Receiver Releases First Report On California Prison Medical Care

PROBLEMS REACH DEEP INTO STATE GOVERNMENT
PHARMACY AUDIT PRODUCES PLAN TO FIX
SAN QUENTIN PROJECT LAUNCHED

MEDIA AVAILABILITY FOR ROBERT SILLEN, RECEIVER 12pm
U.S. District Courthouse, 450 Golden Gate Avenue Entrance, San Francisco

SAN FRANCISCO (July 5, 2006) — Robert Sillen, court-appointed Receiver of the state’s prison medical care system, released today his first report to the federal court, after approximately 60 days in his role as leader of the restructuring and development of a constitutionally adequate medical care system for inmate patients in California’s prisons.

“Medical care in our prisons is disgraceful, despite the efforts of many committed individuals to make it work,” said Sillen. “The problem is much worse and more complex
than anyone originally thought. Inmates aren’t the only prisoners – everyone working in the corrections setting is a prisoner to state policies and procedures, rules and regulations, that make it virtually impossible to accomplish positive change.”

The receivership was established by Honorable Thelton E. Henderson, judge in the U.S. District of Northern California, four years after the settlement of a class action law suit (Plata v. Schwarzenegger) contesting that medical care in California’s prisons constitutes a violation of the Eighth Amendment. After several years of failure by the State to fulfill court orders to improve care, Henderson appointed Sillen as Receiver to oversee operations and direct improvement in the quality of medical care, stripping that function from the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR). Sillen was appointed in February and started work in April. It is expected to be a multi-year effort.

“This is an emergency,” Sillen said. “But help is on the way. The problem did not develop overnight and it won’t get solved overnight. However, there are immediate actions we can take to provide relief in the clinical trenches while at the same time developing a big picture strategy for systemic change. We’re here to do this — not to continue to explain to people why it should be done.”

Highlights of the report include:

The Receiver’s evaluation and conclusion that the problems besetting the state’s prison medical care system extend beyond CDCR to include the state agencies, departments and leadership whose activities affect CDCR’s ability to operate the burgeoning prison system.
Audit findings of the prison pharmacy system by Texas-based Maxor National Pharmacy Services Corp., an expert in correctional health care. The report identifies ways to save money and improve the quality of care in prison pharmaceutical operations, which today are costly, inefficient and unsafe. Maxor has estimated that California taxpayers foot the bill for pharmaceutical costs to the tune of $46 to $80 million more than prison systems of similar size.
An intensive 90-day project at San Quentin, starting today, that will create a clinical environment where health care professionals can provide improved medical care to inmate patients.

Sillen will be available to discuss these topics with the media today at noon at the federal courthouse in San Francisco.

The approximately 30-page report to Judge Henderson is posted through Friday on the U.S. District Court for Northern California web site at http://www.cand.uscourts.gov/ under the “current interest” section. After that, it can be found by following links to Judge Henderson’s “rulings and examples.”