Resistance Behind Bars: The Struggles of Incarcerated Women

ACLU says Wis. prison mishandles inmates' medicine

By CARRIE ANTLFINGER | Associated Press Writer 7:08 PM CST, January 23, 2009

MILWAUKEE - The American Civil Liberties Union filed a motion in federal court Friday asking that Wisconsin's largest women's prison reform the way it administers medication. An ACLU lawyer called the current system "a disaster waiting to happen."

The ACLU and the law firm Jenner & Block claim prisoners at Taycheedah Correctional Institution near Fond du Lac are forced to wait weeks for medicine, and when their medications arrive, they are often the wrong types or doses. The prison houses 700 maximum and medium security prisoners.

"The medication system at Taycheedah is a disaster waiting to happen," Gabriel Eber, staff attorney with the ACLU National Prison Project, said in a statement. "For some medications, there is not even a system of checking for dangerous interactions between drugs before a prisoner starts taking a new prescription. The clock is ticking while the state gambles with the health and safety of over 700 women."

John Dipko, a spokesman for the state Department of Corrections, issued a statement saying progress has been made in improving health care for Taycheedah inmates, "and this commitment to improved health care will continue into the future."

He said the department can't comment on the specific case because of the pending legal action, except that the motion filed Friday will be reviewed.

No hearing has been scheduled yet on the motion for preliminary injunction, but Eber said in an interview that if the judge rules in the favor of the ACLU, the prison would have to institute the changes within 60 days.

"We feel it's a situation that can't remain at the status quo any longer," he said.

The motion was filed in U.S. District Court as part of a 2006 class-action lawsuit on behalf of all Taycheedah prisoners. The lawsuit claims the prison's medical, mental and dental care is grossly deficient and has caused its female prisoners great physical and mental suffering. No trial date has been set.

The motion asks state officials to ensure that medical prescriptions are filled quickly and accurately and administered by nurses.

Currently, correctional officers with no medical training administer medications, according to the motion. Taycheedah is one of the few state prisons in the nation that does not require nurses or trained medical personnel to administer medications.

Thanks for Lois at the Real Cost of Prisons Project for drawing my attention to this article!