1/4/21 Call to Action: Stop Illegal, Inhumane Restrictions on Secure Housing Unit (SHU) at WVCF

 IDOC Watch - December 11, 2020

by Kwame “Beans” Shakur

Illegal Denial of Video Visits

Due to the Covid-19 virus Wabash Valley Correctional Facility closed the visitation room in March. Those of us held captive in the SHU have not been able to see our loved ones in 9 months, however, population has still been allowed to maintain contact with the outside world during this pandemic thru the use of video visits on kiosk machines located in every cell house.

The refusal to place kiosk on the SHU even prior to the pandemic is another form of sensory deprivation used to break the minds & spirits of those held in solitary confinement. To my knowledge this is the only lock up unit in the state that does not have video visitation as an option, an option that exist in order to make visits more convenient due to the fact most of us are shipped across the state hours away from home and a lot of our loved ones work during visitation hours. Under normal circumstances 9 months in captivity with no interaction from a loved one is enough to cause an individual to experience a number of issues, not to mention the uncertain times We find ourselves in now. With family members and loved ones dying and testing positive for covid-19, the refusal to place a kiosk machine on the SHU is causing extreme mental & emotional distress for both captives and those on the outside.

The SHU is also the only lockup unit in the state that does not allow individuals on disciplinary segregation to purchase "picture tickets/tokens" on commissary. i have been housed on the SHU since July 31 ,2018 and in that time i have not been allowed to have a picture taken to send to my family.

Following the visitation room closure in March, GTL began giving out 2 free 5 min calls every week for everybody locked up using their services. They followed that by also giving out free video visits each week. So, even a super exploiter- parasite company like GTL understands the hard times We are all experiencing as a people and the need for ones to have contact and support from the outside world. With that being said i am demanding that my captors place kiosk machines for video visits on the SHU as soon as possible and allow ones to have their pictures taken on disciplinary segregation.

Update 12/25/20

As a result of this demand at least 20 prisoners filed grievances. In an attempt to censor those standing up for Our rights, the facility Grievance Specialist returned everybody's grievance without officially attaching a grievance number or allowing it to pass through the proper chain of command. Therefore no higher authorities know that this issue has been raised and there is no documented paper trail showing that i exhausted all administrative remedies. These are the types of prison politics and corruption that We must expose and challenge. The grievance process is the first step a prisoner must take in order to take his/her case to court or even challenge on a facility level to seek relief. Without it you cannot move forward within the facility or pursue legal action.

Our oppressors/captors waste no time in showing us that We have no human or civil rights in their eyes, and that Our lives DON’T MATTER. This is exactly why N.A.L.C and IDOC Watch are working expediently to develop the regional & national infrastructure and network to Unify the voices of those behind enemy lines. Without the organizational and legal support from the outside We will continue to be silenced and dehumanized inside these modern day slave camps.

In addition to the illegal denial of video visits, people being held in the solitary confinement cages of the SHU are not receiving the diets or access to commissary they are entitled to per IDOC Policy & Procedure.

Please listen to the statements below from Kwame ‘Beans’ Shakur and Kevin ‘Rashid’ Johnson, who are both being caged on the SHU, and respond to their calls for outside support!

*LINK* 

On January 4, we are asking everyone to call Wabash Valley CF warden Frank Vanihel and the IDOC Central Office to demand:

1) That video visit kiosks be installed on the SHU and that the people caged there be allowed video visits in accordance with IDOC Policy & Procedure

2) That people caged on the SHU be allowed the diets and commissary they are entitled to under IDOC Policy and Procedure

Warden Frank Vanihel: (812) 398-5050 (follow extensions to reach the Warden)

IDOC Central Office: (317) 232-5711 ext. 2, ext. 2

#prisonlivesmatter

 

Urgent action! Contact Governor Holcomb about the COVID-19 crisis in Rockville women's prison

 

 IDOC Watch - December 18, 2020

 

"I’ve never been so sick in all my life. Everyone on this dorm is deathly ill … It all went downhill when they started putting positive cases back in the room with negative cases … I was just told I was positive and left in my room. With negative people. They are putting us all in danger at this point, including their officers."

 

"We get no medical attention whatsoever! They do not check on us, do not do temp checks, stopped giving Tylenol ... An older lady covered from head to toe with rash, her ears are swollen bad. They won’t get her help."

 

“In the beginning, I used to flippantly say that when the COVID finally comes here, the prison will just let us all get sick and die. I thought that I was just being dramatic, but it might have been more prescient than I know.... Why don't OUR lives matter?”

