Wexford Health Sources, Inc. is a healthcare services company headquartered in Foster Plaza Two in

Green Tree, Pennsylvania Green Tree is a borough in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, United States, and a suburb of Pittsburgh. The population was 4,432 at the 2010 census. The town is the hometown of U.S. Congressman and 2012 Republican presidential candidate Ron Paul ...

, near

Pittsburgh Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States, and the county seat of Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, Allegheny County. It is the most populous city in both Allegheny County and Wester ...

.Twedt, Steve.
Wexford Health works with inmates
" ''

Pittsburgh Post-Gazette The ''Pittsburgh Post-Gazette'', also known simply as the PG, is the largest newspaper serving metropolitan Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Descended from the ''Pittsburgh Gazette'', established in 1786 as the first newspaper published west of the All ...

''. Sunday April 12, 2009. Retrieved on August 14, 2010. The

Mississippi Department of Corrections The Mississippi Department of Corrections (MDOC) is a state agency of Mississippi that operates prisons. It has its headquarters in Jackson. Burl Cain is the commissioner. History In 1843 a penitentiary in four city squares in central Jackson ...

(MDOC) contracts with Wexford, and Wexford provides medical services to inmates at state-operated facilities.MDOC Healthcare Services
"

. Retrieved on July 24, 2010. In 2008 Steve Twedt of the ''

'' said that Wexford was "among the most successful local companies people never hear about," despite the fact that the former chief executive of Allegheny County,

Jim Roddey James C. Roddey (born 1935) is a Pennsylvania businessman and politician best known as the former (and first) chief executive of Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, from 2000 to 2004. He is a Republican and was the chair of the Republican Committee o ...

, described by Twedt as "one of the region's most prominent local politicians," headed the company. As of that year the president of Wexford, Mark Hale, said that he tries to keep a low profile because the inmates the company serves are very litigious.

History

Wexford opened in 1992. A three-year Mississippi contract, to Wexford Health Sources awarded in 2006, was for $95 million. It was to provide medical, mental health, pharmacy, rehabilitation, utilization management, claims processing and technology services to more than 14,000 Mississippi prisoners at 34 facilities statewide. The contracts for four for-profit Mississippi prisons were subsequently awarded sequentially to Health Assurance LLC, a Jackson, Mississippi firm owned by Dr. Carl Reddix, and obstetrician/gynecologist. In 2008, the company received a contract to "provide inmate health care services" at the

Walnut Grove Correctional Facility The Walnut Grove Correctional Facility, formerly the Walnut Grove Youth Correctional Facility (WGYCF), was operated as a for-profit state-owned prison in Walnut Grove, Mississippi from 1996 to 2016. Constructed beginning in 1990, it was expande ...

, which was then renewed in 2011. Transfers of contracts for East Mississippi Correctional Facility and

Marshall County Correctional Facility Marshall County Correctional Center (MCCF) is a for-profit prison in Holly Springs, Marshall County, Mississippi, managed by Management and Training Corporation (MTC) on behalf of the Mississippi Department of Corrections.Wilkinson County Correctional Facility Wilkinson County Correctional Center (WCCC) is a private prison in unincorporated Wilkinson County, Mississippi, managed since July 2013 by Management and Training Corporation (MTC) on a five-year contract with the Mississippi Department of Correc ...

in 2013. Dr. Reddix was indicted for bribing the state Corrections Commissioner

Chris Epps Christopher B. Epps (born January 25, 1961) is a Federal inmate and a former commissioner of the Mississippi Department of Corrections (MDOC) and career employee in the state criminal justice system though he started his career as a teacher. Appoi ...

in 2016.

Controversies

According to an October 2013 report by the American Friends Service Committee, Wexford has "a well published history of problems" in several states across the country. Failure to provide adequate staffing and adequate and timely medical care and charging states for more staff than the company actually provided were common complaints. The report notes that Wexford has faced fines in some of these states, "including a $12,500 fine by New Mexico’s Department of Corrections in 2006; a $106,000 fine by Ohio’s Correction Department in 2009; $50,000 by Chesapeake, Va., in 2006 for staffing shortages; three fines totaling $273,000 by Florida’s Department of Corrections in 2005 for what it described as “service-delivery issues that were resolved” before the contract's end; and a $68,000 fine by the Broward Sheriff's Office in Florida in 2003 for delays in providing medical services." After a six-month investigation, ''

America Tonight ''America Tonight'' was Al Jazeera America's flagship news show, airing at 9:30 p.m. EST. It was a showcase for thought-provoking and insightful in-depth reporting and programming with a focus on investigative reporting. Its mission is to tell ...

'' reported in 2014 to have found "disturbing cases of inadequate treatment, and evidence that Wexford Health Sources, the first private company Arizona contracted to provide prison health care, was aware that it was violating prisoners' constitutional rights." One such case involved Regan Clarine, a young pregnant woman serving a -year sentence for possessing a narcotic for sale who was forced to undergo a cesarean section against her wishes and when the wound opened back up in her cell, she was treated with an antiquated method using McDonald's sugar: "They decided to use sugar ... like McDonald’s sugar," said Regan. "They would open it and pour it inside and put gauze over and tape it up. And I had to do that for like three weeks." On February 8, 2017, Wexford Health Sources along with

Cornell Companies Cornell Companies (NYSE:CRN) was an American corporation that operated correctional facilities, contracting them to state and local governments. The company's headquarters were located in Houston, Texas. On August 12, 2010, Cornell was acquired by ...

Management and Training Corporation Management & Training Corporation or MTC is a contractor that manages private prisons and United States Job Corps centers, based in Centerville, Utah. MTC's core businesses are corrections, education and training, MTC medical, and economic & soci ...

Global Tel Link Global Tel Link (GTL), formerly known as Global Telcoin, Inc. and Global Tel*Link Corporation, is a Reston, Virginia–based telecommunications company, founded in 1989, that provides Inmate Calling Service (ICS) through "integrated information t ...

Sentinel Offender Services Sentinel Offender Services is a criminal justice services and original equipment manufacturing company based in Anaheim, California. The company was founded in 1993 by Robert Contestabile, who is currently the Chairman. Tom Flies is Chief Execut ...

and many others were sued by the Mississippi Attorney General Jim Hood for allegedly engaging in corrupt contracts with the Mississippi Department of Corrections and its former Commissioner, Chris Epps. The lawsuit claims the companies violated Mississippi public ethics, racketeering and antitrust laws along with several others.

References

External links

{{Portal, Companies
Wexford Health Sources
1992 establishments in Pennsylvania Companies based in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania American companies established in 1992