David just picked up the first stone!

A black preacher recently challenged leaders in the Christian Reformed Church, the denomination to which I belong, with these words: We’re talking and meeting, and the world is dying.

That has been my point on this prison healthcare issue all along.

We love to meet and discuss these matters, and bitterly complain about the woeful lack of compassion and integrity by healthcare providers in the Michigan prison system. We love to go on Facebook and bad-mouth the whole department for allowing this shameful guise called “healthcare” to continue. We talk about writing our legislators and our Governor. We call for the dismissal of Corizon, the company with whom Michigan has contracted for prison health services. Talk, talk, talk! One horror story after another.

For HFP, the talk ends now! We may be the little guy, but I’m here to report today that we’ve got doctors and lawyers on board. They’re convinced. They’re ready.

Now we need evidence. No more stories about what happened to our brother, our cousin, our aunt, our daughter. It’s time to back up all of these claims, all of these stories, with hard evidence. We need actual documentation that accommodation orders, prescriptions, diagnoses, existed…yes, and then proof that these orders and requirements were deliberately ignored, treatment was deliberately not provided, special needs went deliberately unattended. If you can’t prove it on paper, our professionals can’t help. Word-of-mouth isn’t enough.

We’re especially looking for “commonality.” If we can provide our legal people with documented proof that, for example, doctors’ orders and accommodation instructions are ignored when a prisoner gets transferred to another facility; if we can prove that there’s a pattern of disregarding post-surgery instructions, therapy and medication; if there is hard evidence that required surgery was provided too late or not at all…then we promise that something will be done about it.

What I’m saying is that we have the professional help and guidance; now we need the grass-roots assistance. Forget the claims and the stories, we want to see the documents. Once you get your hands on this material, please contact our office.

The story of David vs. Goliath has begun.

David just picked up the first stone.