Pleading for help from the chelles for profit medical contractor a Company Called caracas and. She said the chaplain from the jail and another Police Officer came to my door. My life not expecting that she will they would tell me she was dead thats for sure. Cries and settled a lawsuit accusing them of wrongful death gross negligence and reckless misconduct she could have been saved with a simple life be a bag assailing solution would have saved Madeline Pickens life. As jails in the us struggle to treat inmates with addictions or chronic medical conditions theyre increasingly turning to for Profit Health care providers for you but theres a growing number of lawsuits against the him pull the companies in this business the idea that companies that provide bad service that injure or kill people will eventually lose customers and go out of business just dont apply in the prison and jail center and thats because theres no Consumer Choice its not like the person who can say im going to go down the road and see if the health care is better at at this other jail when you combine the profit motive with a literally captive market of unpopular people its a recipe for bad outcomes and often at least lockups. Faultlines investigates what. Since when the health care prisoners was put in the hands of for Profit Companies. It was here now we use it valuable well yes it was a good swimmer. And played volleyball and her last year in high school she also did crew she was very determined to make it on our own she was a wonderful person we look back on it when things start to go off track from our lives but just very gradual a gradual thing it just never imagined that thats going to happen to your family or someone you love you know you just thought you dont need that if thats not the 1st place she go that theyre having trouble with drugs you know when she was booked at the jail madeline told horizon medical staff that she used heroin when she was picked up was there any part of you that thought this would be a good chance for her to be as in safe hands maybe recover yeah actually yes i think it think that and yeah we didnt at the time think anything you know. Bad would happen to her where she was. She was beautiful you know way of a lot of potential withdrawing from heroin and desperate to see a doctor madeline sent for written medical requests to caracas and those requests were largely ignored but she died of dehydration herself under 8 day in jail she was 26 years old it was heartbreaking when we. Found out that. She had actually asked for help multiple times and. Nothing happened. This. Time cirie. A couple of days after they she was detained at the jail she writes heroin withdrawal i told medical at intake that i was too toxic and they said i was not yet sick enough to start meds now i am in full blown withdrawals and i really need medical care in all caps please help with an exclamation point madams 4th request for help the day before she died read as follows this is a 3rd or 4th call for help i havent been able to keep food liquids meds down in 6 days i feel like im very close to death cant hear seen lights hearing voices please help me. This really strikes me the last 3 days 4 days of her life shes saying i filled near death whats truly shocking is that. That did not a listen to some kind of reasonable response out of the Health Care Staff ill tell you that i did conduct a depositions of Health Care Providers that were involved in madelines care serval of whom told me that this is pretty typical stuff this is pretty unusual thing we see this from time to time i also wonder if it doesnt come from kind of a broader dehumanization of the people who are in jail and a kind of bias to to not trust to listen to them lets begin with this is difficult work this is a troubled population and i think that has to be extremely taxing on the medical staff and they see the patients as manipulative. Not being straight with them they dont take them seriously. After madeline died a criminal investigation show khorassan staff kept sloppy records and couldnt account for matter what was seen. In the 2014 audit found that nearly 20 percent of the time there wasnt even a registered nurse on duty. We tracked down a positions assistant to work for crisis at the same jail where madeline died. I was concerned for my medical license there were several times when we had some pretty near misses and it really it scared me. She quit less than a year before madeline because she was concerned about the companys quality of care. This is the 1st time shes spoken publicly what was it like working for horizon so they were hiring people where right out of school they were chronically understaffed so the people that were there were under trained and they would pressure me to connect with the Correctional Department and get the patient released as soon as like they had a Major Medical problem which sometimes did happen from my recollection if they released like before the ambulance got there than. Corrosion was not on the hook for their medical bills and so they were quick to add x. But i their but how do they respond to your concerns karate lessons response was to retaliate against me i was written up twice for very very minor things that i it was extremely clear to me that they were just giving me pushback about me raising these concerns we ask arising about these allegations and they said that the company strictly for bits retaliation this is a for profit model and it is the relentless pursuit of profit by this corporation that led to them to understaffed the company settled with russ and mary pitkin for 2000000. 00. People like you got justice no not really. What we just as what do you. Know there would definitely be. And. They mean all they do is talk or do you know say well well make making changes but do they do they really make changes i believe that. The for profit needs to change i dont know if you get rid of for profit but it needs to be it needs to be changed. Because people are dying. Matterless case is not the only one according to the new yorker magazine carousing has been named in more than a 1000 lawsuits alleging malpractise neglect or wrongful injury or death clinical excellence is the cornerstone of the health care provided by horizon every day it is our mission to deliver safe and they should services the company no longer has a contract with any prison or jail in oregon. But its operating in 16 other states with at least 145000 prisoners under its care. Declined to give us an interview and instead some as a statement saying quote cries and continues to focus on expanding the delivery of quality evidence based care that meets the needs of our clients in the population we serve. Companies Offering Services to prisons