Viral Exposure Inside Prisons Impact our Communities Too !!!

Viral Exposure a "laissez-faire" event in Arizona’s

Culture of Death Prisons

Information provided by Craig Harris, reporter at the azcentral.com website and press release provided by Arizona Department of Corrections via Channel 12, Wendy Halloran, the investigative reporter who disclosed this matter and contacted the ADOC for information.  If it were not for this request, it is highly doubtful that the ADOC would have revealed and released a news release on this matter based on their historic pattern of behavior to minimize and not report such events in the past via the news media to alert family and constituents of possible bio-hazards in our community.

The media reports “At least 100 inmates at the [ASPC Lewis Complex] state prison west of Phoenix may have been exposed to Hepatitis C because medication was administered with a dirty needle.” The story goes on to indicate that the Department of Corrections did not release or report this incident as required by public health statutes and quickly stated in a press release that the matter has been dealt with and under investigation.”

“Officials with the state and Maricopa County health departments, who confirmed to The Arizona Republic on Tuesday that they had not been informed by Wexford Health Sources Inc. of the problem, said they will launch investigations into the incident.”

The state Department of Corrections says a contracted nurse violated the basic infection-control protocols. In a press release they stated:

“On August 27, 2012, a potential exposure event occurred at the Arizona State Prison Complex – Lewis while administering medication. A vial of medication, which may have been compromised with a previously used syringe, was subsequently used to treat additional inmates.

Review of this event determined the potential exposure to Hepatitis C and involved up to 105 inmates. As a result, these inmates were notified and are currently being screened for infectious diseases as per protocol in such an exposure event. An independent laboratory, under contract with Wexford, will provide continued medical monitoring and testing of these potentially exposed inmates over the next several months. All patients will be informed of the results of the testing.

The medical protocols related to this potential exposure have been reviewed to ensure that subsequent events do not occur. The initial event remains under review by Wexford Health, the contracted provider responsible for inmate health care.

The nurse who violated the basic infection control protocols is an employee of a staffing agency under contract with Wexford Health. Wexford has banned the nurse from working under any of its contracts and has also requested that the individual be referred to the State Board of Nursing for investigation.

An independent laboratory will provide continued medical monitoring and testing of these potentially exposed inmates over the next several months.” Released by Bill Lamoreaux, public information officer for the Arizona Department of Corrections ~ dated 9/04/2012

However, they failed to mention that these tests may be moot to some degree as this viral condition may in fact lay dormant inside the liver and show up 20 years from now. Hepatitis C is the leading cause of liver transplants and causes liver cancer. Seventy-five to 85 percent of people with hepatitis C develop a chronic infection, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
 
Shoana Anderson, head of the state Office of Infectious Disease Services, said one of the biggest dangers for those infected with hepatitis C is "it sits in the liver quietly, and 20 years later, a person can develop severe liver disease."

Wexford, which has previously lost contracts for poor service in other jurisdictions, this spring won a $349 million, three-year contract to provide health care for Arizona inmates. The company began providing services for nearly 40,000 Arizona inmates on July 1.

These news outlets and the DOC fail to mention the global impact of such a mistake. They fail to mention how the DOC [through lack of oversight] and Wexford failed our community as they allowed a viral exposure and contamination to occur that may impact our families sometime in the future as these prisoners will eventually be released into the community and exposed to our children, our relatives, close friends and neighbors..

This event isn’t just about a bad “mistake” with a needle exposure into a vial, its about neglecting to consider the impact of such gross neglect on our -  community and families – our employees working the prisons – general community health safeguards –

It is time the governor and the legislative body recognize the fact that whatever happens inside a prison will eventually spill over into our homes and families that live in our communities and deserve better protection and safeguards than what has been demonstrated by this “la flair” attitude by the DOC and Wexford.