A correctional health care company based in Alabama is barred from doing business in New York for five years after three people died in Onondaga County’s jail.
The state attorney general’s office says NaphCare failed to provide adequate care at the downtown justice center, Hillbrook Detention Center, and Jamesville Correctional. The company was not licensed to practice medicine in New York.
Within a 20-month period starting in 2020, an incarcerated pregnant woman reported she was in labor but was not evaluated for more than 30 hours. She delivered her baby alone in the cell, and the premature newborn died hours later. Another person died by suicide after not receiving mental health care. And, a man in his 60’s with high blood pressure and other conditions died from heart disease after receiving inadequate or improper treatment.
Attorney General Letitia James said every New Yorker deserves safe and competent medical care.
“Our investigation found that NaphCare illegally practiced medicine in New York and failed to adequately protect individuals in custody who relied on their care. These failures put vulnerable individuals at serious risk and had devastating consequences," she said. "Today, we are holding NaphCare accountable and ensuring it cannot return to New York without strict oversight.”
In addition to being banned from the state, the company also faces an $875,000 dollar fine.
