Open Letter to U.S. Senators Regarding Wellpath

PC: Jesstess87 Via Wikimedia Commons

By Malik & Gale Washington, Destination Freedom Media Group

Wellpath, the largest for-profit prison health care company has left a trail of death and tears across our Nation.  Below is the letter that we crafted and sent to these Senators:

            Re:      Wellpath

Dear Senators,

Our organization advocates for prisoner rights, as well as civil and human rights of all.  We came across your letter to the CEO of Wellpath, Ben Slocum, Sami Mnaymneh, Founder/Co-CEO of H.I.G. Capital, and Tony Tamer, Founder/Co-CEO of H.I.G. Capital, dated December 18, 2023.

We previously wrote to Senators Warren and Markey back in January 2024 regarding our experiences with and opinions on Wellpath at the Santa Rita Jail in Dublin, California.  Enclosed is a copy of our January 2024 letter.

As an advocate for prisoners’, civil, and human rights, Destination Freedom has been keeping track of Wellpath’s disregard for human life through articles that are being written throughout the United States.  

My husband and journalist, Malik Washington, wrote a second piece on Wellpath entitled, “Wellpath’s Flawed and Deadly Cost Containment Program.”  A copy of this article is enclosed with this letter for your review.  In the enclosed article, we focused on the issue of the Cost Containment Program provision within Wellpath’s contracts with jails and prisons across the country.  This article also discusses pregnant women coming into Santa Rita Jail and other jails across the country and the difficulties they experience with obtaining proper care and treatment by Wellpath employees while housed inside these jails.  Part of this article discussed one particular detainee, Candace Steel, whose story dates back to 2017.

Our third article entitled, Wellpath’s Flawed and Deadly Cost Containment Program:  Part 2:   Fetuses in the Toilet – the Lauren Kent Story (copy enclosed) further highlights the issues with Wellpath’s treatment of pregnant women who are arrested and housed in a jail with Wellpath as the contracted health care provider.  There is no excuse for Wellpath’s staff leaving her to give birth alone without seeing a gynecologist, not to mention the fact that there may have been the possibility of Lauren not giving birth to a deceased baby had they had a gynecologist assess her medical needs.  This is another cost containment issue.

Here in Colorado, there have been more than 50 lawsuits filed since 2020 due to Wellpath’s deliberate indifference to the medical needs of the incarcerated population they are required to care for and are paid significant sums of money for those services.   At Santa Rita Jail in Dublin, California (Alameda County) since the implementation of the Babu Consent Decree (Babu, et al. v. Ahern, et al, Case No. 5:18-cv-7677), 10 inmates died; in Monterey County’s jail, also under a consent decree, many inmates have died at the hands of Wellpath.  See Hernandez v. County of Monterey, U.S.D.C. (N.D. Cal.), Case No. 5:13-cv-02354.  This list goes on and on.

It appears from the many articles that have been published about Wellpath, they have many “reasons” why incarcerated individuals die under their care, none of which they will admit having been caused either by their neglect or willful misconduct or other more egregious acts.  As of now, neither the federal government nor the states are taking action to stop the limited liability company and its members, officers, and staff and hold them accountable for the deaths of hundreds of incarcerated individuals across the United States.  There have been more than 1,000 lawsuits against Wellpath; probably closer to 1,400.  Many lawsuits are being settled for large sums of money and Wellpath just pays; none of their employees, officers, and/or members are being criminally charged for their actions.  The corporate greed attitude of this limited liability company along with its parent company, H.I.G. Capital is appalling.  It appears from the inactions of those who have the power to stop these entities from operating not only in California and Colorado but across the United States, that the lives of incarcerated individuals are meaningless.  These individuals are human beings and if they are in jail, most likely are pre-trial detainees who have not been convicted of a crime yet are under the control and management of the county sheriff’s office where they are housed.  These law enforcement agencies are required to protect these incarcerated individuals under the 8^th Amendment, another issue which is also being ignored; they knowingly hire Wellpath.

  In your letter to Wellpath in December 2023, you requested that they respond to 24 questions/requests for information regarding their operations and their conduct by January 8, 2024.  Has there been a response from Wellpath to your letter?  

Thank you for taking the time to consider the content of this letter.  

Warmest regards,

                                                                        Sincerely,

                                                                        DESTINATION FREEDOM

                                                                        Gale Washington

                                                                        Malik Washington

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