ADVOCATING FOR PRISONERS
WITH MEDICAL NEEDS
California
The CORRESPONDENCE CONTROL UNIT “HOW TO”
The Correspondence
Control Unit
California Prison
Healthcare Services
[This entire process takes
about 2 hrs over a period of 3
weeks. Your initial phone call
and letter will take
approximately 1 ½ hour]
You do not have to write
‘fancy’ or use legal jargon. Just
tell it like it is. Be brief and to
the point.
Call the Correspondence
Control Unit hotline; 916-
324-1403
You will be given time to leave a
“long” message.
State: your name
PO Box 4038
Sacramento, CA 95812-
4038
916-324-1403
State: the name of the prisoner &
his CDC # the prison where is
located, and where he is housed;
his Unit and bed #
EXAMPLE: “I am calling in regard
to John Doe, housed at Corcoran
State prison, C-4-123.
As briefly as possible, explain the
reason you are calling and the
details as to why this prisoner
needs help.
Prisoners must have
already filed at least
one 602 appeal
concerning their health
American Prison Advocacy 2010
care issue before the
CCU will help them.
Prisoners do not have
to be any relation to
you for you to call and
advocate for them.
EXAMPLE- PHONE CALL: My name
is Jane Doe. My phone # is:___
___ ____ (I always leave my “cell
phone #) I am calling in regard to
inmate, John Doe, at Corcoran
State Prison, who is housed in Unit
C-4-123. John Doe has been
attempting to get medical care for
his herniated disc for 2 years
however his 602 appeals have
continuously been ignored or
denied. Mr. Doe states that he had
an MRI prior to being transferred to
Corcoran which showed he clearly
had herniated discs; L-4 & L-5, but
since he has been at Corcoran
(Since November of 2008) he has
not been able to get any medical
attention.
Could you please look into Mr.
Does’ records, evaluate his needs
and get him the help he needs.
This man is in constant pain and is
having difficulty performing even
the most normal daily tasks. (Stick
to the facts; do not blame or
accuse, keep as brief as possible
while still conveying pertinent
information)
End of Phone call
Once you have made the phone
call then ‘write a letter’ reiterating
what you said in the letter but with
full details, but keeping it as brief
as possible.
Within 3 days of this phone call
you should receive a call back from
the Correspondence Control
Unit….at which time you can give
them more details. Also during this
call, they will advise you that they
cannot release any of the
prisoners’ medical information to
you without AN AUTHORIZATION
TO RELEASE HEATH CARE
INFORMATION. Tell
them….”Alright, well please send
me that form”. They will tell you
that it is far easier if the prisoner
fills it out on his end, and sends it
in. Tell them THANKYOU- BUT
PLEASE SEND IT TO ME; I WILL
SEND IT TO HIM. (it has been my
experience that if they send it
‘directly to the prisoner’…it rarely
ever actually gets to him. If I send
it to him “certified mail” then it
reaches him
It is not absolutely necessary to
have the AUTHORIZATION TO
REALEASE HEALTH INFORMATION
FORM. They will see to his needs
regardless…but it it ‘good’ to have
it in case you need to ‘follow-up’
on care given, which I have had to
do from time to time. For instance,
one prisoner got the ‘surgery’ he
was scheduled for, but then did not
get the much needed ‘physical
therapy’ needed after the surgery.
Because I had that ‘RELEASE’ on
American Prison Advocacy 2010
file….I was able to ‘push’ for his
physical therapy.
I always let the prisoner I am
advocating for know that the
RELEASE is not absolutely
necessary; that they will get the
care they need without it, but that
the RELEASE authorizes me to
“follow-up” if they are not getting
the ‘complete’ care they need.
These records are personal and
should be kept HIGHLY
CONFIDENTIAL. The prisoner has
options as to ‘which parts’ of his
records he wants to release also;
medical, psychological, dental,
etc….so he can authorize any or all
parts of these records. But it’s
important that you emphasize that
this is “his choice” to do so.
SO….you have made the call. You
have received a call back. You
have requested the Authorization
to Release Health Care Info for the
prisoner; which you are going to
send to your prisoner; (certified
mail with a return receipt), and you
have written your letter.
Now, send your letter (you should
actually mail your letter the day
you make the phone call, if
possible) to The Correspondence
Control Unit/Prison Health Care
Services, (CCU) and you are going
to reiterate what you said during
your phone call…..and “add all the
details” that you didn’t’ have time
to add during the message you
were leaving.
Send a copy of this letter
to CCU.
Send a copy of your CCU letter
to the prisoner you are
advocating for (this lets him
know help is on the way;
encourages him)
And keep a copy for your files)
I am sending with these
instructions a SAMPLE letter so you
can get an idea of what to include;
Be sure and mention that the
prisoner has already filled out
a 602 or numerous 602’s
(whichever is the case)
Be sure and include your return
address and phone number
Be sure and include the Prisoners
name, CDC #, Prison, and housing
unit
Always, always, always keep a
‘paper trail’. Make a file for each
prisoner you advocate for. Print out
the letters you have written and
the ones you receive back from the
CCU and the prisoners. Keep on
“on-going “file.
Send your letter to the CCU. You
should receive a letter back from
them stating that they are looking
into John Does records and they
will see to it his needs are being
met.
American Prison Advocacy 2010
In ALL cases that I
have dealt with over SAMPLE LETTER #1
the years (since 2005) (These examples are ‘real’;
once the initial phone names and locations have
call is made, and the been substituted to protect
the confidentiality of the
letter is sent to prisoner)
CCU…..all the prisoners
I have advocated for
Jane Doe
have gotten a response 333 third st
for the CCU within 4-5 Oakland, CA 33333
weeks and their 333-313-3013

