Ms. Keisha Fisher
Administrator South Woods Prison
215 S. Burlington Road
Bridgeton, NJ 08302
Dear Ms. Fisher:
My mother and I went to visit with my son, redacted name at South Woods State Prison this past Thursday, October 6, 2022 at 1 1 a.m. I was extremely concerned when I saw the condition of redacted name right leg, which, as compared to the left leg, was very swollen. He had told me on the phone for over a week, that there was a problem and that he had put in a request to see the doctor on several occasions, who, according toredacted name told him that there was nothing he could do, gave him pain killers and said if it turned gray, to call him.
To understand the complexity of this issue, I must explain that this leg was severely traumatized when redacted name was 17 years old and due to the ischemic condition, that was caused by Popliteal Artery Entrapment Syndrome, he came very close to losing his foot and ankle. Thankfully, the vascular surgeon, Dr. Paul Haser at the time, and his team at Robert Wood Johnson performed a bypass and managed to get more blood to the area. That bypass failed but one of the arteries opened enough to allow blood flow down to the foot. This leg remains at risk, and he has had a yearly follow-up to monitor the blood flow to the foot.
Every year since then, redacted name has seen the vascular surgeon, currently Dr. Saum Rahimi, at Robert Wood Johnson, except for the last two years as redacted name has been incarcerated. Once a year at this visit, redacted name is prescribed a doppler ultrasound which is used to estimate the blood flow though the blood vessels. This is an extremely important test to understand how the blood is flowing down to the foot. To date, the state has not attended to redacted name leg, preventatively speaking, and has not conducted any proper medical treatment to ensure the ongoing health of his limb. It now appears that there is, seemingly, a lack of concern or treatment for a leg symptomatic of severe swelling that is not normal.
Humane treatment of incarcerated individuals should certainly include adequate health care and respectful behavior by doctors should also be the minimal expectation. How many times does an inmate have to request medical care to be treated? How can an inmate convey to the appropriate medical personnel, the history and issues related to a particular symptom?
My concern is that no one is taking redacted name seriously and, therefore, not attending to him properly. I feel, at this juncture, this is an urgent matter, and his care should be attended to as soon as possible. With redacted name history, experiencing one leg swelling could be a sign of a blood clot. There is a plethora of records with redacted name doctor at Robert Wood and I have included him in the cc of this letter for your convenience, so that he can be accessed by the state. redacted name can sign a release of information form to ascertain all the records for the doctor at South Woods. Perhaps this added information will help to explain the severity of his diagnosis and the continued preventative diagnostic tools that are necessary to ensure the ongoing health of redacted name leg.
I look forward to your response and sincerely hope that this issue will be taken seriously, and that redacted name will receive health care that is specific to him, especially as I read that The National Commission on Correctional Health Care named South Woods State Prison as its R. Scott Chavez Facility of the Year for the delivery of efficient and effective health care services in 2021.
Thank you for your time and attention to this matter.
Sincerely,
Susan Guardia
cc:
Victoria L. Kuhn, Esq.
Acting Commissioner
NJ Department of Corrections
P.O. Box 863
Whittlesey Road
Trenton, NJ 08625
Willie Bonds
Acting Deputy Commissioner
NJ Department of Corrections
P.O. Box 863
Whittlesey Road
Trenton, NJ 08625
Daniel Jude Maxwell
302 Washington Avenue
Spring Lake, NJ 07762
Saum Rahimi, MD
Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital
125 Paterson St.
Suite 4100
New Brunswick, NJ 08901
