Quantcast

The DNAinfo archives brought to you by WNYC.
Read the press release here.

Mayor Announces City Will Take Over Jail Health Care From Corizon

 From upper left, John Loadholt, Andy Henriquez, Victor Woods, Devernon Legrand, Rodney Cotton and Jose Ferrer. They or their families took issue with the medical care they got in city jails.
From upper left, John Loadholt, Andy Henriquez, Victor Woods, Devernon Legrand, Rodney Cotton and Jose Ferrer. They or their families took issue with the medical care they got in city jails.
View Full Caption
DNAinfo/Rosa Goldensohn

CITY CENTER — The city's Health and Hospitals Corporation will take over responsibility for health care in city jails when New York City's contract with for-profit provider Corizon expires in January, the mayor announced Wednesday.

DNAinfo first reported the change last week, but the city denied then that it had come to a decision.

“We have an essential responsibility to provide every individual in our city’s care with high-quality health services — and our inmates are no different,” Mayor Bill de Blasio said.

“This transfer to HHC will give our administration direct control and oversight of our inmates’ health services — furthering our goal of improving the quality and continuity of healthcare for every inmate in city custody.”

Corizon has been under fire since DNAinfo and the Associated Press reported a series of deaths related to inadequate medical care last year. The company has run health care in city jails since 2001, when it was known as Prison Health Services.

Corizon said providing healthcare at Rikers Island had become more difficult with a rise in the population of mentally ill inmates, and that it was working on improving care.

"Although we understand the administration’s decision to move forward with a different model, we are disappointed at the prospect of ending our relationship after working to build a strong partnership with the Department of Health and Mental Hygiene," the company said in a statement.

The Department of Health workers currently overseeing Rikers will move over to HHC, according to a press release. All current Corizon-employed jail health workers will be subject to background checks and reviews, which a Department of Investigation report released Wednesday said had been overlooked.

"HHC will be solely accountable for the quality of care provided to the approximately 70,000 people moving through the correctional system each year and the coordination and continuity of services to people during and after incarceration," the mayor's office said in a statement.

“We’re pleased to hear that the city is discontinuing the use of Corizon and making other arrangements for providing medical care in the jails," said John Boston head Legal Aid's Prisoners' Rights Project. "Medical care has been a major source of complaints from our clients in jail, and they complain about the care they get from Corizon."