Idaho Prison Blog

Prior to April 1, 2020, nurses would wheel their pill carts to each unit in the ISCC to distribute medications 3 times a day. This allowed staff to closely monitor the (actual) taking of prescribed medications, from aspirin to opioids, anti-seizure meds to female hormones on the tiers. This method limited the number of prisoner interactions and maintained both security as well as social-distancing with prisoners from other units. In the new model, prisoners from several units at a time are required to congregate together in the main hallway in front of the medical department where 3 nurses attend pill carts labeled A-G, H-O and P-Z. Prisoners from various units are released for meals and all converge on carts, or walk to the chow hall, opting to receive their pills on the way back from feeding. Prisoners must then divine where the line for "their" cart begins/ends and stand amongst up to 75 others waiting for pills. Often, one or more carts will have no prisoners in the line ...

In what can only be described as sheer ignorance (or maybe it's just a "don't care - we do what we want attitude) Corizon Health Services Administrator Chris Johnson is now forcing prisoners to place themselves and others in harms way in order to receive prescribed medical treatment. In a case of pure medical neglect, prisoner Dale Shackelford was prescribed the use of a TENS (Transcutaneous Electrical Nerve Stimulation) device by a medical provider to alleviate severe pain in his knees. While these TENS devices have been prescribed and distributed to several prisoners in ISCC and every other IDOC facility for years, Shackelford and others to whom these have been recently prescribed are told they are required to sit in the medical department to use the device for an hour or more at a time - several days per week, in crowded hallways or examination rooms with other patients being treated for issues such as oozing boils on their buttocks and dry hacking coughs, amongst many ...

In a March 13, 2020 email, Josh Tewalt, Director of IDOC informed prisoners that the medical co-pay charged to Idaho prisoners would be suspended, stating: "The co-payment charged to people in our custody for health-care services has been suspended to encourage the reporting of symptoms and treatment of COVID-19." In keeping with the underhanded nature of the company, Corizon Health's Regional Office drafted and posted their own memo to the offender population on the same day (March 13, 2020), qualifying the Director's email, stating: "In effort to promote the health and wellness of the entire population we are temporarily suspending the medical co-pay for Health Services Requests submitted FOR UPPER AND LOWER RESPIRATORY ILLNESS (FLU, COMMON COLD, ETC)" (EMPHASIS ADDED). Corizon's version, by limiting the nature of which HSR's will not be charged a co-pay is not only within the scope of the Director's email, it discourages prisoners from...

Hi all- Its been a little while since I sent out an update, so I wanted to reach out and update you on a few things. COVID-19 Testing: We have 26 people who have been tested for COVID-19 in Idahos prisons and all 26 have been negative. Another 6 people have been tested in Eagle Pass and all of those have also been negative. Medical Screening of Staff: Since this crisis began, we have been screening every staff person who tries to enter an IDOC facility or office. We've had 170 staff be sent home or choose to stay home because they didn't feel they'd pass the medical screening. Most people have been able to return to work after having a period of self-quarantine or medical clearance. This is our most important effort to prevent someone from inadvertently introducing the virus to our facilities and so far, its working. Visiting/Volunteer Restrictions Continue: On Wednesday, Governor Little announced an extension to his previous Stay-Home Order. The new order extends the state...

In preparation for a lawsuit, ISCC prisoner Dale Shackelford mailed a letter to the IDOC Deputy Attorney General's (DAG) office on March 25, 2020, requesting that personal service of the complaint and summons in the action be waived by the attorneys for IDOC, allowing Shackelford to serve the paperwork by mail so as to decrease the need for personal contact (social distancing) and the possibility of transmitting any contagions. Deputy Attorney General (DAG) for IDOC Mark Kubinski referred the letter to an IDOC paralegal for a response. The March 30, 2020 response by IDOC paralegal Kevin Burnett, mailed in an official Office of the Attorney General envelope (but typed as a memorandum on plain white paper) was essentially --- NO, stating, "... service by mail is ineffective under the applicable rules of civil procedure." In fact, Idaho Rule of Civil Procedure (IRCP) 4(d)(5) states (in part) that service may be completed by a written admission, acknowledged by the person...