and jails being to the 1980 s. I hope we can count on your support in our war on crime in our efforts to protect the innocent and put the professional criminals in jail where they belong when tough on crime policies started putting record numbers of people behind bars beaker entrepreneurs lined up to take on lucrative contracts selling themselves as cheaper and more efficient than Government Agencies it worked for Profit Companies provide some part of Prison Health care to more than half of states according to one study both prisons and jails have been increasingly outsourcing their health care to private for profit corporations sometimes its as in response to these claims that they can do it better and more cheaply do these Companies Save the counties and states money and if so how do they save them money well theres no evidence that they save money and thats because. Zits its highly implausible that they could save money again if they were trying to provide the same service and yet generate a profit for their stockholders which of course a Government Agency doesnt have to do its not clear how they could do that do you think that madeleine might have received better care had that been syllabi been run by the county rather than for a for Profit Organization in my experience the health care provided by Government Entities is better than what happens with for Profit Companies theres more accountability for that care it is this profit motive that continues to interfere with Adequate Health care being provided to people who are detained and incarcerated across the country. We visited the jail where madeline was held just outside of portland oregon. A year after her death was replaced by another health care contractor called naf care. The total contract amount was more than 28000000. 00 over 5 years the day to day hospital routine to hide a flight with medicare today. But naff care comes with its own history of medical misconduct lawsuits and settlements. At least 2 inmates have died under nafta years watching this shell since madeleines death in 2014. There are at least 5 open lawsuit tickets now of care i think with your child now they allege medical neglect. Im not im just not a coin into within details of those of those lawsuits back garrett is the elected sheriff of Washington County he was in charge of this journal when madeline pickton died but if youre looking at a company like horizon to settle for 10000000. 00 in the case happened in this shell you must be wary of bringing in another company that has open lawsuits like that with similar accusations as the sheriff. You know we experts hear from from various disciplines who are looking through their own lens but together we make sure that were doing were doing the right thing. Were going through the Campaign Donations and notice that 2 individuals from the after care donated to your campaign 2000. 00 each if they live 2500 miles from here why do you think theyre donating to your campaign. You know i dont have to ask them. Do you think they that they see that as a way of influence i think that that maybe they want to see in the sport leaders that they have confidence. That care has had contracts in nevada jells since 2005. We got an opportunity to tour the Washoe County jail in reno nevada. Yeah the lots of money and you know. We dont yes were inmates theyre going down to medical theyre going to work it all around us all you know our desk were going to think of one but we werent allowed to film naf care staff or activities. In 2015 naff care got a contract for more than 4000000. 00 with this jail a little over 2 years later 13 inmates had died in a 600 percent spike in the chills death rate according to the reno gazette terminal are you satisfied with that care so i would say since ive taken office yes there have been poor tests in the jail just this year since deer in belem was sworn in as the new sheriff 3 were suicides in the 4th died from a medical condition at what point do you feel like you might need to draw the line here and reassess whos for Body Health Care when we see consistent errors the same errors or a majority of errors and medical workers are going to appropriate medical care that is the key for me of ok then we need to reassess Campaign Finance records show that nat care also donated to the sheriff when you run for election last year did you receive over 10000. 00 from after i did Campaign Donations can you see how that might appear as a conflict of interest when youre also the one that will decide whether they stay in the jail or not thats why i have a commitment to make sure that any issues here are brought forth no matter if they donated to my campaign or not if not i know absolute this Community Going to hold me responsible and i will definitely take. Action to make sure that care is held to the highest standard but its not good care overall youre just a number. Thats all you are they dont they dont care at all blankenship was in and out of the Washoe County jail in 2018 he says he had the worst seizures there because nat care staff refused to give him a seizure medication i have seizures because i have chronic migraine syndrome and the medication is klonopin one milligram. And naff care who is the medical facility inside washington and you know refuses to give that to anyone wants are there is a couple other people in there that took that as well and they were denied it as well so when you went there and now have care said no they give it to you could you actually go through withdrawals from the yes you can actually die from not taking what happened when you started to withdraw yeah i had a see here you sweat and you go through actual withdrawals and i seized when you saw the doctor how would you describe his attitude toward your condition it was im not sure that he cared or not he just said it was. He just said you cant have it so i mean its it was news no grey area yes or no he said no so there is nothing i could do we asked now to care about erics case but they said they dont comment on issues of patient care care. That. Sometimes there are rules that dont make sense or arent as necessary as they seem dr mark stern used to work in Correctional Health care and is a National Expert on the topic certainly money factors into it if the medication is expensive there is at least an interest on the part of the company to not give it to preserve. It. Spend the extra money you have so wouldnt have seizures what kind of risk do they run if you cold turkey pull them off of a prescription like that he take that medication away suddenly not only going to have seizures at the rate that they had him before but they may have more seizures or worse seizures initially in those 1st few hours or days because youve taken something