Prison Health Service Inc. and two Vermont prisoner deaths
The Vermont Medical examiner found Wednesday that a 23 year old female prisoner held in Swanton last August died of a heart condition caused by anorexia and bulimia and because she was denied her medication to treat it. “Denial of access to medication” was a cause according to the Vermont medical examiner. An independent investigation by the state Defender General's Office found that a nurse ordered to give Ellis potassium for an eating disorder failed to do so.
An investigation is still underway but a state prison official has stated quite clearly The Department of Corrections' staff never dispenses medication — a task he said is carried out solely by Prison Health Services, the private contractor that gives medical service to the state's prisons.
A private for profit contractor provides health services to the Vermont State. Corrections Dept. Prison Health Services (PHS) a subsidiary of American Service Group a Tennessee based publicly traded company. They have provided services to Vermont for the last four years. In 2006 while renegotiating a money losing contract with state (a bid described at the time by a state officials as “possibly too aggressive”) in the face of a one million dollar loss they were faced with substantial fines and penalties for not meeting contract obligations. Replacing the required registered nurses on some shifts with licensed practical nurses was one area of concern.
A previous death in 2005
A care related prisoner wrongful death in 2005 preceded the PHS contract renegotiation with the State. But in 2007 Richard Hallworth CEO of Prison Health Service was able to comment on his relationship with the state in this manner "I want to thank the Vermont DOC for its confidence in PHS' people and capabilities to continue to render critical healthcare services in this challenging environment.”
Eight months later after the contract agreement with the state the pending 2005 health related wrongful prison death lawsuit against the State of Vermont and PHS was settled and court records sealed.
More recently PHS has defended itself regarding the Swanton death in state custody but will not seek to renew their contract. A PHS spokesman says of this “It’s a business decision” The Corrections Commissioner also states the obvious "I suspect they now know that in all likelihood they would not win the bid again,"
Prison Health Services CEO Richard Hallworth’s 2008 salaryand assorted performance bonuses and compensations were $709,391.00
America Service Group Inc. of Tennessee parent company of Prison Health Services, Inc and Correctional Health Services, LLC has a market cap of $150.1 million
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