As a nurse and native Baltimorean, advocating for the health and well-being of vulnerable populations has always been a priority. A recent audit revealed shocking failures in Maryland’s prison health care system, exposing a serious human rights issue: incarcerated individuals, regardless of their offenses, are being denied adequate medical and mental health care. The audit exposed missed evaluations for suicide risks, health complaints that went uninvestigated and inadequate mental health exams.

Maryland’s prison population exceeds 16,000 individuals, with a significant portion hailing from Baltimore. This staggering statistic highlights the pressing need to urgently address systemic health care failures within the state’s correctional facilities, as these deficiencies disproportionately impact Baltimore residents and their communities.

The report also showed chronic understaffing caused by misappropriated funds, low pay and high turnover, drastically affecting their medical care. In many facilities, staff shortages delay timely medical treatment, leaving inmates to suffer unnecessarily. Adding to the problem, Maryland relies heavily on private contractors whose profit-first methods often cut costs at the expense of proper care. These firms were found to routinely skip critical screenings and ignore serious health problems.

This issue is about more than health care; it’s about human dignity. Getting good medical care is a basic and essential right, even for those in prison. For Maryland inmates, this right is often denied, worsening neglect and leading to poor health outcomes. This ongoing crisis needs decisive action now.

Switching Maryland’s prison health care system to state control is one key fix. We have known for years that outsourcing to for-profit agencies never gets us anywhere. There’s no accountability, with an obvious motivation to cut costs as much as possible. This move would bring structured oversight, address gaps in accountability and lower the risk of cost-driven cuts, ensuring proper medical care for all inmates.

Historical examples also demonstrate the failure of private prison health care contracts. In Arizona, lawsuits revealed widespread neglect, including the failure to provide life-saving medications to inmates. Maryland can learn from these mistakes by creating a state-run system focused on health outcomes rather than profits. A shift like this would not only benefit incarcerated individuals but also reduce the strain on public health systems when untreated individuals return to their communities.

Fixing staff shortages is also critical. Better pay and improved work conditions are urgently needed to hire and keep skilled medical workers. Investing in staff can reduce turnover, improve caseloads and lead to significantly better care for inmates.

Oversight and accountability must also improve. Regular audits and fully transparent reports should be standard. A system for inmates to safely report poor care without fear is also vital to ensure their voices are consistently heard and acted upon.

Boosting mental health services is just as urgent. Mental health care in Maryland prisons remains inadequate, with missed evaluations and poorly handled suicide checks. Mandatory mental health screenings, robust suicide prevention programs and hiring more trained professionals are needed now to address these issues.

Community partnerships can help solve these pressing problems. Teaming up with local groups, universities and schools could add programs like telemedicine, health classes and peer support networks. These innovative ideas can improve mental and physical health outcomes for inmates.

I’ve seen too many times how inequities feed cycles of poverty and jail. Systemic failures in Maryland’s prison health care disproportionately impact Baltimore residents, as many incarcerated individuals come from the city’s underserved neighborhoods and return to these communities with untreated medical and mental health conditions. This ongoing cycle perpetuates health disparities and places an additional and unnecessary burden on Baltimore’s already strained public health systems.

Poor health care is just one symptom of many bigger issues. Fixing this crisis is about valuing every single person, even those society sees as less worthy. It’s time Maryland started operating from a place of preventative care and compassion.

Maryland and Baltimore can lead the way and rebuild prison health care into a system that other states look to for a future blueprint. This means bold action: ending profit-based contractors, investing in staff and holding systems accountable.

Let’s push for better. Let’s hold Maryland accountable to protect public health, improve community outcomes and ensure the justice system serves its rehabilitative purpose.

Jessica Lewis (nursecannabiz@gmail.com) is a registered nurse with a bachelor’s degree in public and community health. She was born and raised in Baltimore.