya wanna get rid of the pain or what?!” So, against her better judgment she complied.
Lori told the staff TWICE she was allergic to all opiates, Demerol, Morphine, ect. They put a red band on her wrist. At some point during the operation they injected her with Demerol, and she went into anaphylaxis shock!! Who didn’t see the red band on her wrist?!! They had to yank out her breathing tube, causing trauma, pushed Benadryl into her to stop the reaction.
The guards carried Lori, who was in a stupor, into the van and back to the prison, where they unceremoniously dumped her on a bed with no medical supervision for four hours!! The next morning her left arm was wrapped up, but no instructions given.
She started to really drink water, the Demerol was still in her system, and that’s when she had a secondary anaphylaxis incident where her throat closed up. A college educated inmate knew enough to keep her airway open, call for 911 and direct them to give her an epi pen before the ambulance arrived. The bay officer and so-called nurses had NO IDEA what to do to save Lori’s life….but a smart inmate did. The next few days for Lori were painful. Besides the surgery, she had sores inside her mouth and throat from the shock.
No Care Naphcare, how do you sleep at night?
Sergeant Throws Disabled Girl to the Pavement
(We received 6 signed eyewitness statements about this alleged incident that occurred on San Carlos January 22…Ed)
The eyewitness writing the grievance states, “Erica was on her tablet phone and couldn’t hear the Sergeant calling her. To get her attention, Sergeant Everett grabbed her arm, and that startled Erica, so she jerked her arm free. That movement accidentally knocked Everett’s coffee out of his hand. That so infuriated the officer (6’2, 225 lbs) that he kicked the inmate’s legs out from under her (5’1, 102lbs) and threw her to the pavement.
Erica is disabled, one leg is shorter so she has a lift, and recently had surgery for a complete hip replacement. After Sergeant Everett got Erica on the ground, he pressed his knee into her back. He yelled at her to stop resisting, and she answered, ” I’m not resisting, your knee is where my surgery was and I’m trying to straighten my leg…it hurts!” He allegedly ignored her, cuffed her, and put her in a restraint chair.
Erica was sent to Cruz reportedly without seeing medical. She allegedly suffered facial and chest abrasions, as well as great pain in her spine and hips.”
Kick the Bums (Naphcare) Out!!
(Ed. note: We read the incredibly long Monitor's Second Report to the Court, filed 1-7-25. Public access is CV-12-00601-PHX-ROS) The ACLU did a masterful job in showing Judge Roslyn Silver why she should get rid of Naphcare and put the DOC and Arizona in receivership....
Naphcare doing procedures in abandoned buildings now?
(Check out this grievance we received. What's next with these guys, a back alley in Goodyear?----Ed.) "I am grieving Naphcare's latest attempt to save itself money at the expense of inmates quality health care. Patients are happy with Regency Dermatology for complete...
EVERYTHING is Broken in Perryville
Nothing works...not even one. FOOD: Aramark was supposed to be the first thing that really changed for the good in the last 16 years, but alas, that too broke after only 3 weeks. While the Aramark supervisors were here, the prison food made a tremendous improvement...
Carlos Medical Disasters
1) Woman has surgery on her elbows. She goes to Carlos nurses line for wound care. The so-called "nurse" told that patient, "I don't see anything here from the surgeon for wound care, so I'm not touching you, giving you gauze, ointment, or anything else." That elderly...
2024 Outstanding Nurse awards…..and the winner(s) are!
This year the votes were tied for best RN of 2024: Nurse HORNER of Santa Cruz! Nurse ANDERSON of San Carlos! Congratulations to both Mrs. Horner and Mr. Anderson for the professional, life-saving, care you provide to the ladies of Perryville!
Did Grave Shift Officer ROGERS Walk by Naked Inmate in Medical Distress?
(A group of women on Charley bay tell this alleged incident.) Robin is the name of a stage 4 cancer patient who needs oxygen to survive. Robin had been complaining about a fever the night before, and this could be why in the middle of the night she had thrown off all...
Maricopa County Jail Takes Blind Woman’s Cane! Then Perryville Gives Her a Walker???
Joanna is 100% blind. When she was arrested on an ancient parole violation, she had her collapsible white cane with the red tip, universally recognized as a blind person's "eyes". The jail guards took her cane away claiming she could use it as a weapon. How? She can't...
Naphcare Gives, and Naphcare Takes Away
(Follow up article on "Did Naphcare do something right?") Well, that didn't take long. About 3 weeks ago we announced Naphcare's new continuity of care program, where each inmate was assigned her own " team" of Provider, RN, and CNA. The women were wild with...
Did Naphcare do something right??
OMG. We received a bunch of communications within the last 24 hours, about Naphcare implementing a new Provider network. Each resident is now assigned her own "team" of Provider, RN, and CNA. She sees her team each time she goes to Medical and her HNR requests are...
