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April 10, 2009
CA: Coalinga state prison still falls short, grand jury reports
Coalinga state prison still falls short, jury reports
Thursday, Apr. 09, 2009
By Eddie Jimenez / The Fresno Bee
Pleasant Valley State Prison in Coalinga is still plagued with crowding, inadequate medical care and concerns that inmates could be exposed to Valley fever, according to a Fresno County grand jury report issued Thursday.
A grand jury report last year addressed the same problems and also issued the same recommendations.
The most recent report said a visit by grand jurors in late September revealed that the prison, designed to hold 2,200 inmates, housed 5,191 inmates -- including some in a gymnasium.
In addition, the Coalinga Regional Medical Center still does not have a secure medical wing for prisoners. Therefore, when inmates require hospitalization, they are driven a hour away to the Bakersfield Community Medical Center, where the prison contracts for 20 beds.
Taking inmates to Bakersfield for hospital care stretches the Coalinga prison's staff and budget, the report said.
Lack of state funding is stalling efforts to create a secure wing for prisoners at the Coalinga medical center, the grand jury said.
Valley fever -- widespread in the Coalinga area, according to the report -- remains an ongoing threat for inmates and staff. Prison officials have taken steps to address the problem, such as transferring inmates who have asthma and emphysema to other prisons.
Doctors also do not have adequate office space, the grand jury said.
State prison officials have alleviated some crowding by transferring inmates to out-of-state prisons, said Seth Unger, spokesman for California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation.
Health care in the state prison system was taken over by a court-appointed federal receiver after a class-action lawsuit was filed.
The receiver is well aware of the health care issues raised in the grand jury report, said Luis Patiño, receiver spokesman.
"We are working diligently to remedy those problems," he said.
Pleasant Valley State Prison houses minimum-, medium- and maximum-security inmates.
Note from someone familiar with the distances mentioned: "I'm not sure how fast prison ambulances drive, but to get from Coalinga to Bakersfield in an hour requires averaging something over 100 mph."
Posted by lois at April 10, 2009 05:47 PM