Medical Neglect: Victoria Johnson
Victoria does not have any friend or relative or legal aid or paralegal who could visit her, and inspect the leg.
She is an indigent inmate and can not obtain her medical records due to this...which I feel is wrong. Indigent inmates should be able to obtain their medical records.
She is given no specific diagnosis,and has no idea what is wrong with her. A culture was never done as far as I know.
She may have a staff infection that is resistant to regular antibiotics. UTMB does not want to give the antibiotics that work as they are very expensive.. Vacomycin is one they use for resistant MRSA...sometimes intravenously.
They just do not care if you die at least that has been my experience with them. TDCJ tries to hide how many
inmates have this form of staff infection inside the prisons, They lie
and tell the inmates it is a Spider Bite.
Click here to read more on MRSA & Spider Bites
The transfer cells going to John Sealy hospital are stinking filthy rat holes .horrible !! Something you would see in a 3rd world country.
These cells are a breeding ground for this MRSA staff...Inmates with opened wounds, major surgerys, weakened immune systems, some on chemo...some have HIV.. lying in this filth...even dirty bloody band-aids laying on the floors of the cells.
The cells are not cleaned after each Inmate.They look like they haven't seen a disinfectant in years...The toilets are filthy black ,some do not flush...some have old feces/urine...one I myself was put in did. The smell from un-flushed human waste in the heat of August was so bad I wanted to throw -up...I had to try and put towels over it--and even that did not cover the smell.
TDCJ lies about these filthy conditions in these holding cells. Goree unit is the one they sent me to in route to John Sealy Hospital.
MRSA Staff is serious and prevelant even in regular hospitals
and many people who go in just for a simple procedure get
it...especially if they have a weaken immune system, or are elderly...and a hospital is
cleaned daily...and the toilets are cleaned with disinfectant.
Linda Hull
This is what tdcj says about the filthy conditions and the replies you receive back when you try to report the MRSA incubators and filthy conditions these inmates are forced to live in.
Below is Victoria Johnsons letter which I fwd to TDCJ health services and their reply
Email Message:
Date: Fri, 11 Mar 2005 12:24:15 -0600
From: lindahull-tx@webtv.net
Subject: Medical Neglect of Inmate Under UTMB CMHC healthcare
Ms.Shabazz I wrote you concerning this woman last year and still she is not receiving adequate medical care. Why? Also why is she being charged for medical when she has a chronic condition?
Letter From:Victoria Johnson #740129
Lane Murray Unit FD-PH-10
1916 N. Hwy 36 Bypass
Gatesville, TX 76596
I am in a desperate situation. I am swollen and bleeding and draining
puss and watery fluids ..leg and buttocks abscess.
I beg medical for my sitz bath bucket so I can eliminate the drainage
by taking sitzs baths 3 times a day, but am refused that and also refused my walking cane.
I was placed in J1 because I did not raise my hand
high enough in chow hall and I was put in a cell with a woman that had rows
of spots all over her entire body and I think I may have caught whatever
it was she had. It has been over 2 years and the spot has spread all over my
leg.
My leg is swollen, very black and infected with pus and Medical
charges me for visits for a chronic condition. My right leg is in such
a bad shape I am afraid I might lose it if I don't get some real help soon
and I have fallen so much without my cane.
I am threatened on a daily basis
because I sometimes stumble and step off the yellow line in the road we have to walk on.When I write a grievance all the answers are negative and do not answer what I have written about. TDCJ states very clearly that they have no
authority over medical and their staff, yet defend them heartily. They lie and
say I refuse treatment. The only thing I ever refused was a pap smear.
Also I have lost 4 teeth one has the root still stuck in the gum. Let me know if you received this letter because they are careful that nothing goes off this unit that is not favorable to them. I need to write to the media and an attorney...but I need the names and contacts of some. I need the address of State Rep Jim McReynolds and Rep Tom Craddick and also Jerry Madden chair of the corrections committee and the correctional health care committee.
This name appears on my grievance concerning medical Ahia Shabazz FNP
MSN MPH director of clinical services TDCJ health services division and
I cannot find an address to write to her, can you send her address
also. Please Reply
Victoria Johnson #740129
Here is the reply back
E-mail message
Sender: Ahia_Shabaaz/Health__Services/TDCJ@tdcj.state.tx.us
From: health.services@tdcj.state.tx.us
Date: Wed, Dec 22, 2004, 3:03pm (CDT-1)
To: lindahull-tx@webtv.net (linda hull)
Subject: Re: Inmate Medical neglect/ Victoria Johnson
The Office of Professional Standards is in receipt of your message regarding the TDCJ offender. Your medical concerns have been forwarded to an investigator in the Patient Liaison Program for investigation and response. Upon completion of the investigation, you will be sent a summary of the findings. Please be advised that prior to the release of any confidential health care information, Offender Johnson will be required to sign an authorization to release information, which we will obtain. The response will be sent to you at the address on file.
