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."
What is Director Thornell thinking?
We’ve been hearing for almost two years now, how Thornell wants to improve the nutrition of his residents. We were overjoyed when we heard Aramark was taking over but assumed that meant the commissary too…..not so fast. Aramark only produces the food in the KITCHEN, the chow hall.
The inmates still have to eat that Keefe rubbish at the store?! We’ve been writing articles for years about how unhealthy Keefe store “food” is, and they’re still keeping them?? Nothing but high sodium, high sugar, ultra-refined carbs guaranteed to give diabetes, high blood pressure, stroke, cancer, and heart attacks.
It all comes down to the Almighty Buck doesn’t it……artificial low bids by Keefe and major kickbacks to the ADCRR.
ACLU coming to Perryville before Judge Silver’s big decision
The ACLU always gets its ducks in a row before going to court. In the long-running Jensen v Thornell lawsuit this is especially important. Judge Silver announced she would render a major decision in the case toward the end of August.
Lawyers for the ACLU will be interviewing patients and reviewing medical records, to prove to the Court how life-threatening it can be to reside in an Arizona prison. Families and inmates have written us with terrifying stories of medical malpractice and deliberate indifference, which we have forwarded to the ACLU.
This time, we hope Judge Silver does the right thing and puts the whole prison system under receivership!
Reuters: Naphcare had the highest DEATH RATE of inmates!
Reutors News published a report that reviewed 500 jails and prisons and found that Naphcare had the highest death rate among healthcare contractors. The runners-up in the death march were Corizon, Wellpath, and PrimeCare.
Despite this dismal performance, AZDOC awarded Naphcare a 1.4 billion dollar contract in 2022, representing a 74% increase in what they were paying Centurion.
The Arizona Republic revealed a cozy relationship with Larry Gann, the then Director of Medical Services for the DOC. Larry testified in Federal court that he worked for Naphcare as Director of Nursing in 2006, and then worked for them for the next nine years, becoming vice-president in 2015. Cozy indeed.
We have often wondered why some inmates are rushed to the hospital via ambulance, while others are transported by DOC van in a much slower process. In a Prison Legal News article, we think we found the answer. In contracts with other prisons, Naphcare received $1,000 in monthly bonuses if they ordered no more than 15 ambulance trips. Another $1,000 bonus was paid if there were under 30 referrals to off-site physicians in a month.
David Fathi of ACLU Washington, DC said, “It’s hard to imagine a more blatant and inappropriate disincentive to provide care than a financial penalty.”
Patient Finds Erroneous Information In Her Medical File
We get many reports of people in Perryville that find wrong records in their files. This particular patient was undergoing an endoscopy when the doctor asked about her liver transplant. "Liver transplant?!" she exclaimed. She had never even come close to having one....
Wrong Diagnosis of Cancer Could Have Caused Suicide!
.(See June 24th story of "Another cancer causality on Carlos") Provider JOHNS misdiagnosis of end-stage cancer put GG in severe mental distress. Reportedly, she spoke of ending her life between tears of grief. GG was put in IPC to, allegedly, receive " better pain...
Elderly Woman Endures 3 Days With Broken Femur, With Only Muscle Rub For Pain!
This one takes the cake. We'll let her tell it in her own words. We will call her "Sue". "I collapsed again on San Carlos, but this time I woke up to terrible pain. My leg was at an awkward angle, but when I tried to straighten it the pain made me pass out again. The...
Diabetic Had Toe Amputated!
(Please refer to our previous report on this patient entitled, *Diabetic faces amputation due to No Care Naphcare*) From the patient herself. "The week before I was admitted to the hospital, I called for an ICS due to the severe pain in my foot. I have subsequently...
One Wrong Shot Left Young Woman Wheelchair Bound
Corizon, the now bankrupted health insurance provider, sent this young lady to a Pediatric surgeon for a very rare congenital bone disease surgery. She should have gone to an Orthopaedic surgeon with specialized training. Corizon is only interested in saving itself...
Diabetic Faces Amputation Due To No Care Naphcare
This is a very sad story, but unfortunately emblematic of a growing healthcare crisis at Perryville. As you may know, diabetics have trouble with their feet from this disease. We will call her Pat. For two months Pat had been in and out of medical trying to resolve a...
Do DOC Staff Have the Right To Deny An ICS?
The short answer is no. So why do they try? We've been sent names of a lieutenant, a sergeant, and even an RN, that are allegedly (according to family) trying to REFUSE an inmate asking for immediate medical attention. Nowhere in policy does it say they can do that....
Medical Grievances Skyrocket Under Naphcare
Medical staff source: "We have received an unprecedented amount of grievances from patients in Perryville, regarding deliberate indifference and gross incompetence. We've had to divert a needed staff member to field these grievances full-time."
Another Cancer Casualty On Carlos
GG was another 41-year-old looking forward to returning to her tribe and family when she received a grim diagnosis... multiple myecloma. In the weeks leading up to this, she was treated by the No Care Naphcare staff for "gas". It was twisted irony that 16 hours before...
Medical Off-Site Appointments Being Turned Away
As we have reported in earlier stories, Banner has stopped taking Naphcare insurance. This is another installment in I-dont-believe-they-did-this saga. From inmate's email. "I had been waiting four months for an endoscopy. Finally, I knew my appointment was imminent...
Medical Officer: “Naphcare Is In So Much Trouble Now, Receivership Will Be Soon.
What that officer was referring to was the Feds taking over the health care of Arizona prisoners. We feel Judge Silver will have no choice but to do this, as reluctant as she is to do so. You have read the many stories on this site about the horrendous neglect of our...
W.E.’s Story
(This is W.E.'s story) " I was born in September of 1950. I have diabetes, heart disease, and COPD. The first week I was at San Carlos an LVN (who shouldn't be doing injections anyway), overdosed me by 10 cc's of insulin. Instead of 4 cc of insulin, she gave me 14! As...
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.