Rikers Island Inmates to Receive Care at Woodhull Hospital’s Exclusive 9th and 10th Floor Facilities

Brooklyn, NY

NYC Health + Hospitals Woodhull Hospital will convert their 9th and 10th floors permanently to house Rikers Island inmates who need medical care under the supervision of the Department of Corrections by 2024 , hospital officials said. 

Some residents of Bushwick claimed to not have known about this initiative and had mixed reactions.

Paula P., a resident of Bushwick for over 30 years, said in Spanish, “We want a neighborhood that’s secure, and if inmates are here, there’s a fear that they will escape or someone else going into the hospital might retaliate against them.” 

Junior C., a resident of Bushwick said, “As long as they’re reformed, it’s fine. Inmates are still people, they should have access to healthcare. It’s easy to get addicted and lose your mentality in prison.”  

The Outposted Therapeutic Housing Units (OTxHUs) are to be placed in H+H medical centers such as Bellevue, North Central Bronx, and Woodhull Hospital. The Department of Corrections will partner with H&H’s Correctional Health Services to provide “secured, clinical units” as written in a statement by Dr. Lisa Scott-McKenzie, Chief Operating Officer at NYC Health and Hospitals/Woodhull. 

“There are persons in custody who need higher levels of care than can be provided in jail, but whose conditions are not so acute as to warrant inpatient hospitalization,” the statement reads. “These persons are currently transported from jails to specialty and subspecialty care in Bellevue and Woodhull.” The 9th and 10th-floor units are expected to have about 160 beds for specialty medical and clinical care. 

The Department of Corrections has not responded to requests for comment.

Although the initiative was announced in November 2019 by the former Mayor Bill De Blasio’s administration, the “decanting and abatement work began in May 2022 and completion is anticipated by 2024,” according to a slideshow presentation provided via e-mail by Nicole Levy, MPH, Communications & Intergovernmental Affairs Director for NYC H&H’s Correctional Health Services on May 11, 2023.

NYC Health + Hospitals claims to use their expertise and research to benefit one of the city’s most vulnerable populations—people in custody. Mitchell Katz, MD, President and CEO of NYC Health + Hospitals stated in the same announcement, “Outposted Therapeutic Housing Units are a pioneering approach to meeting the health care needs of people in custody, while making significant investments in Health + Hospitals facilities.”

Patsy Yang, Senior Vice President of H&H’s Correctional Health Services, stated in an October 2022 NYC Public Board Meeting, “Many people in custody refuse acute care since it can take 9 to 11 hours out of their day to receive only about 15 minutes to an hour of attention at a hospital.” The Outposted Therapeutic Housing Units and Woodhull would provide beds for incarcerated persons who need a more routined, specialized daily care without the extensive wait time and travel. 

According to a NYC Department of Correction Monthly Report on Medical Appointment Non-Production in February 2022, “The Department recognizes the importance of medical care for incarcerated individuals but does not use force to compel them to go to their appointment.” The document states that a total of 6,311 inmates refused treatment and 41 “walked out.” “Walkout is a term used to describe an incarcerated individual who is escorted to the clinic for their CHS scheduled medical appointment but decides to leave the clinic before being seen by a healthcare professional. In such cases, CHS may reschedule the appointment for a later date,” the document describes. Listed reasons for those walkouts were. “Upon entry, I do not want to wait” and “I’m no longer waiting for the appointment.” 

“I hope they [Department of Corrections] run it good, and not like the way they run Rikers Island,” said Robert Camacho, the Community Board 4 Bushwick Chairperson spoke during a board meeting in February.