[Peace-discuss] Letters to NYT re prison suicides

[David Green]

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

March 6, 2005
The Failings of Prison Health Care (5 Letters)
 
To the Editor:

Re "As Health Care in Jails Goes Private, 10 Days Can
Be a Death Sentence" ("Harsh Medicine" series, front
page, Feb. 27), about Prison Health Services, a
for-profit company that won a contract in 2000 to
provide care at the Rikers Island jail:

I was a mental health supervisor at Rikers Island from
1987 to 1997, under a city contract with Montefiore
Medical Center to provide dental, medical and
psychiatric care for inmates. TB and AIDS patients
were treated separately in an effort to honor public
health mandates. 

At that time, the pharmacy was well stocked and
vigilant. Patients were sent to hospitals as needed.
It was not a perfect system, and as fee-for-service it
was costly. But there were many fewer inmate deaths
than under subsequent managed care providers. 

We have seen the destruction of our efforts to treat
inmates with basic dignity. A humane system has been
replaced by abuse and neglect.

Susan Braiman
New York, Feb. 27, 2005

• 

To the Editor:

Health care behind bars has been a scandal for as long
as we've had prisons and jails. A key factor is the
lack of visibility and accountability in our prisons
and jails, especially for health services.

The New York State Health Department has jurisdiction
over hospitals and clinics, whether run by the
government or not, except in prisons and jails. There,
the Health Department has historically said it has no
authority to set standards, inspect or take action to
correct violations.

An important first step to bringing health care for
inmates up to humane, professional standards would be
for the Legislature to put correctional health
facilities under the Health Department's regulatory
jurisdiction. 

Richard N. Gottfried 
Chairman
Assembly Committee on Health
Albany, Feb. 28, 2005

• 

To the Editor:

Re "Missed Signals in New York Jails Open Way to
Season of Suicides" ("Harsh Medicine" series, front
page, Feb. 28): 

Jails and prisons are an inhumane and inappropriate
solution for people with mental illness. Our mental
health system is in crisis, and people inadequately
served by the mental health system often find
themselves in the criminal justice system instead. As
a member of Rights for Imprisoned People With
Psychiatric Disabilities, I and other members of this
group who have family members in prison have seen this
suffering firsthand. 

It is time for our society to recognize that the
criminal justice system, in its handling of people
with mental illness, exemplifies cruel and unusual
punishment. Alternatives to incarceration, like
treatment programs, must be expanded so that
tragedies, like those highlighted in this article, are
no longer a reality in New York City. 

Ellen Logan
New York, Feb. 28, 2005

• 

To the Editor:

Enriching shareholders is Prison Health Services'
priority. Its executives are paid to extract profits
from tax revenues allotted to prisoner care. 

The expense of providing prisoner health care would
seem to eliminate any reasonable profit. Privatization
and profiting from it are legitimate business goals.
Providing health care to a vulnerable segment of the
population is a legitimate social goal. But in
combination, they are predatory. Why is that so
difficult to understand? 

Rebecca Stofer
Des Moines, Feb. 28, 2005

• 

To the Editor:

Private companies have been given responsibility for
prison health care, and now the patterns can be
recognized: unlicensed or uncertified "professionals";
egregious mistakes in administering drugs; withholding
of necessary medications; the use of inexperienced,
and often unqualified, medical personnel.

There was mention of the absence of a mission
statement by corporations that provide health care
services to prisons. For openers, what about "Do no
harm"?

Martha L. Merz
New York, March 2, 2005



Copyright 2005 The New York Times Company | Home |
Privacy Policy | Search | Corrections | RSS | Help |
Back to Top