Ahia Shabaaz, FNP, MSN, MPH
Director of Clinical Services
TDCJ Health Services Division
I never received any reply from patient liasons from above nor from the reply from Dec 2004 below..
E-mail message
Sender: Ahia_Shabaaz/Health__Services/TDCJ@tdcj.state.tx.us
From: health.services@tdcj.state.tx.us
Date: Wed, Dec 22, 2004, 3:03pm (CDT-1)
To: lindahull-tx@webtv.net (linda hull)
Subject: Re: Inmate Medical neglect/ Victoria Johnson
The Office of Professional Standards is in receipt of your message regarding the TDCJ offender. Your medical concerns have been forwarded to an investigator in the Patient Liaison Program for investigation and response. Upon completion of the investigation, you will be sent a summary of the findings. Please be advised that prior to the release of any confidential health care information, Offender Johnson will be required to sign an authorization to release information, which we will obtain. The response will be sent to you at the address on file.
Ahia Shabaaz, FNP, MSN, MP
Director of Clinical Services
TDCJ Health Services Division
Please all reading ...Help with writing to:
Ahia Shabazz FNP, MSN, MPH
Director of Clinical Services
TDCJ Health Services Division
3009A Hwy. 30 West
Huntsville, TX 77340
Ph:936-437-3535; F:936-437-3659
email:
health.services@tdcj.state.tx.us
and cc the complaint to
jane.nelson@senate.state.tx.us
judith.zaffirini@senate.state.tx.us
Frank.Madla@senate.state.tx.us
ojmurray@utmb.edu
Linthicum@tdcj.state.tx.us
SUNADMIN@sunset.state.tx.us
The below article states Texas Jails also and if it is in the Texas jails it is in the Texas prisons, as the inmates from the jails are sent to the prisons or back out to infect the general public
Calhoun County Jail inmates screened for deadly bacterium
March
11, 2005,
BATTLE CREEK, Mich. (AP) -- Inmates at the Calhoun County Jail were tested Friday for a highly resistant bacterium responsible for the deaths of two prisoners. The same strain infected inmates in recent years at other jails around the country.
Charlie L. Tidwell, 71, of Battle Creek, and Scott E. Garvie, 42, of Bellevue, who were assigned to the same housing unit at the Calhoun County Jail, both became ill and died March 1. Autopsies found that both men developed pneumonia after being infected by methicillin-resistant staphylococcus aureus, or MRSA, a bacterium that isn't easily treated with antibiotics. "This is an issue for prisoners because it is transmitted in institutional settings where people live close together,"said Dr. Gregory Harrington, medical director for the Calhoun County Health Department. "It can happen in military settings, sports teams and hospitals." He said infections are spread by contact between people or with things that people use, such as telephones or toilets. Most such infections occur among those with weakened immune systems. Tidwell and Garvey may have been infected before they were jailed, Harrington told the Battle Creek Enquirer.
Jail personnel swabbed inmates to determine whether others were infected. They also will be more thorough when cleaning the jail, Harrington said. "There is a heightened awareness, and we will be questioning all the inmates and will educate them on what to look for," he said. The symptoms of MRSA infections occur quickly. Tidwell was taken to Battle Creek Health System at 2:45 a.m. on March 1 and died at 3:12 p.m. Garvie was taken to the hospital at 3:20 p.m. the same day and died at 9:10 p.m. Garvie's sister questioned what happened at the jail. "All I know is, he was in there and he got sick and died and I don't understand that," said Cheri Cain, 55, of Olivet. "It was not just bad luck, it was something wrong with the jail." County Under sheriff Thomas Pope rejected any suggestion that the men were not properly treated. "I am comfortable with the level and quality of medical service and other services we provide to inmates," Pope said.
Cain said she spoke with her brother four days before he died, and he didn't say anything about not feeling well. She said she believes her brother was healthy even though he was living on the streets of Battle Creek before being jailed in September for nonpayment of child support and receiving and concealing stolen property.
In Bucks County, Pa., more than a dozen lawsuits have been filed by prisoners and guards at that county's jail who say county officials didn't act quickly enough to contain an MRSA outbreak that swept through the jail in 2001 and 2002.
Last month, county officials settled an inmate's suit but a federal judge dismissed a suit filed by a former prison worker and his wife. California officials reported an increase in MRSA cases earlier this year in that state's prison system.