Each of these alarming messages are from women incarcerated in Rockville prison, Indiana’s largest women’s prison. There is a crisis in the prison as women are going undernourished, without treatment or isolation, and with hundreds sick. Despite eight months to prepare, Rockville did not do so, and is woefully underprepared for this crisis. They have now essentially abandoned these women to the virus.

Please call, tweet, or email the governor before his staff go on leave for the holidays.

phone: 317-232-4567

tweet: @GovHolcomb

email: https://www.in.gov/gov/governor-holcombask-eric/ 

Demand they must:

1. Test everyone in the prison

2. Isolate those who are sick and quarantine those who have contacted an infectious person

3. If they don’t have they space to isolate/quarantine individuals, they must release the over 200 women who would be released in the next six month, and transfer other women, until they do have the room

4. Provide appropriate treatment and nourishment to those who are sick

 

Free Billie Allen & Stop Federal Executions!

 

*To learn more about Billie Allen, visit: https://www.freebillieallen.com

Natalie Medley: Compassionate Release in Indiana

IDOC Watch - November 14, 2020

Compassionate Release in Indiana

By Natalie Medley, currently incarcerated at Indiana Womens’ Prison

Compassionate release is the reduction of a sentence for circumstances needing humane intervention in incarcerated individuals’ experiences; whereby the morality of continual imprisonment changes. Imminent death, significant illness, or old age are circumstances that may alter the public interest in the continual imprisonment of impacted individuals. Federally, the passage of The First Step Act expanded incentives to reward compliance in the Federal Bureau of Prisons (FBOP)’s use of compassionate release for those in its jurisdictions. Procedurally, the FBOP makes recommendation to the sentencing court when a request is approved [1]. However, the compassionate release amendment in the First Step Act allows clients to bring their own motions to a federal judge after exhaustion of FBOP procedures [2]. Indiana would benefit from committed compliance and review of its compassionate release procedures as well as removing the process from the political domain and making it a legal one [3].

Contrasting Federal law, Indiana law does not detail criteria for compassionate release. Instead, Indiana law qualifies the Indiana Parole Board as a division of the Indiana Department of Correction (IDOC) [4]. Concerning compassionate release applications, the Parole Board acts as an intermediary between those seeking relief and the Governor [5]. It is the IDOC that outlines criteria and the petitioning process for compassionate release applications. IDOC Administrative Policy, “Adult Offender Releases”, describes procedures to request appearances with the Parole Board, either clemency or medical clemency requests [6]. Each option has differing qualifying criteria with the final decision resting with the Governor [7]. 

Prior to 1979, or the “Old Code”, Indiana bestowed final authority in early release decisions with the Parole Board and not the Governor [8]. This made determinations for such releases apolitical, providing the appearance of an impartial and unbiased decision maker. Since the change issuing final authority for such decisions to the Governor, no single woman has been granted clemency, and minimal women have been granted medical clemency, only for imminent death cases [9]. The political ramifications for the Governor are equivalent to political death, making decision-making much too risky for impartiality. The process must be placed in a legal sphere if it is to have fair and honest application in the justice system.

Two options are available in Indiana for compassionate release requests: clemency or medical clemency [10]. Medical clemency is extremely burdensome and requires many approvals for the continuation of the request. According to policy, it is permitted in cases of terminal illness or if an incarcerated individual would be better served at another institution [11]. To gain relief, the facility’s Health Services Administrator (HSA) meets with the case management, health services staff, and the incarcerated person if possible. The HSA initiates the application and forwards it to Classification who forwards it to the Medical Director. Next, it returns to the HSA who sends it to the Warden for approval or denial. After that, the request goes to Central Office’s Chief-of-Staff, Chief Medical Officer, Executive Director of Re-Entry, Legal Services, Deputy Commissioners, and the Commissioner, whose denial may result in the Parole Board declining consideration of the petition. It is the Parole Board that must make the recommendation to the Governor for final approval [12].

Without a terminal condition or in need of institutional care, clemency is the only other option for those requesting compassionate release. It requires mandatory completion of 1/3 of a total imposed sentence, but the sentence must be longer than 10 years. Additional considerations must also be met. The incarcerated person initiates clemency by contacting staff and submitting a form. The Warden provides a recommendation to the Parole Board who investigates, contacts all parties, and holds both a public and private hearing. The Parole Board makes its recommendation to the Governor for approval [13]. 

The federal criminal system’s compassionate release procedures are found in federal code [14]. They delineate medical and non-medical circumstances for compassionate release considerations [15]. Medical considerations include terminal medical conditions, debilitating medical conditions, elderly persons with medical conditions, and elderly inmates over 65 years of age, having served the greater of 10 years or 75% of their sentence [16]. Non-medical circumstances include incapacitation of a spouse or registered partner.