No-Care-Naphcare posts inmate health info online!
As reported by the Arizona Republic on Oct 2nd, Naphcare training guides, posted online some inmates' images, name, medications, and diagnosis, visible to anyone with a browser. ACLU attorneys found this while researching medical record systems used by state prisons....
The Death Van
Why do the ladies at Perryville call it that? This particular van is described by the residents as ancient, filthy, no a/c or heat, and NO STEP STOOL as required by policy. Try this in your van or truck tomorrow.... first put a belly chain on, then handcuff your arms...
San Carlos Women Going Blind
No judge sentenced these three women to a life of blindness, but incompetence by Carlos staff, and No Care Naphcare, has increased the odds of total vision loss for the women. Patient #1: Had cataract surgery at the American Eye Center in May of this year. The patient...
I was in prison for 17years and have seen so many people die in front of me It’s traumatic and I have PTSD from it. Medical never helped me for my heart problems, never took tests, just told me I have congested heart failure and didn’t do anything for me. I saw it every day. They never helped us, made us always feel like we were lying and would send us away. Making people work in the kitchen who have scoliosis, heart problems, people who have AIDS and Hep C as well as other STDs. There’s rat poop on our kitchen food, birds all over our trays that we eat off of making us all even sicker, black mold everywhere. We can’t breathe in our cells due to all the mold and crud in our walls, vents, and coolers. They are trying to kill us – they don’t care and the money they get for us does not go to us. There is so much more.
I’ve been sexually attacked by the CO police officers twice. I have my whole life to account for in there and I’m surprised I made it out after 17years. They have medium inmates on max yards getting assaulted and they don’t care. They say it is due to no room. They also send you to max yard as punishment without ever getting tickets. It’s all retaliation. They will ruin your life if you don’t do what they want. They make up lies, yep the sergeants, if you refuse to work because you don’t feel good. I heard a Sergeant say “Oh you’re going to hurt yourself” then cuff her up and put her in isolation when the girl never said it. I’ve seen it all, believe that.
Hi Cynthia! I’m not sure if you’ll see this but I am so sorry for what you went through. Thank you for sharing a glimpse of your story. I would love to ask you questions as I am exploring ideas for my doctoral capstone and am interested in issues in the AZ Women’s Prison. Is there any way we could talk further?
That was my friend 😭 she was cool ag and funny. I feel bad I had to leave San Carlos for Cruz. But fck their medical center, the whole prison is fucked up and corrupted. I’ve been out for 8 months now and I still remember everything like yesterday especially with health care. Like can the prison do an upgrade and fix their shit or will more ppl have to die like my friend here? It’s fucked up because I knew she was having a hard time in the beginning getting her shots. We both came from the same county. She wasn’t even a criminal like person. She was fun, bright and very smart, like she could’ve went to college. She had alot planned for herself…damn I love Jowell thank for the laughs and being a loyal friend. Rest in Paradise
Yeah, she was a very cool person to know. She would hug you when she saw you with a big smile. She was always cool to everyone, no hate or anger in her heart but she probably did towards ADOC health employees
I was incarcerated for 9 years and just released March 2024. In 2019, my stomach swelled up and I looked 9 months pregnant. They told me I had impacted stool and had me drink a laxative. The pain got worse, I couldn’t breath or walk and this went on for 2 months. My family contacted the ACLU and prison and finally in February 2020 I was sent to the hospital and diagnosed with Stage 3 Ovarian cancer. I was in the hospital for 10 days and started chemo. I went back to the prison and was expecting chemo every 3 weeks. It took over a 3 weeks for me to get scheduled for my next chemo. In May, I had just came back from chemo and was told I was packing up and being sent to San Carlos. I had to load and unload all of my belongings after a day of chemo and was being transferred to a yard with 1300 women. I then had surgery to remove the cancer in July and once released from the hospital was sent to Maria and put in a cell, by myself with no A/C. I had to move everything by myself and carry a chair out to take a shower. I had an incision from belly button to my pubic bone. Finally after 2 weeks, I was sent back to Carlos. I was told later that I had peritoneal cancer and not ovarian, after I had had a complete hysterectomy. I never had a follow up PET scan to make sure the cancer was gone. In March of 2023, I started seeing a new oncologist, Dr. Benjamin and he finally ordered a PET scan and saw that I had cancer again in the same area of my stomach. I had surgery again in May and started six rounds of chemo. Between the medical Dr’s John and Johnson my medical treatment at the prison was horrible. They didn’t give me anything but Tylenol and Excedrin for the pain and I had to fight to get an extra mattress and extra milk for protein shakes. If I didn’t have my family to support me and stand up for me I would have died. I applied for clemency 2 times and because I wasn’t dying in 3 months, I was refused. Something needs to change with the health system and prison.