medical needs have The Correspondence Control Unit

been fully taken care California Prison Healthcare Services
of. PO Box 4038
Sacramento, CA 95812-4038
916-324-1403

February 18, 2010

RE: CDCR REFUSAL TO TREAT INMATE

To whom it may concern;

American Prison Advocacy 2010

I am writing to you regarding Inmate, John Doe,
F-97547, HDSP/D-4-120L. Mr. Doe states that
he has had Hept C since 1999.
According to Mr. Doe he has 2 strains of the
Hept C virus; Geneo type 1 A & 2 B so he feels
this disease is twice as hard on his liver. During
the period when Mr. Doe was receiving
treatment for Hept-C, he said it was working.
He had a ‘Viral Load” done on June 15th, 2009,
was receiving 1 injection of Interferon 1 time
per week and 7 Ribavirin pills a day and was
assessed at a blood count of over 1 million 1
hundred 40 thousand …. after 4 weeks of
treatment his viral load was at zero. He states he
is what is referred to as “a responder to
treatment.
Mr. Doe states that he is currently being denied
treatment because he was so sick that he could
not withstand the treatment given and was
forced to sign a “Refusal for Treatment” by
Nurse Practioner, Melody French.
He also has MRSA Staph that he is not currently
being treated for. Prior to being denied medical
care P.A Miranda did a culture of the sores on
his legs and determined that he had MRSA. P.A.
Miranda treated this with creams for several
months to no avail. In October of 2009 he states
he is going to MED-I-CALL almost daily. In
October P.A Miranda finally did a culture on the
sores that would not heal; the result,
“MRSA”Staph infection.
He WAS being treated for the HEPT C, in 2009
however; after receiving this treatment he began
breaking out with sores all over his legs and
buttocks.
In September he requested that P.A. Miranda
suspend his treatment for hept C, pending
getting the MRSA infection under control (He
states at that time he had sores all over his
buttocks, inside his mouth and on his lips) Mr.
Doe states that he was so sick in September with
the MRSA and side effects of the Hept C
treatment that he could not continue with the
Hept C treatment. He states that he was
vomiting and had diarrhea, headaches, Chills
and fever sweats; all a side effect of the
Interferon and Ribavirin treatment. He states he
could not even get extra toilet paper. (Prisoners
are only allowed only one roll per week)
As a result of his request; Nurse Practitioner,
Melody French (supervisor of the Hept-C
treatment program) forced him to sign a “refusal
of treatment” and kicked him out of the Hept C
program.
Currently; he is not receiving treatment for
either the Hept C or the MRSA and requests to
be given treatments for both conditions.
Mr. Doe states that he has submitted numerous
602’s concerning this matter however the
Appeals Coordinator continually denies his
602’s.
He further states that MRSA patients are not
being isolated at HDSP.
I ask that you look into this situation as soon as
possible and work towards getting Mr. Doe re-
instated in the HEPT C treatment program and
provide adequate care of his MRSA Staph
infection.
It is also of grave concern to us here at PARC,
that, if in fact, the MRSA patients are NOT
being isolated at High Desert State Prison, that
this protocol be remedied immediately.
Thank you for your time and consideration. I
look forward to hearing from you as soon as
possible concerning Mr. Does’s medical care.
Sincerely,
American Prison Advocacy 2010