The Families Against Mandatory Minimums (FAMM) coalition ran a compassionate release campaign, issuing summaries of compassionate release policies and the need for these policies in systems across the U.S. [17]. FAMM provided findings on individual state’s compassionate release processes in 2018. For Indiana, FAMM reported: “There is no publicly available information as to how many clemency or special medical clemency petitions the Governor of Indiana has granted”. While this may be true, publicly available information of the Parole Board’s “official actions” are accessible, and maintaining statistical information concerning its services and decisions is outlined in Indiana Code [18]. Since making clemency recommendations to the Governor under Indiana Code 11-9-2 is an official action of the Parole Board, it is misleading to claim publicly available information concerning clemency and medical clemency petitions is unavailable. In fact, the Parole Board keeps information concerning the Governor’s decisions on compassionate release decisions [19]. Transparency was denied to FAMM, a watchdog organization, due to the exceptionally poor track record of compassionate release cases in Indiana.

For 20 years, I have been incarcerated inside of Indiana’s female prisons. I have known of no woman ever having been granted clemency under new law scenarios. I have been aware of a few terminal medical conditions whose requests were granted, albeit in the 11th hour. Most relevant are the many requests that are denied and the women I have watched die inside of prison with no family and poor medical care, sometimes in extremely inhumane conditions.

The aging population can barely get around the prison. Many elderly women and sick women require 24-hour care. These people must depend on other inmates to shower, get dressed, use the restroom, eat, transport, etc. Inmates are not certified or trained in these ways, and the elderly and sick are the most vulnerable of our populations. They suffer humiliation with strangers to care for them. Women are forced to suffer oppressive restrictions and lack of medical care and most deaths.

Angie Elliott is a 51 year old confined to a wheelchair. She has major compression of the spinal cord, neuropathy, acquired deformity of the hip, polyneuropathy, and many more diagnoses. She has no physical therapy. She must be cared for by other inmates. The housing conditions are not conducive to her medical needs, with extremely heavy doors that are locked every time she enters or exits her room. The sidewalks are not wheelchair friendly, yet Angie must be pushed in a wheelchair every day to pick up her medication, causing immense pain. Her condition is chronic and debilitating, yet she could get better with proper medical care. She was sentenced to 40 years and has completed 9 years, not enough to request clemency.

Ronica Starks has been on dialysis for 8 years. Her incarceration prevents her from being on a state donor list. Her mother and sister had kidneys for donation, but because IDOC will not pay for organ transplants, Ronica missed the opportunity, having lost both of her family members to death. The ineffective care of her dialysis port caused the lack of circulation to her fingers, requiring one finger to be amputated. She was not given a death sentence, yet her life is gambled in the restrictions upon her life possibilities. Her prosecutor will not consent to a modification which is required under Indiana law. Yet her prosecutor suggests that IDOC can initiate an administrative procedure. IDOC will not permit a medical clemency petition without a terminal illness. Ronica’s will be if she is not cared for. She has done 20 years.

Linda Chesei has been in prison for 30 years. She is 70 years old. Her co-defendants have all been released from prison. She filed for clemency in 2014. She received a copy of the fax from the Governor (at the time Mike Pence) stating society was better without her in it. 

Compassionate release is necessary for morality. Promote compassionate release in Indiana by demanding humane action in these ways:

1. Remove clemency and medical clemency requests from political realms, and restore the process to the legal domain. Provide the process an impartial and non-partisan decision-maker.

2. Use statistical accounting as a measure of the compassionate release processes. Make this incentive for the use of compassionate release for those who pose little risk to the public safety.

3. Seek statistical information from IDOC:

   1. Percentage or numbers of inmate populations over 50 years old 

   2. Number of inmates with high level medical care, restricted to wheelchairs, or assigned other inmate medical assistants

   3. Number of inmates in need of an organ transplant or who are undergoing dialysis

   4. Number of inmates having served 30 plus years

4. Require an online death registry for IDOC and jail deaths dating back to 1990. Require prisons and jails to display memorial sights for the deceased in its care.

Return humanity in Indiana.

In loving memory of: 

Pam Brown, Glenda Robinette, Karen Carter, Princolla Shields, Tammy Aver, Janet Burtrand, Donna Stites, Gilda Smith, Janet Atherton, Jan Chin, Carolyn Hampton, and the many more not sentenced to death but having died in prison… 

1. Kansas Federal Public Defender: The First Step Act and Compassionate Release, 1-10-19, Federico, Rich, AFPD.
   https://kansasfpd.blogspot.com/2019/01/the-first-step-act-compassionate-release.html, p. 1

2. Sentencing Law and Policy: Compassionate Release After First Step, 2-18-19, Blog: Berman, Douglas A. https://sentencing.typepad.com/sentencing_law_and_policy/2019/02/compassionate-release, p. 1

3. Compassionate release in Indiana must find approval from the Governor, a politically elected official. Removing the process, restoring it back to the 5 person Parole Board who all have to agree, or submitting petitions to the sentencing courts instead of the Governor, restores the legal process to the legal realm.

