ok ,where to start?! My fiancee,James,has been dealing with a case of hemorroids and a bump that he describes as a size of 4 or 5 matchheads put together. This bump is just inside of his rectum and bleeds quite a bit when he has a bowel movement. He has been seen TWICE now for this problem but this is the actual start of the problem. There is NO RECORD of him being seen by a nurse or doctor! I let him know the second time around when he goes and sees the nurse to have the nurse either sign his/her name on a piece of paper/receipt or James needs to write this nurse's name on a piece of paper. Well, the male nurse signed something(not sure what) and was told he would see a doctor within a few days. Well, that was about 2 weeks ago or so. I called Florida Department of Health Services and they asked me to get James to sign a Medical Release form. Ok, so that was done! I talked to an individual from the medical records unit at Hamilton C.I. this past Monday. She had told me to tell James to write a sick call out request slip and put Attn her name and a nurses name. He did this Monday evening and turned in this slip Tuesday morning. I called this morning to see if he has been seen yet and the same individual I talked to on Monday was surprised (at least that is how it sounded) that he has not been seen by a nurse. She stated to me that if he turned in a request form on Tuesday then he should have been seen Wednesday. She stated maybe he(James) does not know how to fill out a request form properly. I stated to her that is not correct because he HAS been seen twice before for this problem but apparently it was not documented. She said she remembers talking to the RN Supervisor about him once before and she will call today to see why he has not been seen yet. My main concern is about this bump inside of his rectum. It could be cancerous and then again it could be nothing. I hope all this gets straightened out A.S.A.P. I am going to call later this afternoon and see if there has been any progress. If there has not been then I may have to go higher up but don't exactly know who "higher up" would be? Can anybody direct me in that direction? Yvonne

Is the prison's healthcare handeled by the DOC itself or an outside company? Such as Correctional Medical Services?

That is a good question !!! I am not sure exactly. I know I called Florida Department of Health Services which is located in Tallahassee,Fl. to see how I go about to get information on James medical history and they are the ones who faxed Hamilton C.I. to get him to sign a Medical Release Form. I was told by DofHS that they oversee all the correctional facilities in the State of Florida. Yvonne

The only health care providers in prison I've ever dealt with have been private, so I'm not sure how much help I'll be! :(

Within the medical department there's generally a medical supervisor (usually an RN or a Nurse Practioner), sometimes a medical director. This is a paperwork flunkie - a go-between for the medical deparment and the warden. They also schedule the staff, etc. This person, is numero uno!

On each shift there will be a charge nurse - the nurse in charge of all the other nurses. This is usually an RN. Ask for this person first when you call the medical department at the prison. They are usually more hands on. If they're not very helpful, just ask them for their supervisor.

Every medical department has to have a doctor over them. Somebody to write standing orders - legally a nurse can't dispense a tylenol without a doctor's approval, so the doctor writes "standing orders." These basically say for a headache give 2 tylenol or for lice dispense lice shampoo. Normally standing orders only include over-the-counter medications, but can provide limited prescription drugs. If the nursing department isn't working then get in touch with this person. Even a nurse practioner has to have a supervising physician.

You sound like you're already on the right track with what you've been doing. Keep it up! Hopefully being active will get you what your man needs - medical help!

Gosh Yvonne I'm sorry and I know how they suck for medical care at FLDOC !!!

Did you call the head of the Health Department ??? When I posted about Joey's cyst, J'sGrl told me she once called this lady, and she was nice and friendly. You can check exactly what she said, it's in my thread in general health forum too, title is medical care sucks at FSP or something like that !! You asked your dad for Joey's cyst and answered me, so I guess you'll find that thread back !! I don't know if the lady you called is the one J'sGrl is speaking of, maybe you could PM her.

Joey had a hard time to see a doctor, with all these stupid request forms they have to fill in !!! And besides, when you fill in a form on Tuesday, you are NOT seen on Wednesday !!! I doubt very much that things are different at Hamilton !! They are seen 2 or 3 days after !!

I'm really sorry for James and I guess you are very worried. But it's good you're a fighter !!! As Monica said being active will get you what your man needs - medical help!

Hand in there and keep us updated !!

