Despite paying Wexford Health Sources over a billion dollars to care for Illinois prisoners since 2011, a federal judge determined that during that time, the health care was so poor that it violated the US Constitution.
WBEZ reports that 50% of the health care provider’s jobs in Illinois are unfilled, three Wexford doctors lack proper credentials, and patients needing dental fillings at one prison are on a two-year waitlist.
In a review of 17 deaths, an outside monitor found that medical staff gave two prisoners medications that contributed to their deaths.
In another example, the independent monitor found that a prisoner lost vision in his left eye after a fellow prisoner hit him with a book. But medical staff refused to fix it because of Wexford’s “one good eye policy,” which – at the time – allowed for care to be denied as long as a prisoner had – as the policy’s name implies – one good eye.