4. IC 11-9-1-1 (a)

5. IC 11-9-1-2 (a)(3) and IC 11-9-2-1

6. A.P. 01-04-105 pages VIII-I – VIII-8

7. Clemency requires a sentence greater than 10 years with 1/3 of the sentence completed and a clear institutional record for one year. Medical clemency requires a terminal medical condition or one that would be more effectively treated in another type of facility.

8. A.P. 01-04-105 pages VIII-II – VIII-13

9. This is based upon the knowledge I have as a prisoner.

10. This contradicts the report FAMM put out saying any medical condition will qualify under “Special Medical Clemency”. Also, no option for temporary leaves has been used in the maximum security prisons, contradicting FAMM’s reporting that is an option for the terminally ill (FAMM: Compassionate Release Indiana June 2018).

11. A.P. 01-04-105 p. VIII-5

12. Id. p. VIII-8

13. Id. p. VIII-4

14. 18 U.S.C. 3582(c)(1)(A) & 4205(g)

15. Policy Statement USS6 1B1.13

16. Id

17. FAMM, June 2018, Everywhere and Nowhere: Compassionate Release in the States.

18. IC 11-9-1-2(a)(5) and (4)

19. A.P. 01-104-105 p. VIII-4(12) and VIII-8(23)

Christopher Trotter: BEHIND THE WALLS WITH COVID -19

 IDOC Watch October 29, 2020

10/26/2020

BEHIND THE WALLS WITH COVID -19

My name is Christopher Trotter, and I'm a political prisoners being held captive inside the belly of the beast at Wabash Valley Correctional Facility, Carlisle, IN. At this present time the facility is on lockdown due to the uptick in positive cases of Covid-19 amongst staff and prisoners. No mandatory testing or contact tracing of the prison population has been done. Nor has the facility tested the most vulnerable of the population which are the elderly and chronic care prisoners. The only measures that were taken was the isolation of a handfull of prisoners whom were taken to segregation and subjected to harsh conditions so they would return back to the general prison population and tell their stories of harsh treatment while in isolation which only serves to discourage prisoners from seeking medical treatment if they are infected or feeling ill.

Therefore, a prisoner who may be ill or infected hides his sickness and becomes a super spreader amongst the prisoners. The refusal of the facility to conduct mandatory testing will only bring about unwanted death when the virus really takes off inside this belly of the beast. Also, out of over 30 prisoners that have been tested, the facility has not provided one copy of the test results to any of the prisoners. Should we just take their word if the test is positive or negative?The facility has an interest to see that the facility isn't subjected to any long term lockdown due to the money it will lose from the outside companies that have invested in prison labor. The facility is more concerned about losing money than the well being of prisoners. It doesn't help when you have a president Trump, who says things like, "Don't be afraid of Covid." Sure he doesn't have to be afraid because he getting the best health treatment money can buy. But what type of health care treatment will a prisoner get? Please be smart and take the virus seriously.

Christopher Trotter

Indiana Political Prisoner Christopher Trotter, who in 2019 was re-sentenced to 129 years for his role in the 1985 uprising against guard brutality at Pendleton CF. 

 

Holiday Tablet Giveaway for Children of Incarcerated People

Holiday Tablet Giveaway for Children of Incarcerated People 

 

Major Covid-19 Outbreak at Indiana Women's Prison Mishandled, Virus Spreading!

 IDOC WatchOctober 21, 2020

We received these messages from a woman with serious under-lying health conditions who is incarcerated at Indiana Women’s Prison, which is on lockdown due to a major Covid-19 outbreak. The lock-down has already lasted nearly a month. Please see these recent articles from WFYI about conditions at IWP for more information:

Indiana Women's Prison Locked Down Following New COVID-19 Cases

Former Staff Say Turnover At Indiana Women's Prison Is Self-Inflicted

10/07/20

As to now, no out of cell activity. I do not even see out of cell activity for segregation women, most of whom are sick (16). We are once again being denied fresh air, or dayroom recycled air. We are denied space to be apart from others. I spoke to mental health counselor Mr. Purdue about the hour out a day stipulation in federal law...it has been 8 days today.

Write-ups are being undertaken for using the bathroom and phone. A male guard informed me two nights ago he was putting my name on a list to use the bathroom...4 stalls were open at the time, his desire to control just to be controlling pushing me too far.

