Lompoc Prison Medical Inspection Reveals ‘Serious Deficiencies’ in COVID Response
Doctor Finds Evidence of Poor Health Care for Inmates and Staff Refusing to Wear Masks
A court-ordered medical inspection of the Lompoc prison complex, the site of a massive COVID-19 outbreak this spring that killed four inmates and infected more than 1,000 others, found “serious deficiencies” in the facility’s response to the health crisis.
“The COVID-19 outbreak at [Lompoc] has been one of the prison system’s most expansive, in terms of the percentage of detained people who were infected as well as those who died,” states Dr. Homer Venters in his September 25 report, which outlines a pattern of slow and inadequate health care for inmates; routine failures by staff to wear masks and provide detainees with cleaning supplies; significant screening deficiencies; and retaliation against inmates who filed grievances over their treatment.
“Overall, the COVID-19 response at Lompoc is characterized by some evidence-based strategies being superimposed on a grossly inadequate system of health care,” said Venters, an epidemiologist appointed by a U.S. District Court judge to provide expert testimony in a class-action lawsuit filed in May by the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU). “As a result, the policies and procedures developed to find and respond to COVID-19 cases, slow the spread of the virus, and protect high-risk patients have been incompletely implemented.”
