California County Hires New Healthcare Company After Jail Deaths Under Wellpath
On March 10, supervisors of the Shasta County Jail in Redding, California voted unanimously in favor of a three-year, $25 million contract with Mediko Correctional Healthcare to take over the jail’s medical and mental health services.
The jail, beginning on July 1 of this year, will stop contracting with its current healthcare provider, private healthcare profiteer Wellpath, due to the company’s long record of medical neglect and wrongful deaths both in Shasta County and at jails across the country. Wellpath filed for bankruptcy in late 2024, due in part to the 1,500 lawsuits the company was facing, most of which stemmed from deficient medical care for prisoners. The firm pulled out of bankruptcy in 2025 and continues to operate. [See: PLN, Jan. 2025, p.31].
Shasta County itself is facing several lawsuits from the family members of detainees who have died locked up in the county jail and under the care of Wellpath. Most recently, in February of this year, the mother of a 27-year-old detainee filed a wrongful death lawsuit alleging that her son went untreated during a mental health crisis that led to his death by suicide. The detainee, according to the lawsuit, was placed in isolation instead of being helped which led to his deteriorating mental state.
Source: Redding Record Searchlight
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