No rapid testing, only prolonged testing. It has been days, a sick woman is in bad shape breathing. She is still in bad shape with no test results given yet. Many are sick. The c/o's just got a $4 pay increase so their motivation and loyalty may have just took a turn. Hopefully, injustice is still injustice to them, pay raise or not.

10/14/2020 

It is harder to stay safe. Hand sanitizer has been removed from the unit because allegations of ppl drinking it. Continuously, no testing is being conducted on cellmates or dormmates after positive cases! It is impossible for me to stay safe. Groups congregate, no sanitation is enforced. It is scary and sad. Frustration builds because everyone's mental health is suffering due to no outside air and not leaving the space of the unit, of which we can't even access openly. Everyone is on edge. We are confined to bathrooms and cells. Better than last time because we can access the bathroom until mass punishment comes in. 

However...imagine all the ppl in free society who do not take precautions against covid and who do not care if they get sick or even if they are sick...imagine not being able to take yourself away from those ppl. Whatever your personal take on coronavirus, I have zero ability to stay safe beyond wearing my mask, and that has limits. I am forced to live with positive infectious ppl, and cannot escape their contagiousness, nor can I instill the need for anyone else to protect themselves. This is the worst possible setting for the virus. We have been locked down since September 29th, and still, today, more positive cases on the unit. Another 10 days, there will be more positive cases, and by then, day 25 of being locked down, ppl will care even less because of having had no movement or space.

If our leaders said prison is safe, we need new leaders!

10/19/2020 

Cases keep increasing here. Today, bed moves were made to quarantined units; units with positive covid cases. Imagine, being as vulnerable as having lupus and cancer and being placed on a unit with coronavirus. Further the frustration with no cleaning supplies in over 36 hours. We have no cleaning supplies! No hand sanitizer! No soap! Throughout this lockdown we have not had a unit-bleaching (I live on a covid positive unit). We have been denied hand sanitizer since last Wednesday. The soap is being used to clean the bathroom floor at night because no cleaning supplies are issued at night shifts, only day shifts, although not today. Mandatory workers, or those allowed out of units, are kitchen workers and companions. The two covid-19 positive patients in the infirmary are cared for by incarcerated non-paid workers. They must do the work per terms of the prison's programming for PLUS. This go-around the incarcerated workers have a plastic gown and a cloth mask, at least. No cleaning crews exist. No bleach crew. Most of the positive cases on my unit can be attributed to incarcerated laborers having been assigned to cleaning seg, where they first housed covid positive cases. Or, those working as medical assistants to elderly and vulnerable who became sick. The prison acts as a nursing home to these populations, but without true nursing care, replaced by incarcerated care. The systems in place not only refuse to consider the human need of exercise, healthy diet, mental health and medical care, but also common sense safety measures in a pandemic like not moving vulnerable people on covid positive units! The Board of Health is not involved at all. Two times in April, the prison was bleached by people in hazmat suits. While this was minimal it at least verified the health commissioner's assertions at the then daily 2pm Governor show that institutions were attended by state crews.

Thank you for sharing the importance of keeping people safe at IWP.

  

 

Community Demands Justice For Dorian Murrell

 

Taking Our Community Back

7/31/202, This Friday!

facebook link:

"Set your calendar for July 31st, 2020. The New Afrikan Black Panther Party will be bringing Benny Lee, former Chief of the Vice Lords; Ike Taylor, co-founder of Growth and Development; and Melvin Lamb, former General of Black P Stones/El Rukns.

Kwame Shakur, the Minister of Culture for the New Afrikan Black Panther and Shaquan Davis, founder of the Fintown Academy will be co-hosting this event.

Many people have a very misconstrued understanding of the history of street organizations. This, too, is Black History. So know this part of our history. Because once you do, you will see that street organizations are the vehicles by which we can solve a lot of problems in our communities today.

The above speakers will be speaking about the history of these street organizations and their shared histories as well as where we need to go from here.

Seating will be limited, so make sure you arrive early. If you're not able to be apart of this history, then we will be live-streaming this as well on Facebook. We will also record this, so everyone will get a chance to see it no matter what.

DARE TO STRUGGLE!!! DARE TO WIN!!!

You can support the fundraising for this event by Cash App: $UPMFL or PayPal: kj33881@gmail.com"

More:

Action Report: Stop Evictions & Police Terror

Casino Workers Caravan

URGENT Phone & Email Zap: Angaza Iman Bahar Being Held Past Release Date in Retaliation for Hunger Strike!!

URGENT Phone & Email Zap: Angaza Iman Bahar Being Held Past Release Date in Retaliation for Hunger Strike!!

