The two managers who oversaw the delivery of medical care to Oregon's approximately 12,000 prisoners were fired Monday.
Oregon Department of Corrections Director Mike Reese announced the termination of Dr. Warren Roberts and Joe Bugher, saying "the health and well-being of those in our care is a high priority."
"Too often the people coming into our prison system have complex medical conditions, high mental health needs, substance use disorders, and co-occurring disorders," Reese said in a statement. "It's also an aging population with approximately 1,400 adults in custody age 60 years or older. We recognize the challenges facing correctional healthcare in Oregon, and as an agency we are dedicated to addressing them with innovation and process improvement."
Roberts and Bugher were placed on leave late last year. Roberts, hired in 2019, served as chief medical officer for Oregon's prison system. Bugher, Roberts' boss, began his career as a corrections officer in eastern Oregon in 2004 and rose through the ranks to become assistant director of health services, a division with 634 employees.
Reese also announced "a significant reform initiative" aimed at improving "long-standing issues" involving prison medical care.
The agency said it would undertake "a comprehensive review" of corrections health care and that it had hired Falcon Correctional and Community Services, a national consulting firm focused on correctional health care,to carry out the review.
The Department of Corrections also plans to hire a health services recruiter to draw doctors, nurses, mental health providers and support staff.
Medical care in Oregon's prisons have long been criticized by prisoners and their advocates. In multiple state and federal court filings spanning years, prisoners accuse the state of failing to treat everything from asthma to traumatic head injuries -- and in many cases the courts have sided with them.
-- Noelle Crombie is an enterprise reporter with a focus on criminal justice. Reach her at 503-276-7184; [email protected]