My son is incarcerated in the MOntana State Prison. 6 months ago he severely injured his knee, torn ACL, and has been begging for help for 6 months. The head physician at Mt State Prison has seen him 3 times, and has told my son he desperately needs the operation. His leg has gone into the Athropy stage now, and it is steadily losing mass. It is 2 1/2" smaller than the other leg. The doctor said it is the worst knee injury he has ever seen there.
The Health Bureau Chief in the prison keeps rejecting my son's operation because it is expensive. How can I force them to give him the operation he needs?

I'm so sorry this has happened to your son. I realize it's very frustrating and I wish the prison system could see the value of healthcare!

When my husband was diagnosed with Hep C, (last fall) I began a one-woman campaign to get some sort of healthcare for him. There were some small victories along the way and they were rewarding. I was fighting for his life - and for mine.

Here's what I did, and maybe something can help:

1. Get his medical records. If you don't have power-of-attorney then get it. He should be able to tell you the procedure for getting medical records, or at least find out. If you have those records, it will prove invaluable. I attached copies of my husband's medical records to EVERYTHING.

2. Once you have his records, get an outside medical opinion. Find a doctor that will say, "Yes, he needs surgery now." Get this in writing and send it along with his medical records when writing to people.

3. Educate yourself on the surgery and long term effects of not having the surgery. It already sounds as if you've done this.

4. Is the prison healthcare system operated by the state or an outside company (i.e. NaphCare, Prison Medical Services, etc)? If it's an outside company, then find all the dirt on it that you can.

5. Talk to the people in your state's CURE or any other advocacy groups. Tell them what's going on and try and get assistance and suggestions from them. Get in touch with the Jeff Dicks Medical Coalition and get advice from them. Even if there's not a chapter in your state - they can help. Shirley Dicks has forgotten more about prison healthcare than I'll ever know. She's lived it - she knows it. The ACLU and other such organizations are also helpful.

6. Call, write, fax, email and generally bother the governor, comissioner over corrections, DOC, senators, representatives, and anyone in state government, parole board members, etc.

7. I wrote a letter to the District Attorney of the county that prosecuted my husband and explained this all to him. He wrote a letter to the parole board asking for a hearing and supporting his parole. That one letter went a long, long way in getting my husband home.

8. Contact any reporters (I found one who helped more than words can say and who deserves a lot of credit in this fight for prison healthcare) and follow-up with them. Publicity is a great thing and if you can get one to tell your story - it'll help a great deal.

9. Don't be pushy but be persistant. I let them know up-front I wasn't going away.

10. Lastly, encourage your son to go to the doctor every chance he gets. The more medical evidence he has to back up his claims, the better off you'll be. If he has to sign up for sick call every single day, then so be it.

Early on in this battle, I asked my husband if this flurry of activity on his behalf would hurt him in any way - if they'd make it rough on him. He said, "How can it get any worse? I'm getting no healthcare now - they can't deny it again." He made an excellent point.

This has pretty much taken up all of my spare time since my husband's diagnosis in November and my diagnosis in April. Best wishes and good luck to you and your son. Right now, in this fight, you're all he's got. If I can help - please let me know.

Don't give up - we're here for you. Welcome to PTO - you're with "family" now.

Thank you so much for your words of encouragement, I am in the process of wring the health administrator right now. So far this is what I've wrote so far.
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I am making another attempt to contact you to get the Knee operation for my son (David Hower # 33727)
David injured his knee 6 months ago, (Torn ACL and other Ligaments) and is still tring to get help with it. He is in bad pain and his leg is in a state of Athropy. It is now 2 1/2" smaller.

Please help me get him the operation he needs now. If I can't get some results this way, I will take it to the next step. I am prepared to take this matter as far as needed to get this done. I have been through similar battles like this and am well versed in the steps to take, including widspread public exposure and Federal Official involvement.

Sounds good...be sure to send it registered with return receipt. It costs a few dollars, but they seem to pay attention to things that are registered. Also, start sending copies to the governor and DOC comissioner of everything and at the bottom of your letters put -

CC: Governor ....
Department of Corrections Commissioner ...

Mostly - just keep the good fight. You can do it and we, here at PTO, have been known to write letters/send faxes/sign petitions/send emails and bug the crap out of the DOC. If nothing else, at least they'll know your son's name. :)

I'M SORRY TO HEAR THAT YOUR SON IS HAVING SO MANY PROBLEMS....THE GOOD NEWS IS THERE IS SOMETHING YOU CAN DO. BE THE SQUEEKY WHEEL THAT GETS THE OIL! KEEP CALLING UNTIL THEY ANSWER, KEEP WRITING LETTERS UNTIL SOMEONE HEARS YOU! I'VE BEEN ON BOTH SIDES OF THE FENCE...I'VE DONE PRISON TIME AND NOW MY HUSBAND IS AND I KNOW FOR A FACT THAT THE ONES THAT GET THE MEDICAL CARE THAT THEY NEED ARE THE ONES THAT HAVE FAMILY ON THE OUTSIDE CONSTANTLY CALLING THE INSIDE! GOOD LUCK.

I don't know the extent of the injury....but I tore my ACL a few years ago...they did NOT do an MRI, but scoped my knee...when they found the ACL severed, they just shaved it off...and stitched me up. Doc indicated I could do physical therapy (PT) and see how that worked. If it didn't work...they could reconstruct....(the expensive surgery).