 IDOC WatchJune 8, 2020

6/9/20 Update: Update: Please call MCF Legal Department now: (765) 689-8920 ext. 5579

Angaza Iman Bahar (aka Jimmy Jones #891782), the incarcerated founder of IDOC Watch, is facing an additional two months being added on to his sentence. He was scheduled to be released this coming Thursday, June 11th, but his release date was just pushed back to August 12th over a trumped-up conduct report. He was also attacked by someone he has never even spoken to, earlier this week. We believe this is all retaliation for his activism and refusal to submit to the inhumane practices of IDOC!

Please call and email Miami Correctional Facility (MCF) and IDOC Central Office to demand that the conduct report be dropped and Angaza be released this Thursday as previously scheduled. He has been in prison since he was 19 years old, for nearly 27 years. The conduct report they are trying to hold him an extra two months for is specifically retaliation for going on hunger strike to get his medical needs met. In May, staff at MCF were refusing to provide Angaza with medications to take care of the sever allergies he suffers from, and refusing to provide him the insoles he needs in order to avoid serious foot injury. They only gave him the allergy meds after his hunger strike, and they never provided the insoles.

Let’s get Angaza home this week!! We need him out here fighting with us for freedom!

Please call MCF and ask to speak with Case Manager Smith or Caseworker Burkhardt: (765) 689-8920 ext. 0

Email IDOC Chief Counsel Robert Bugher: rbugher@idoc.in.gov

And call IDOC Central Office: (317) 232-5711, ext. 2, ext, 3, ext. 1

Sample Script:

“Hello, I am [calling/writing] to request that conduct report #MCF 20-05-0173 against Mr. Jimmy Jones #891782, from May 7, be dropped and Mr. Jones be released this week as previously scheduled. Mr. Jones was found guilty of this conduct violation without the due process he is entitled to under IDOC Policy & Procedure 02-04-101, “The Disciplinary Code for Adult Offenders.” Hearing Officer Grove denied Mr. Jones the right to be present at the disciplinary hearing, in violation of policy. He was also denied the opportunity to review the evidence against him, also in violation of policy. These facts can be verified with Disciplinary Officer Eagleheart. Please see to it that this conduct report is dismissed immediately. If Mr. Jones is held past his correct release date due to these violations of his due process rights, legal and other action will be taken.”

 

Peaceful Solidarity w/ Minneapolis Attacked w/ Tear Gas & Rubber Bullets

"When the shooting started was when the looting started..."

Critical Thought Critique: WE CAN'T BREATHE: ON THE LYNCHING OF GEORGE FLOYD ...

Critical Thought Critique: WE CAN'T BREATHE: ON THE LYNCHING OF GEORGE FLOYD ...: WE CAN'T BREATHE: ON THE LYNCHING OF GEORGE FLOYD (2020) by Kevin "Rashid" Johnson On May 24, 2020, a crowd of onlookers...

People's Press Conference

May Day Caravan

#FreeEmAll

All on Fire, Please Bring Water

Hey P4P this is Kylie the Krankenschwester reporting from California. I am currently working at a hospital in the Bay Area treating COVID19 patients on daily basis. The practices are completely unacceptable here. I emailed 15 politicians-local and national, and 10 local and national news outlets this piece. Read it, be disgusted, share it, and make sure this is not happening in your community!

All on Fire, Please Bring Water
Nurses are NOT like firefighters who run into the house on fire.
To make the scenario analogous, we are firefighters who are ON FIRE running into the house on fire.

I am a nurse at a Kaiser hospital in Solano County. I want to tell you what is going at this hospital that is completely appalling. From friends who work in hospitals around the bay area of California, this is happening all over and needs to publicized so that it can be addressed.

Acute healthcare facilities are NOT in compliance in deed nor spirit with the country’s or state’s efforts to slow COVID-19 from spreading. When patients enter an emergency room, they are required to sign documents consenting to treatment and more recently many hospitals require patients to sign documents releasing the hospital of any liability of lost or stolen property during their stay. I believe that a new document will soon be required by patients to sign at hospitals stating, “you may be cared for by a healthcare provider- doctor, nurse, nurse’s aide, dietary specialist, physical therapist, respiratory therapist, etc.- who is presently contagious with COVID-19, and that’s not our fault” as a way for hospitals to release themselves of the liability they have been setting themselves up for by not protecting their staff enough.

