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."
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. They need to do this before any more women die needlessly. This was grim reading folks! Don’t read at night or you’ll have trouble sleeping. It was the mortality (death) reviews that were the worst.
In 2023 Gov. Hobbs and Director Thornell told the ACLU they were dedicated to all the reforms listed in the class action suit. Two years later, patients are dying of preventable suicides and medical conditions. The report implemented a pilot program (which we wrote about) on San Carlos unit…..it lasted 8 whole days.
Naphcare said “overcrowding and understaffing” was the problem. THEY are the problem. Here are some highlights:
- NP’s RN’s and PA’s are still caring for complex medical patients who should be cared for by physicians.
- Mental health has over (statewide)100 vacant positions, and the patient never sees the same provider twice.
- The Naphcare computer is cumbersome and inadequate in providing patient data to the clinician with information when they need it.
- Nurses practice as physicians.
- Thousands of off-site specialist appointments are delayed.
- Virtual TV exams are rampant when hands-on care is necessary.
- Naphcare has a 97% FAILURE rate for the timely completion of specialist referrals. These are life-saving appointments to Cardiology, Neurological, and Chemotherapy doctors.
- One of the worst things the DOC does is place nurses at the forefront of evaluating, diagnosing, and treating patients. This system is not in general use in the community because of its dangers, but it’s even more dangerous in a prison setting.
- Lying about emergency equipment: Naphcare said it had the equipment, but when ACLU checked it wasn’t there.
- Suicide: It demonstrated a substantial avoidable risk of death by suicide within the ADCRR.
- The DOC lacks Continuity of Care. They are understaffed and have unmanageable caseloads.
- ADCRR fails to have a minimally safe mental health care system.
- ACLU also found profound, deep-rooted, leadership problems.
We urge you to read the whole report to fully understand what danger your loved ones are in at Perryville. You can find it here: https://prisonlaw.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/25.01.07-Jensen-Monitors-Second-Interim-Report-to-Court.pdf
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 care in evaluations, biopsies, and surgery.
Recently, I was subjected to substandard care from an NP, practicing in a filthy room, in an abandoned building, in an abandoned Unit (Santa Maria).
On January 6th, this NP with unknown credentials, put his UNGLOVED finger on my squamous lesion, then proceeded to poke me in the eye! He thought he was going to do a biopsy on my lesion which is 2 cm from my left eye. I refused. In 2021 Provider April McEwen was going to do a biopsy on my face, and Dr. Ibrahim, our board-certified MD for Perryville, stopped her. He said, ” No PA, NP, or RN should ever do a biopsy on the face. You don’t have enough clinical hours for that. The face is full of nerves and one wrong move could be devastating. Send her out.”
Don’t try to save money by causing permanent injury to a patient’s face. And don’t do clinical procedures in a filthy environment, in an abandoned building/unit.”
Woman with 2 uterine masses, cirrhosis, and portal hypertension fights with Naphcare for a doctor
Ms. R. has been churning out urgent grievances to get healthcare for her diagnosis. Naphcare denies her at every turn. She is in constant, severe pain from the uterine masses discovered by CT Scan at Abrazo West hospital. Naphcare denied her request for a hysterectomy...
Breaking News! Has the DOC sabotaged the Injunction App?
For our readers who don't know why this is so critical, let us explain it to you. On April 7, 2023, the United States District Court for the District of Arizona entered a Permanent Injunction to address the unconstitutional provision of health care and the...
Terminal Cancer Patient, Formerly in Hospice, “in Agony” at Perryville’s San Carlos
(Ed. note: We have seen the patient's original X-ray report and copy of the letter she sent to the Prison Law Office, and of course, we did a one-on-one interview. This article starts with an overview of her situation taken from the letter to Prison Law.) "My name is...
When is Deliberate Indifference Like Murder? How a 26-Year-Old Died at San Carlos
(Jowell Jones was only 26 years old with her whole life ahead of her when she was tragically cut down by alleged negligent health care. Many girls close to her were interviewed for this story, so this is a composite of those observations. Only first-hand eyewitness...
Woman Suffering Weeks Of Severe Mental Breakdown, And They Don’t Care, And They Do Nothing
A minimum security dorm-style warehouse has 8x6 cubes in 12 rows x 12 columns. The cube is completely open because the partitions of this living space only come up to your hip. The security cameras can see, the guards can see, and all the residents can see every cube....
Woman:”I’m in a wheelchair forever, thanks to DOC’s medical vendors’ neglect and malpractice “
M.J.'s medical nightmare began July 22, 2021. She woke up with no balance and her right leg dragging. M.J. immediately called an ICS and was seen by Provider Johnson. He diagnosed it as neuropathy without ordering an MRI or XRAY. Later that week she fell and hit her...
Elderly Diabetic With Sepsis Forced On Her Knees
A woman in her 70s was told to get on her knees and CRAWL FULLY CHAINED into a van to go to the hospital. This all started with a spider bite on the woman's stomach. When you have diabetes, any wound can become easily infected. The lady did go to medical when she got...
Woman Left in Agony for Hours at San Carlos
An Air Force veteran we featured before, had another severe injury to her previously broken leg. Her knee and ankle were left hideously swollen just before 11 am count. CO Lara was informed immediately, but she asked the inmate if she could wait until count had...
Are These Some Of The Reasons Perryville Residents Have Such An Alarming Rate Of Cancer?
This took some deep digging, and investigative interviews to finally nail down what is labeled "Not for human consumption". The prevailing answer was it's the "mechanically separated chicken" inmates call shmeat. But no! It is something much more diabolical, and so...
Warden, Would You Eat In A Restaurant That Had No Dishwasher?
We were astounded to learn that San Carlos has NO DISHWASHER. How that escaped our attention for so long is mystifying, but we recently had a slew of letters about it. In interviewing residents that worked at Carlos kitchen, we were able to get a clear picture of the...
No-Care Naphcare sued for $26.75 Million!
This was the verdict in Washington State, for the death of Cindy Hill after being denied care for a ruptured a intestine. Naphcare was accused of "subjecting inmates to risk of serious harm" and "putting profits over the medical wellbeing of inmates." The complaint...
New Data from World Prison Brief
This organization counted 2,068,800 US citizens incarcerated. That is an astounding 25% of the world's total prison population. Keep in mind we comprise only 4.17% of the world's total population in 2023, giving America the highest per capita rate of incarceration....
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.