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May
10, 2019 cnn.com
Dangerous jail births, miscarriages,
and stillborn babies blamed on the same billion dollar company
(CNN)When two Florida public defenders wrote to the Broward Sheriff's
Office last week that a mentally ill woman, Tammy Jackson, had been forced
to give birth alone in her jail cell, they slammed the facility and its
medical staff for putting both her and her infant daughter at "grave
risk." "Six hours and 54 minutes after asking for help, a
[Broward Sheriff's Office] tech notified medical staff that Ms. Jackson was
holding her newborn baby in her arms, having delivered her baby without medication
or the assistance of a physician," wrote the attorneys. "Your
staff did not protect either Ms. Jackson or her child." While the
media attention surrounding this incident has been on the jail itself, the
medical provider hired by the sheriff's office was the one directly
responsible for Jackson's care. The private contractor, Wellpath,
is the largest correctional health care provider in the country -- the
result of a recent merger between a company called Correct Care Solutions,
or CCS, and a smaller competitor, Correctional Medical Group Companies
(CGMC). The Supreme Court has ruled that providing health care to inmates
is mandated by the US Constitution. For Wellpath,
this job is projected to bring in annual revenues of $1.5 billion. A CNN
analysis of federal court records over the past five years shows that the
company has been at the center of lawsuits involving at least six different
facilities. The lawsuits allege that pregnant women have been subjected to
inhumane and dangerous conditions and treatment that in some cases have
allegedly led to miscarriages and infant deaths. Public records also reveal
how at least one county that hired the company found medical staff had
given Librium, a powerful benzodiazepine, or tranquilizer, to multiple
pregnant inmates. Librium's label recommends against the use of the drug
during pregnancy because of potential risk to the fetus. Wellpath did not respond to requests for comment about
Jackson or the other cases involving pregnant women in its care -- all of
which had been filed against the companies that became Wellpath.
Five were filed against CCS, while a sixth was filed against the California
Forensic Medical Group, a CGMC company. At a Kentucky jail, a 24-year-old woman
who was 21 weeks pregnant allegedly complained of contractions and
"severe pain," but a CCS nurse determined that her baby was not
in distress, according to the lawsuit. More than nine hours later, the
lawsuit states, she passed a blood clot, but an ambulance was not called
for nearly two hours. She eventually gave birth to her child in her
underwear while restrained as the ambulance transported her to the
hospital. The baby died within hours at the hospital, and the mother
suffered significant blood loss and had to be treated for mental distress,
according to the lawsuit. The case is ongoing, and the company has denied
in court filings that it provided negligent or unconstitutional care. When
a 36-week pregnant inmate at a jail in New Mexico told the CCS medical
staff she was in labor, the physician allegedly cleared her to return to
her locked pod. As the woman began giving birth, emergency medical
technicians arrived. But, according to the lawsuit, the doctor refused to
help. The umbilical cord was wrapped tightly around the baby boy's neck,
and the lawsuit states he was ultimately determined to be stillborn. In
court filings, the contractor denied that it had caused the baby's death,
noting the inmate had admitted to using drugs -- including during her third
trimester. The case remains ongoing.
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