Currently the Solano County guidelines for healthcare providers state that healthcare workers should be a priority population for testing for COVID-19 and that symptoms that qualify a healthcare worker to quarantine or be tested are different and more general than those of the general population because of the potential of exponential transmission in hospital settings. As of the March 17, 2020 update the following symptoms would screen a healthcare worker positive for possible COVID19- “fever (either measured temperature ≥100.0°F or subjective fever), cough, shortness of breath, sore throat or rhinorrhea,” and even expands symptoms that may be considered to include “muscle aches, nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, abdominal pain, headache or fatigue” (Solano Public Health, 2020).

To show you how serious Solano County is about preventing spread in acute care hospital settings, I will only share with you here the recommendations for a symptomatic healthcare that has had NO KNOWN EXPOSURE to a COVID-19 positive patient- “Healthcare provider may return to work 7 days after symptom onset or after resolution of all symptoms, whichever comes first,” and “healthcare provider must wear a surgical mask at all times while at work until 14 days after symptom onset.” The guidelines get stricter and include isolation for non-symptomatic healthcare providers when exposure to a positive COVID-19 patient has occurred.

To outline my next sections, I want to emphasize two areas in which my hospital is not in compliance with above standards for its county and then offer a suggestion for what we should be demanding from hospitals to help quell this pandemic.

First area in which hospitals are failing to reduce transmission

Firstly, my example is taken from just a couple days ago when I assisted a nurse’s aide in calling her unit manager to explain her ill symptoms and advocate for herself what is required by the Solano County guidelines. The manager’s response was pathetic.

A nurse’s aide had called out sick twice during the previous few days because of feeling ill. Not only her, but her three-year-old son had symptoms “like I’ve never felt before.” The symptoms of sore throat, weakness, headache, sudden, repeated, intermittent fever were some of the complaints. She had contacted her primary care doctor who said she did not qualify for a COVID-19 test and could return to work. On the day she returned to work she was still feeling those symptoms but felt she “needed” to come to work, especially since she was having to use her own sick time to call in. I showed her the Solano County’s updated guidelines for healthcare providers that clearly state her symptoms were inclusive to test for COVID-19 and that she should stay home for 7 days and wear a mask for 14 days. I was right by her side when she called her unit manager to discuss it. The manager said she could not grant her any time off of work and that she could let her wear a mask for one day but not fourteen. The manager’s reasons included the facilities short supply of masks and, also, that this nurses’ aid likely got the virus from the community, not the hospital, and so she as the manager could not take any responsibility for it.

To summarize, healthcare workers are being required to use their own sick time to take days off from work with no guidance from the hospital as to how long when it is clearly stated in the Solano County guidelines. Secondly, the way this hospital is choosing to ration masks during this time is exacerbating the spread of the virus in the healthcare setting.

Second area in which hospitals are failing to reduce transmission

Last week our hospital announced that surgical masks were not to be worn by staff at all unless caring for a flu- or COVID-19- positive patient while in their room. Prior to this, it has been common practice for staff to wear masks when interacting with patients who have not been tested for either but have respiratory symptoms, for staff to wear them if they have not received the flu shot (FYI did you know Solano County ended flu season early to preserve masks that were being used for this reason), or even staff to wear them out of precaution all day while they interacted with so many different patients and people. Last week we were informed we would be “written up” and disciplinary action would be taken against us if we were seen wearing masks in the hallways or at the nurses’ stations. Nearly all the staff I work with object to this given the risks associated with working in our facility at this time and the risks of transmission to our families and loved ones when we leave work. We were told last week we could not buy and bring in our own masks to wear. We were told this week that while it is trending right now, homemade masks, bandanas, and scarves cannot be used or worn by staff while at work because it “sends the wrong image” to our patients.

To summarize, healthcare providers wear masks for two reasons- to protect ourselves from the patient and protect patients from ourselves. When we can only wear masks with the few patients that are fortunate enough to be tested for flu or COVID-19, we are exposing ourselves, patients, and families to all pathogens.

My suggestion

With the above as our reality, you can see we are a hotbed for the virus to spread. We know the virus can be transmitted by asymptomatic people who have not been tested, thus the nationwide need for social distancing. What we need now is to have all healthcare providers tested, symptomatic or not, for COVID-19 and have those that test positive quarantine per recommendations. Then next week, we need to test every one again, and the next week. This is where you will get accurate statistics of the spreading disease and if hospitals are doing their part to prevent the transmission of this virus. There is much emphasis on the cleaning and disinfecting practices at our hospitals, but it means nothing if the carrier of the pathogen is in and out of a patient’s room 100 times a day in the form of doctors, nurses, aids, etc.

