Receiver Updates UAPD On Prison Medical Facilities
On July 16, UAPD Labor Representatives attended a meeting run by CDCR Receiver Clark Kelso, his Chief of Staff John Hagar, and Bill Proctor, the Program Director for New Facilities. The group outlined the Receiver’s plan to build seven secure, stand-alone medical facilities to treat 10,000 prisoners with chronic medical and psychiatric conditions. UAPD was encouraged by the Receiver’s commitment to staff the new facilities exclusively with permanent Civil Service employees. While the specifics are not yet known, Hagar anticipated that opening the new facilities would not significantly reduce the need for doctors inside the prisons. Some other information from the meeting:
Each of the seven facilities will have about 1,500 beds, split equally between medical and psychiatric units. Two of the facilities will also separately house women prisoners. The medical facilities will not be acute care hospitals and will not perform surgeries. The psychiatric side will treat higher acuity patients.
The facilities will be located near urban areas, oftentimes near existing CDCR facilities.
Ground will be broken in January 2009 on the first facility, which is expected to open in early 2011. The first three facilities will be built in Stockton, San Diego and Ventura. Other sites are Chino, Tracy, Folsom, Vacaville, and, as a backup, Whittier. Construction on a new site will begin every 3-6 months until completion.
Each facility will be run by a medical administrator, not a warden.
The Receiver will contract with CDCR and DMH to staff the facilities.
The Receiver will recommend that the state not hand the facilities back to CDCR upon his departure, but open a new department to administer them.
The Receiver hopes to fund construction with long-term lease revenue bonds, which require Legislative approval. If the Legislature does not approve the bonds, the Receiver has stated his intent to withdraw money from the State’s general fund. The funding issue could come to a head as soon as August.