Hugs
Phil

Thanks Monica and Phil, I am doing everything in my power to make sure James gets the proper medical care. I am going to call the RN supervisor in about an hour and see what I come up with. By the way, Phil, how is Joey's arm healing? Yvonne

Thank you for asking Yvonne !! :) His arm is getting better, it's no longer painful and I hope there won't be another infection. Fingers crossed.

What is a RN supervisor ??? I guess N stands for nurse, but I can't figure out the R !! :confused:

Anyway, I do hope you'll find the good person to talk to, and that James will be taken care of properly !! From what Joey wrote me, it seems the nurses feel more concerned than the doctors !! Hopefully one of the nurses will be more professional than the others and will take care of James !!

You are both in my thoughts
Phil

Jamesgirl, I am sorry he is having to go through this, will keep you both in my prayers.

Phil, I think the "R" is for Registered.

There's more than one type of nurse:
RN - Registered Nurse
LPN - Licenced Practical Nurse (sometimes known as LVN or Licenced Vocational Nurse)
NP - Nurse Practioner

The difference between them are the type of skills they do and the amount of education they've had, and of course the pay scale! ;)

Thank you for your explanations girl !!! :)

Phil

Update on James: I called the prison facility,Friday morning, I talked to a woman in Medical Records. She said she would talk to the RN supervisor about James and would see about him getting seen. I, then called Friday afternoon to see if he was seen. I was told by the woman from Medical Records that James was called to see this RN Supervisor but he showed up too late?! I understood the conversation as he was called to medical that morning but did not show up until 2 p.m. By that time, the nurse was gone for the day. I got a call from James that Friday evening and we got into an arguement. I told him I am getting one story from him and another story from medical. He goes on to tell me he would never lie to me as we made that agreement with one another. We are to tell each other everything even if it hurts. Anyway, he tells me that he was NOT called out to go to medical until 2 p.m. He shows up and was told by the guard that the nurse has left for the day but he is on the call out list for Monday. So, I call this morning and talked to the nurse that talked to James. She told me that he either had forgotten as to how to fill out a request form for what ever reason or he just wasn't paying attention when he went thru the orientation ordeal many months ago as "few do pay attention"(her words). Anyway, she showed him how to fill a request form out properly and he would turn it in this morning and would be seen tomorrow morning. I then asked her about the last 2 times he was seen for this very same medical problem and she said HE told her there were NO other visits for this problem. Now, Why would he lie to me about such a thing?! I also asked her if they do not show up for a call out will they get a CC for it. She said no. Another lie James told me. He told me that he did get a CC for missing a call out. I know when he was in the free world I and his mother had to fight with him tooth and nail to go get an abcessed(sp?) tooth pulled. Should I just let this go since I know he will be seen tomorrow? Should I take his word for it and believe that the facility is not telling me the truth? Anyway, I know he will be seen tomorrow unless he doesn't show up!! Yvonne

I don't know about FL. but in Michigan if you do not show up for a call-out you get a ticket. Yes, they are punished for not going to call-outs. Second, I have dealt with prison health care many many times and they lie like no ones buisness. I have now gotten to the point where I have all of his medical records, get copies of kites if possible, and when they start the bull I say really, well according to this document I have in front of me it says bla, bla, bla. Then they have to come up with a different excuse. I then usually have to say you wont mind repeating this for my attorney would you? Also many times CO's forget to call an inmate. They get busy, ect. it happens.

So, mabear I should take James word that he is telling me the truth?! As I said James told me that he has been seen twice before for the same medical problem but there is NO documentation of it. You can get copies of his medical records sent via snail mail? What are "kites"? Yvonne

I don't know how they do things in FL. In MI if a inmate has something they want to see the doctor for they must fill out what is called a "kite" (request). I'm not saying believe him or don't believe him just know that it is possible that he is being truthful. I was told that my husband was faking being ill. That he was putting on a show just for me. That he needed to have psych meds instead of medical treatment. Well, it turned out he was taken unconcious in critical condition to a free-world hospital and the heart specialist told me that if he lived through the night it would be a good sign. Turns out prison healthcare had done all the test and his chest x-ray showed his heart had enlarged to twice it's normal size which in turn had colapsed one lung and was sitting on his diaphram making him constantly vomit. This 1 month before he was taken to the hospital and all the while swearing to me their was nothing wrong and they also said "We told him to come to health care but he refuses to leave his cell." You can get copies of his medical records. He must sign a release and you will have to pay for the copying.