Following is a message from Judy Greenspan of CA Prison Focus in response to my recent posting about kidney problems & African Americans, which I feel is worth sharing. CUFJ & CPF are discussing doing a joint campaign to rectify this situation.
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We [CPF] have been working with a growing group of HIV+ prisoners at Old Corcoran who have within the past year suffered kidney failure. They have gotten horrible care and continue to be harassed by the transportation guards all the way to the dialysis center. I think there is a butcher or a veterinarian operating on their arms and putting in faulty shunts. Several have died over the past year. It is a nightmare. So while the preliminary research says that Black prisoners and the Black community are at great risk, so unfortunately are prisoners with HIV and hepatitis and just prisoners in general. We are trying to pull together some kind of campaign to move the guys who are on dialysis from [Old] Corcoran prison because they are not getting renal diets, they're dying and those still alive are utterly miserable. We have guys going to dialysis from the SHU. What's that about? Take care. Judy"

Gosh, as a nurse this is mighty scary to me. I don't know a lot about the medical care in the CDC except that my son says you better not need any, cuz it's pretty bad.

I see some easy remedies to the above problems, but then again I don't know a lot about the system.

I do know that all licensed health care professionals must meet a certain standard of care or lose their license. All...with every patient they treat.

I do know nurses are supposed to report any substandard medical care they encounter (by an MD or other nurse) or they face trouble with their own license.

I do know that dialysis clinics are required to keep stats on shunt complications, infections, and other medical complications. That's state law as well as sound medical practice.

I do know that before dialysis, a patient has to have lab draws and those results would show the lack of adherence to a renal diet.

So are there organizations working to improve the standard of care in prisons and if so, can you hook me up?