Health Care Services

Not only affects me, with the poor quality of health care, there are other clear numbers of complaints by other prisoners, which also can be categorized by:

1) Delays in being seen.

It now takes a week to sometimes a month, for inmates to be seen if they're even seen at all, after putting in a sick slip. And can be described from minor treatments to inmates having prolonged pain, from not being seen or treated at all, due to unrelated illnesses, unidentified from an inmate not being sent to a hospital or the H.S.U. by a unit correctional officer.

2) Delays and errors in filling prescribed prescriptions. It is bad enough that it takes several days if not weeks on end for prescribed medications to be filled and dispensed by the contracting pharmacy of U-Mass Correctional Health Services. Because the over the counter medications which have been ordered are not in stock. The same issue similarly arises should there be an institutional lockdown; where an inmate seeks a refilling of his keep on person (KOP's) medications, we often find that the nurse on duty/responsible will cancel her/his obligation/duties based on the prison being on lockdown. They will not check with the inmates. And God forbid if the nurse walks by the inmate's cell door, and the inmate [illegible] for the nurse's assistance. The inmate will be subject to Holy Hell, for not knowing she/he was in the block, a lot of the times it falls upon the block officer, who does not announce or will not announce the nurse's presence. ["Which would eliminate this type of a situation"... But that would then be asking the block officers too much "to do"]. I know that, a lot of times when prison advocacy organizations/groups, bring these issues to the attention of whomever, the response to your inquiry is always appeased with.

"We are short staffed in all areas"

"Bull crap", they're not short staffed in any of these areas, nor underfunded or financially cutbacks being the reason why
Medical
Correctional officer
Mental health workers
Case worker/CPO I; II; III;
Administrative staff
cannot keep up with all of the problems being complained about.

Did you know that aside of inmate co-payments for medical, and the processing of money being sent to prisoners by family members.

That the Department of Corrections takes 35 to 45% of the inmate's canteen funds/account. And that what they claim to be using this money for, really is not being used for what they say it is.

MOVIES they show are repeats that they purchased over six years ago if not older.

RECREATION EQUIPMENT, that was purchased when this institution was just opened (1998) is just now being installed on each of the units' recreational areas & blocks. And being listed as items just purchased.

I say this because it's true, as well as a misappropriation of inmate funds & canteen account.

Inmates don't receive interest rates on the finances in their personal or savings accounts but yet we have to pay taxes for items purchased through the inmate canteen/commissary that is a privatized enterprise under contract by the Commonwealth of Massachusetts.

Whatever happened to ?!? any or all of the state's institutional mindsets, being a ward under the state's 11th amendment, of "immunity" or "umbrella of immunity".

"Sorry" about getting off track but it angers me, when it's as clear as NIGHT and DAY and nothing ever is done to change the problems, within the prison. 'Cept for the fact that somebody else's pockets were lined - to forget the concerns about inmates, then given a plush job and another monetary kickback to be quiet. I've seen things happen to the extent that some family members of inmates, get kickbacks for their family members outside, not to further pursue prison conditions or visitations that they've "started out" as being a part of the prison movement for change, nor the violent, inhumane classification, living conditions; medical deaths; suicide; visitation complaints; lack of programs; etc, etc, i.e., that or those type of displays or counterproductive personalized endearments/power hustlings, defeats... prison struggles or causes.

Back to medical issues.

For those inmates who choose not to [illegible] their medications as (KOPs) keep on person. When medication lines are announced, it is normally announced as a last call for medications in the block because the nurse's assignments to dispense medication normally work for or in the housing units they choose to work, because it is usually the block or housing unit where either their husband or boyfriend to be is stationed, to work for that day.

So they, the nurse, may spend a half an hour chatting with their boyfriend or husband before they decide to distribute the medications to the 50 or so prisoners.

Such insubordination of both the nurse and guards' condescending attitudes goes unchecked. And should an inmate take posture with regards to this type of behavior, that inmate will be blackballed for doing so by nurses & other guards and called a RAT!! Before his peers by guards wherever he lives or walks throughout the institution.

The medication line only runs three times per day, which is not really sufficient enough for inmates who need to take their medications four times a day. And it becomes particularly very frustrating when you're denied the medical treatment prescribed and you're told that it's not available.

3) Then there's the dispensing of the wrong medications, which happened to me on several occasions within the last year and a half. And although I had INFORMED the nurse dispensing the wrong medications to me, she responded in a very loud and aggressive manner, What are you trying to play me!!

The guard that was making the rounds with her, the nurse was hoping that I would respond back to the nurse, because all he wanted to do is to write a disciplinary report on me, instead of an incident report against the nurse for dispensing the wrong medication to me.

4) Then there is the unwillingness to order expensive but necessary medication for the hepatitis (C) & (A) treatment care. Years ago when I was housed at the Laurence House of Correction, if we wanted to shave, everyone had to share the same razor and razor blades that that facility provided to each inmate to use. Also there was them old rusty tar buckets that each inmate was given as personal toilet bowl.

Needless to say, I had got two cuts, one on my left hand and one on my thigh. I never thought that a big ole strong buck like me would ever get sick from two minor cuts, I thought.

It only took two and a half weeks before I was unable to walk and everything and part of my body was swollen up and I was in excruciating pain.

I was taken out to an outside hospital and shot up with some painkillers. I was told that I had "jaundice" 'cause my skin tone and eyes were yellowish. Who knew that it would later be named "hepatitis" where there's a large number of inmates like myself who are being denied treatment nor the legal assistance or procedures that require outside treatment, a lot of this

"To be continued"