Corizon (formerly Correctional Medical Services, Inc.) Resources
There have been 5 major exposes of the nation's largest "provider" of "medical" services to prisoners.
Riverfront Times (St. Louis, MO)
- Dying to Get Out, by Geri L. Dreiling Some inmates tell horror stories about healthcare at the women's prison in Vandalia. Some didn't live to tell their tales.
- Update: The Oct 29, 2004 (link no longer active) issue has a reply letter from a Sr. VP at CMS, and a supportive letter from a prison nurse.
Harpers Magazine:
- Sick on the Inside: Correctional HMOs and the coming prison plague by Wil S. Hylton, Harpers Magazine August 2003, p. 43-54
- Followup: The January 2004 issue of Harpers contained a letter from a Sr. VP for CMS responding to the Harpers article and a reply from author Wil Hylton (pages 6-8). Unfortunately, that important exchange is not available online. In CMS's letter, they cite to a detailed response to the article on their website.
Columbia (Missouri) Tribune:
- Dying to Get Out. Mike Fuhrman of The Columbia Tribune spent six months examining the care that inmates receive, the deaths of more than 300 inmates and allegations of neglect. The results of that investigation are outlined in this 3 day, 14-story series. (September 29 to October 1, 2002).
Journal of the American Medical Association Medical News and Perspectives:
- Prison Deaths Spotlight How Boards Handle Impaired, Disciplined Physicians by Andrew A. Skolnick. JAMA Medical News & Perspectives JAMA. 1998;280:1387-1390 (October 28, 1998)
- "Only the Tip of the Iceberg"? by Andrew A. Skolnick. JAMA Medical News & Perspectives JAMA. 1998;280:1388-1389 (October 28, 1998)
- Critics Denounce Staffing Jails and Prisons With Physicians Convicted of Misconduct by Andrew A. Skolnick. JAMA Medical News & Perspectives JAMA. 1998;280:1391-1392 (October 28, 1998)
St. Louis Post-Dispatch:
- Death, Neglect and the Bottom Line: Push to Cut Costs Poses Risks, by William Allen and Kim Bell St. Louis Post-Dispatch (September 27, 1998)
- Prisoner, doctor who treated him, both had drug arrests By Andrew Skolnick Special to the Post-Dispatch and Kim Bell Of the Post-Dispatch (September 27, 1998)
- Two key posts in Alabama were filled by doctors with checkered histories by Andrew Skolnick, St. Louis Post-Dispatch (September 27, 1998)
- Physicians with troubled pasts have found work behind bars by Andrew A. Skolnick, St. Louis Post-Dispatch (September 27, 1998)
Update: Corizon is the cover story in the March 2014 Prison Legal News.
Other documents on CMS and their competitors
- A Review of the Medical Services at the SC Department of Corrections (March 2000) by South Carolina General Assembly Legislative Audit Council
- Prison Health Services: As Health Care in Jails Goes Private, 10 Days Can Be a Death Sentence, by Paul Von Zielbauer, Prison Legal News, August 2005, p.1. (A series of deaths leads to concerns over Prison Health and loss of contracts in up-state New York.)
- Prison Health Services: Missed Signals in New York Jails Open Way to Season of Suicides, by Paul Von Zielbauer, Prison Legal News, August 2005, p. 11. (Under the supervision of Prison Health Services, several suicides were committed in New York.)
- Harsh medicine: A Company's Troubled Answer for Prisoners With H.I.V. (Prison Health Services in Alabama) by Paul von Zeilbauer, New York Times, August 1, 2005
- How the Legislature eliminated the state's prison health care watchdog (the Florida legislature ends the Correctional Medical Authority, an independent organization that monitored the Florida prison healthcare system's compliance with the 8th amendment), by Travis Pillow, The Florida Independent, August 29, 2011
- The investigative report U.S. jails are outsourcing medical care — and the death toll is rising by Reuters found that jails relying on private healthcare companies had an additional 2.3 to 7.4 annual deaths per 10,000 inmates.
Last update: November 19, 2021
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