I did PT for several months, and I'm still functioning quite well WITHOUT my ACL. MY POINT IS....they don't necessarily have to reconstruct. There are less expensive ways to get him back on his feet. You could check with a PT office around you and see if you can get hard copies of exercises you might send to him....to keep the atrophy down. They had me doing these with a rolled up sheet....or towel. These are things he would have, correct? It might help him until you can get him the help he needs.

I am not trying to minimize his injury...and I"m only trying to offer alternatives when it seems the DOC doesn't want to help him. I hope he gets the surgery if he needs it. Keep us posted and good luck.....my thoughts/prayers are with you!

kath

Just what I would do.
This is what I would do. 1) (Your already tried the Health Services Bureau Chief). So I'd go up one over her. Work my way up on the list if I didn't get action. As I moved up the list I would remind them of their Health Guidelines they are supposed to be following (shown below) 2) I would also let the National Commission on Correctional Health Care know their guidelines aren't being followed quite as well as they think they are at all institutions.

If none of that worked I've got some good legal info I'd start pursuing.

*Bottom of page are some good things to know
http://www.cor.state.mt.us/about/MSP_tasks.asp Key Tasks of Montana State Prison (MSP) 1.11 Effectively manage the inmate health care system statewide by providing offenders constitutionally mandated and medically necessary health care in the most cost-effective manner while maintaining quality of care. (53-30-101 & 8th Amendment, U.S. Constitution.). 1.12 Attain compliance with conditions of the ACLU/DOJ settlement agreement at Montana State Prison, which assures compliance with national correctional healthcare standards and is a deterrent to future litigation. (53-30-201) 1.14 Implement a system-wide medical/mental health/dental quality improvement program that identifies problems through quality improvement reviews and ensures problems are resolved in a timely fashion. (53-30-201).
1.15 Improve the contract administration and monitoring process for health services to enhance accountability, medical outcomes and contract performance. (53-30-201).
1.16 Develop a comprehensive and cost effective health services plan, which includes medical, mental health and dental services on a statewide basis to guide the Department compliance with applicable legal standards throughout the adult and juvenile corrections systems. (53-1-201 & 53-1-203 & Title 37, Chapter 8 MCA).
Montana StatePrison Contacts Warden, Mike Mahoney: (406) 846-1320, ext. 2200;
mmahoney@state.mt.us
Admin Officer, Cheryl Bolton: (406) 846-1320, ext. 2302; cbolton@state.mt.us
Assoc Warden, Myron Beeson: (406) 846-1320, ext. 2454; mbeeson@state.mt.us
Assoc Warden, Leonard Mihelich: (406) 846-1320, ext. 2300; lmihelich@state.mt.us
Health Svs Bureau Chief, Cathy Redfern: (406) 846-1320, ext. 2448; credfern@state.mt.us
___________________________________________
http://www.ncchc.org/ National Commission on Correctional Health Care Our Mission
The mission of the National Commission on Correctional Health Care is to improve the quality of health care in jails, prisons and juvenile confinement facilities. With support from the major national organizations representing the fields of health, law and corrections, NCCHC’s leadership in setting standards for health services is widely recognized. Building on that foundation, our not-for-profit organization offers a broad array of resources to help correctional health care systems provide efficient, high quality care. Standards for Health Services
NCCHC’s Standards for Health Services are the recommended guidelines for managing the delivery of medical and mental health care within correctional systems. The Standards have helped the nation’s correctional and detention facilities improve the health of their inmates and the communities to which they return; increase the efficiency of their health services delivery; strengthen their organizational effectiveness; and reduce their risk of adverse legal judgments. Written in separate volumes for prisons, jails and juvenile confinement facilities, the Standards cover the general areas of care and treatment, health records, administration, personnel and medical-legal issues. Other Assistance
In addition to the Standards, NCCHC publishes Position Statements and Clinical Guidelines to assist correctional health care practitioners in the many medical, ethical, administrative and legal aspects of their work. In support of its mission, NCCHC also offers numerous other programs, services and resources such as: Facility accreditation, Technical assistance, Quality reviews, Clinical guidelines, Position statements, Research studies, Educational programs and conferences, CCHP professional certification, Publications and other resources
National Commission on Correctional Health Care / 1300 W. Belmont Ave. | Chicago, IL / 60657 / Phone (773) 880-1460 | Fax (773) 880-2424 / E-mail ncchc@ncchc.org
_________________________________________________
http://www.ncchc.org/resources/stds_summary/prison_a.html 2003 Stds: A Summary Guide to the Revisions 2003 Stds for Health Services in Prisons Section A: Governance and Administration
Section B: Managing a Safe and Healthy Environment <prison_b.html>
Section C: Personnel and Training <prison_c.html>
Section D: Health Care Services and Support <prison_d.html>
Section E: Inmate Care and Treatment <prison_e.html>
Section F: Health Promotion and Disease Prevention <prison_f.html>
Section G: Special Needs and Services <prison_g.html>
Section H: Health Records <prison_h.html>
Section I: Medical-Legal Issues <prison_i.html>

Teri

danielle: If I would have known you offered so much good info I could have saved myself what seemed like hours trying to straighten out my post. I'm terrible about getting things where they are supposed to be. Looks great til I copy and paste...then, what a mess! Well, I tried.