Health Care On Rikers
New York’s massive jail system has a bad rep when it comes to inmate health.
Clinics on Rikers Island now are run by [Prison Health Services] whose contract was just renewed for another three years. Though the quality of care has improved since the days when a private hospital ran the clinics, many advocates argue the system still has an attitude of us versus them, of prisoner versus guard and of control versus the powerless — certainly not conducive to quality care.
It is a massive job.
At any one time on Rikers, there are approximately 14,000 inmates, adding up to about 100,000 admissions in a given year. They are not mass murderers, but alleged drunk drivers or drug addicts, among others convicted of misdemeanors, and about 80 percent are being detained prior to trial. About a quarter are mentally ill, according to the health department, and a third are seen as extremely frail, plagued by severe drug addictions or chronic illnesses. An average inmate stays 40 days, but the most frequent discharge from Rikers Island is on day one. The population is constantly changing, moving from facility to facility or from imprisonment to freedom … All nine jails on the island have their own clinic, and the whole population is served by one infirmary. Inmates in more serious condition are sent [to city hospitals].
Future plans are in hand:
Mayor Michael Bloomberg has made public health a hallmark of his administration, and that focus has had an effect on Rikers Island … “If we can improve the health of those that are incarcerated than we can improve the health of the communities that they come from,” said Louise Cohen, deputy commissioner for health care access and improvement.
There is a great deal more information at the Gotham Gazette.