Oregon – Two top health professionals have been put on paid administrative leave by the Oregon Department of Corrections (ODOC) in a recent action indicating potential concerns in the state’s handling of inmate health care. The impacted workers are Assistant Director for Health Services Joe Bugher and Dr. Warren Roberts, the chief of medicine for the department. The department has not commented specifically on the nature of the investigation.
The Oregonian/Oregonlive.com first highlighted this development amid mounting criticism over the quality of health treatment given to prisoners, especially at Oregon’s main women’s prison, Coffee Creek Correctional Facility. These steps highlight the agency’s will to uphold strict standards in its health treatments, which serve some 12,000 prisoners spread over 12 state prisons.
Emphasizing the agency’s commitment to inmate health care, ODOC Director Mike Reese in a statement to Oregon Capital Chronicle said, “Health care for adults in custody is a top priority at the Oregon Department of Corrections. As corrections processionals, we have a moral obligation and legal responsibility to provide quality care to those in our custody.” Reese claims that although terms of this evaluation have not been revealed, a third-party expert has been hired to do a neutral evaluation of the department’s health care management.
The department’s health services division, which employs 634 staff members and frequently contracts with external specialists for specific medical needs, has faced various challenges in the past. Particularly, an outside accrediting body found Coffee Creek’s medical appointment backlog to be rather large, close to 600 unresolved cases. Medical opinion from emergency department doctors indicates last year a significant settlement of $1.5 million was obtained with a female inmate claiming insufficient treatment for a traumatic brain injury requiring neurologist supervision.
Read also: Special session set for December 12 to secure funds for wildfire recovery in Oregon
Having been with ODOC since 2004 and promoted to assistant director in 2017, Joe Bugher provides a varied experience ranging from behavioral health unit manager to correctional officer. Joining ODOC as a prisons physician in 2019 and elevated to chief of medicine by December 2020, Dr. Warren Roberts has a complicated background involving a corrective action plan from the Oregon Medical Board in 2020 to settle a pending investigation on an unidentified issue.
Deputy Director Heidi Steward will take leadership of the Health Services Division during the ongoing investigation, therefore guaranteeing continuity of treatment and control. The community and stakeholders await further information as the investigation unfolds, hoping for clarity and resolution to the concerns that have triggered these high-profile administrative leaves. This phase represents ODOC’s proactive approach in tackling any disparities and making sure the Oregonian jail system satisfies ethical and efficiency criteria.
 in a recent action){kind=link}