Something we need to realize and accept is that healthcare providers are going to test positive for COVID-19 and eventually come back to work (of course, if they do not die from the virus). If we are not going to test and quarantine healthcare worker right now then we might as well end all of our social distancing and isolating practices. According to the management at my hospital, COVID-19 “is just the flu, we’re all going to get it anyway” so they claim healthcare workers can work through their symptoms without providing them PPE to protect against the spread of the virus. If this is the case, then let all of society out of their houses and tell them “it’s just the flu, we’re all going to get it anyway.”

My hospital management has compared the work of healthcare providers at this time to that of “firefighters running into a house or forest on fire to save it.” I think they are wrong. To make that scenario analogous, we are firefighters who are ON FIRE running into the house or forest on fire. We are making it worse because the hospitals are choosing public image over protection of their workers which then extends to purposefully exposing patients. Even with COVID-19 taking the spotlight, there are still ailing Americans that require hospitalizations. There are people still having strokes, heart attacks, gallbladder issues, car accidents, appendicitis. We are still taking care of those patients, but without any PPE or isolation measures to prevent the staff from transmitting it to the patients, like I said, we are all on fire running into the fire trying to stop it. It just won’t work.

Reference
Solano Public Health. (2020, March 17). Solano county COVID-19 management of general community and healthcare personnel-Updated guidance [PDF file]. Solano County. 

https://admin.solanocounty.com:4433/documents/SPH_COVID19_PriorityTesting_Patient_HCP_Management_UpdatedGuidance_V2_0.._.pdf?fbclid=IwAR21flX4M6tM3yxoVvsgvj93dh3joeNGmvwmYgtkYSipW7aVqPhBJJ0IJTw

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UNITE LOCAL 23 GEARS UP FOR CONTRACT NEGOTIATIONS

UNITE LOCAL 23 GEARS UP FOR CONTRACT NEGOTIATIONS

(by Jason Jones)

2020 will be the year about 8,000 casino workers across the country will be in contract negotiations with the casino behemoths, Caesars Entertainment and Eldorado Resorts. Betty Marion, 58, has worked at Caesars Southern Indiana Hotel & Casino for 16 years. Earning $13.79 per hour after all that time, she had to declare bankruptcy and could not afford her house in Sellersburg. Betty spoke very matter-of-factly to Peoples World in that accent native to Southern Indiana and Northern Kentucky. Not quite Southern, not quite Midwestern but with a definite twang that reminds you she comes from an area of the country where people are not afraid to fight injustice. “That aggravated the tar out of me” Betty went to describe how the low pay and high insurance deductible had her “choosing between food or rent.” She has even had to take on a roommate to share costs. Betty works the wardrobe department and is a member of UNITE Local 23. Betty signed up about one year ago to be a part of the organizing and bargaining committees. She shared that this time; she is getting engaged in the fight for a good contract and respect on the job.

New Albany lies on the Indiana side of the Ohio River across from Louisville, KY. One of the first casinos in Indiana, it has changed hands several times. Currently, the casino is owned by Eldorado Resorts after their merger with Caesars Entertainment. Eldorado is known for its union busting. Caesars CEO, Tony Rodio, is probably best known for shutting down Donald Trump’s Taj Mahal casino in 2016 resulting in the loss of nearly 3,000 jobs almost overnight.

Betty knows the national campaign being waged this year has high stakes for her. But she knows there is strength in numbers.

Taylor Cox, 29, works at Indiana Grand Racing & Casino in Shelbyville, IN. Shelbyville is a rural Indiana Town about 30 minutes east of Indianapolis. Taylor is a bartender and has worked there for about two years. Taylor also stressed the importance of having control over his health insurance and wages that keep up with the cost of living. Taylor described his coworkers at the casino as people with families, from all parts of central Indiana, and ages from early adulthood to nearing retirement. Taylor underscored the importance of having a say in his workplace especially when it comes to scheduling. He shared that there is a high turnover rate among employees due to work scheduling not being flexible especially when workers have children to care for.

The union also recognizes the threats of automation. UNITE is working to ensure protections for retraining and ensuring those workers will have employment lined up before they are laid off. Along with good wages, health care, respect for seniority, the union is fighting for protections against sexual harassment. Taylor described the environment in the casino as one where women workers have to be on guard against management and customers alike. For all these reasons, Taylor underscored the importance of the next few months as nation-wide contract negotiations take place. He also shared the importance of community support. He, along with his coworkers, will lead a delegation to management on March 12^th at 3:00pm as part of the struggle for a better contract.

Eric Brooks, community co-chair of Indianapolis, IN based Central Indiana Jobs with Justice said, “We stand with organized labor and community organizations struggling to meet the need for quality, affordable health care for working families. We are actively committed to building labor and community support for all struggles by working people and allies to better workers’ lives.” Central Indiana Jobs with Justice anticipates supporting the delegation as well as all future actions in support of Caesars workers.

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