Jane Doe
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Sample Letter #2
Mrs. Jane Smith
444 4th st.
Oakland, CA 45445
510-444-4444
The Correspondence Control Unit
California Prison Healthcare Services
PO Box 4038
Sacramento, CA 95812-4038
916-324-1403
January 6th, 2010
To whom it may concern:
I am writing in regard to prisoner, John Smith,
D-76009, housed at High Desert State Prison, Z
Unit-603.
Mr. Smith has shared with me that he has been
incarcerated in CDCR since 2004. When he
came into the system, including at the County
Level, he had a displaced shoulder. [Left
shoulder]
He states that in every prison he has been in
since 2004 he has been seen by medical staff;
that the medical staff in each consecutive prison
have been aware of his medical condition but
none have followed thru on recommendations
for surgery, because each time he felt he was
close to getting surgery, he was transferred to
yet another prison.
In 2006 he was transferred to C.S.P. Solano,
where he dislocated his shoulder twice on
approximately January 27th, 2006 and August
9th, 2006.
According to Mr. Smith; each time his shoulder
has been dislocated he has been taken to
“outside” hospitals where X-Rays and MRI’s
were done and his shoulder was put back into
place.
Once again, before surgery that was
recommended could be performed; Mr. Smith
was transferred to Pleasant Valley State Prison,
Coalinga, CA.
Mr. Smith states that finally they put him on a
waiting list for surgery; per the recommendation
of the orthopedic doctor, however before
surgery could be performed he was transferred
yet again, this time to High Desert State Prison,
Susanville, CA, on October 10, 2007.
According to Mr. Smith he began putting
medical slips in requesting surgery as soon as he
arrived at High Desert. He informed the medical
staff at High Desert about the history of his
dislocated shoulder, as well as informing them
that he had already been approved for surgery at
PVSP.
Mr. Smith states that despite all of his efforts the
closest he has come to getting his much needed
surgery was an appointment with a RN nurse.
She scheduled him to see a doctor which he has
not seen to date! His shoulder has dislocated
twice in 2009; once on August 17th, 2009 and
again on October 25th 2009.
Mr. Smith states that all of his MRI’, X-Rays,
doctor appointments as well as
recommendations for Surgery are in his medical
American Prison Advocacy 2010
records. He states that he has attempted to
utilize the 602 Administrative Appeals Process
to appeal this situation and get the much needed
care he needs, however the Administrative
Appeals Coordinator rejects his appeals,
stating he does not have the necessary
supporting documents.
Mr. Smith further states that he has been
attempting to get copies of his medical records
since August 17th 2009 to no avail. The
administration will not cooperate with him.
I ask that you look into this matter immediately.
This young man has been incarcerated in CDCR
for 6 years with this existing medical concern
and has yet to get any help with it. Please
investigate this situation and let me know if I
can be of help in any way to expedite the care of
Mr. Smith.
Thank you for your time and consideration,
Jane Smith
Cc: Warden, Mike McDonald
Cc: Ombudsman, Karin Richter
CC: Litigating Coordinator, HDSP (I
specifically included the “Litigating
Coordinator” since Mr. Smith had difficulty in
obtaining his medical records. I hoped this
office could be of help in getting him his
records)
[IN THIS CASE I SENT COPIES OF THE
LETTER I SENT TO CCU…TO THE WARDEN,
OMBUDSMAN & LITIGATING
COORDINATOR, because the fact that this
young man had not gotten his needs met in “6
years” after having received approval for
surgery twice was unacceptable! I wanted to
draw plenty of attention to his needs]
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SAMPLE LETTER # 3
Mrs. Jane Smith
444 4th st.
Oakland, CA 45445
510-444-4444
Mr. John Smith # D-76009
HDSP/ Z Unit # 603
PO Box 3030
Susanville, CA 96127
January 14, 2010
Dear John:
I just wanted to let you know that I
have received 3 calls from The
Correspondence Control Unit/Prison
Health Services people.
The first call was in response to my
call; in which I verbally gave them all
the details of your case and requested
help for you.
The second call was to acknowledge
the letter that I had sent them,
following up my initial phone call…to
give them “in detail” all the intricacies
of your case,
American Prison Advocacy 2010
And the third call today was to let me
know that because I did not have a
“Release of Authorization” for health
care on file they were limited in how
much they could tell me about your
care. However, they said they had
mailed that form out to me 2 days ago
and I should be getting it soon. When I
do get it I will fill it out and send it in…
or send to you to send in…depending
on what the proper protocol is; I won’t
know exactly what that is until I get it
and read it.
They did assure me however that my
concerns about you were being
addressed and you “were being
seen”….so please keep me posted as
to what is happening on your end.
Alright , that’s it for now…just keep
me updated - I will do the same for
you .
Respectfully,
Jane Smith
SAMPLE LETTER
#4
Mrs. Jane Smith
444 4th st.
Oakland, CA 45445
510-444-4444
John Smith -76009
HDSP/Z-Unit-603
PO Box 3030
Susanville, CA 96127
January 27th, 2010
Dear John;
Please find enclosed the
“authorization form” that you must
complete and sign to allow the release
of your medical information. This
form must be submitted to the
Health Records Office at the
Institution where you are housed.
You can send this form by
institution mail “U-SAVE-EM” with
a note to the records technician
to place this form in your UHR.
After this form has been placed in
your file, this information may be
available for release to you.
Please let me know that you have
received and submitted this form.
Thank you,
Jane Smith
American Prison Advocacy 2010