Since 2001, instances of inmates being infected by the bacterium have been reported by jails in Florida, Louisiana, North Carolina, South Carolina, Texas and West Virginia. Information from: Battle Creek Enquirer, "http://www.battlecreekenquirer.com/"
Below --A UTMB Propaganda article on what wonderful care UTMB gives these inmates---according to their study...it isn't according to my study...and I have hundreds of reports and records.
Report praises UTMB's prison health care THE DAILY NEWS Texas' Oldest Newspaper "http://galvestondailynews.com/"<"http://galvestondailynews.com/">
Report praises UTMB's prison health care By Carter Thompson
Published March 11, 2005
GALVESTON ? State inmates receiving health care from the University of Texas Medical Branch fared as well as, or better than, those with similar ailments outside the walls, according to a report by the Texas Medical Foundation.
The medical branch hired the physicians' group to study the management of the health care in most of the state's prison inmates in response to criticism in the media and elsewhere. The medical branch provides health care to almost 80 percent of state inmates through its contract with the Texas Department of Criminal Justice. "Comparisons of outcome data to established benchmarks consistently show offender health outcomes are comparable to or surpass established benchmark goals when compared to those of the 'free world,'" the report states.
The study looked at medical records of inmates, including the outcomes of their treatments. It also looked at the medical branch's administration of its correctional health care and its adherence to clinical practice guidelines. The university's care exceeded outcome benchmarks in the treatment of diabetes and heart disease. The report was presented to regents of the University of Texas System in Austin on Thursday.
Dr. Ben Raimer, vice president for community outreach at the university, said the study would help assess its performance and identify areas in which its correctional health care could improve. "I think their report affirms we are doing an excellent job," he said. "We have taken a lot of hits in press and a lot of places that people in prison get poor health care. I argue they get very good health care."
The report acknowledges that the department of criminal justice did not allow the authors into prison facilities or interview inmates. Whether that affected the study's outcome, the authors say, was not know.
Below --My Letter To Above Newspaper Editor reguarding this article
Message
Date: Fri, 11 Mar 2005 09:30:49 -0600
From:
lindahull-tx@webtv.net
to: letters@galvestondailynews.com
Subject: Re: Texas Medical Foundation praises UTMB's prison health care
In regard to the story, "Report praises UTMB's prison health care" published March 11: see:
http://texasprison.250free.com/letters/letters.html
Go to the address above...this is the reason they did NOT Allow the authors into the prison facilities or allow them to interview the inmates!!! The situation is so bad I try to help these inmates get medical help as many die without outside intervention. The above are letters from sick TDCJ inmates under UTMB care who wrote me asking for help. I work with the Jeff Dicks Medical Coalition.
_________________________NOTE:The report acknowledges that the department of criminal justice did not allow the authors into prison facilities or interview inmates. Whether that affected the study's outcome, the authors say, was not known
Message: Date: Sun, 13 Mar 2005 11:59:57 -0800 (PST)
Re: Victoria Johnson...possible staff infection
well, if you get her Medical Release signed by her,
YOU can get her medical records, and show them to the
press! call a press conference! this is disgusting!
peace, protection, success. God bless you, all you love and all you touch
with Peace, Prosperity, Perfect Health, Harmony and Happiness
Thomas
Message:
Date: Sun, 13 Mar 2005 17:04:53 -0500
Re: Victoria Johnson...possible staff infection
It is more than disgusting; it is downright callous neglect, perhaps even attempted genocide (of prisoners). There is absolutely no excuse for this wanton behavior. It is also counter=productive, since an epidemic of Methacillin Staphlococcus aureus will cost the state even more money and put the general population at risk.
I know about this from both sides: I was infection control officer at a
major state hospital for the insane, and luckily never had to deal with
this problem. I also had osteomyelititis due to a resistant strain of
Staph aureus and was hospitalized twice for a whole month, receiving
iv antibiotics daily. It ain't no fun--believe me when I say that.
Constance
Message:
What these derelict doctors are doing is of course is aiding and
abetting the terrorists, since if they chose to if bore the infection in a
prison or a jail, it will overflow into the general population, sticking
the elderly and the kids. In states like North Carolina and Michigan,
where the authorities have taken steps to eradicate the infection, they
have been successful to a point. At Brown Creek (in North Carolina)
seven cases were reported and treated aggressively successfully.
The antibiotic resistant strains of S. aureus can be virulent, and strike swiftly, especially those with lowered resistance. Staph tends toward abscess formation, and does not have a spreading factor as Streptococcus does. A mixed staph-strep infection would tend to spread, enter the blood stream and kill rapidly. It is a potent biological weapon.
The dirty conditions described by Ms. Johnson and Ms. Hull are a perfect environment for pestilence, and in the modern world should not be tolerated by Christians and other people of good will. It is a collective boil on the backside of our civilization, and MUST be cleaned up. Shame, shame on Texas, and the other states that permit this to happen...