away abruptly as opposed to taking it away slowly what argument do you make this says they should provide better medical treatment in their child well it matters because that is your health. I mean you want to survive right. Thats all anybody wants. And you probably dont. Care declined our request for an on camera interview a lot of jails have naff care providing the Health Care Service like to ask you some questions about that if you can call me back instead they wrote us an email that says quote all of our protocols adhered to the strictest National Standards and guidelines to ensure clinical excellence in the health and safety of our patients. Care operates in more than 50 jails and prisons and at least 20 states according to its website. In the summer of 2018 the company had a contract at the Clark County Detention Center in las vegas. Where. I did joness husband willie lewis was at the cello when he became ill and asked nat care staff for medical help at least 5 times over 10 days he couldnt eat anything he could hold anything down and he felt like he couldnt very and he said that they were just telling him it was flu symptoms and he kept tell them it is more than that i really cant breathe. And when you saw him. What happened well ive seen him come in towards the window but he was limping and he lived there really for tea and he was very sweaty and so when he came to the window i say will you still dont feel better now he said no and i said. You know its that other woman leaving because you look really bad at it i mean is there no baby but theyre not good it theyre not going to do anything they dont care 3 months after entering the chel will he died after his diabetes went undiagnosed and untreated his organs shut down from not having enough insulin as far as you know he never saw medical doctor no never seen a doctor. I did a suing naf care for wrongful death if they had denied him to go to the hospital they would have known that he just needed some enslave he was lacking insulin so he. All body said that. In addition to willies case there are at least 7 open legal complaints against nav care at the Clark County Detention Center. A 2016 audit of the g. L. Found that naff care didnt operate an infirmary give medications to inmates upon release and offered limited Mental Health programs. Part of the reason we dont know more about jail deaths under for profit care is because some of the companies rely on competency ality agreements to keep details of the cases secret or settlements across the country on these cases and included in every one of those settlements ill bet as a as a as a an agreement a confidentiality clause that bars the warriors and all the people involved from talking about the case so you never really get to hear about what happened in the never care included a competency ality agreement when it settled a lawsuit with the family of luis alonzo who died in jail custody in 2013. Like willie louise was also held at the Clark County Detention Center of trees that were nice for you according to the lawsuit when he entered the cio luis told knapp cares that he took a stand next perms it. But never cared to night of the medication. Louise went into a trial i did delirious and erratic this video shows officers responding to his behavior they pinned him to the ground until he passed out. He died 10 days later from the way the officers were showing to. Have even medicated. I think that he went never ended up in a psychiatric unit. He would have never had an episode. Never would have never asked they had. An anxiety attack like the ones he used to get. And i think that he would have never run into those officers karmas long it was 18 when her father died 2 years later she settled a lawsuit would not care for wrongful death. As part of the terms of the settlement kerman agreed to a competency ality clause i know. This is a difficult talking to us why was it important for you to do so. After my dad died and i have to be buried. During a lot. On the challenge that about why it. Was very present funny that. I needed to do something. And know that the lawsuit itself maybe didnt have quite the impact that my family want and by everything that i do from here on. This is the 1st time shes spoken publicly about the confidentiality agreement you chose to set up. Yes water be wanted to and it may have dragged it on for i saw in every every single tactic in the books to delay things to push hearings to be. Made to act evidence. Deny at hamas so. I came to the table just kind of you know why do you think it was important to not care for you to agree to not dispersion of the cream of. Kenyans and that. You cant say why i mean that i cant say anything. Publicly that would directly or indirectly. Make them look bad boy the impact of these clauses is to. Prevent the truth from coming forward and i think in many ways it mistah nse the change that needs to happen the accountability that should occur. As i do pushes for accountability for a husband stuff shes also trying to recover from the devastation thats caused her family bill also everything. From this. Very month so much basically homeowners. You know we were going like from house to house but like my kids house for its. He was the breadwinner he. Started driving we were because after my husband passed away we didnt have insurance i had no way to bury him and. We had to get out and do car washes. We did there are we so plates we went on the court because they begged for. The bed. Trying to bury my home to give a proper burial. When you look into these stories one by one around the country and you talk to the parents the family members the friends the siblings. Youre going to hear similar stories just like rattles from all over the country this is new it shouldnt happen there really are very few safeguards obviously the prisoners have nothing to say about whether this company gets to keep the contract or not that decision is made by the prison officials and they are going to be looking at the bottom line theyre going to be looking at who has the lowest bid and medical outcomes is not call. For Profit Health care. Its how do we provide the cheapest care whatever whatever theyre not spending they it stay calm i would if i could do it all over again i would go to trial i think that if i had been given that platform. To tell somebody somebody who cares then maybe other people when be dying in prison from time. We all have loved ones you know just because they made their own d. C. It should and they go to jail dont mean you have to treat them like their animals or you know they dont have family they dont have loved ones. May. Business updates. Going places together. Business updates. Going places together. In the next 60 minutes. In the. Political