Life In Prison: California Medical Facility

Friday, January 8, 2010

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Above: Aging, infirm and ill inmates are housed at California Medical Facility, a prison in Vacaville, California. It also has a hospice unit for terminally ill inmates.

PHOTO GALLERY

Photos From California's Largest Prison Medical Facility

The California Medical Facility in Vacaville is the primary location for providing health care services to California's incarcerated men. It houses the state's oldest and sickest inmates. As the elderly inmate population continues to grow, so too will the health care needs and cost of providing care to this prison population. KPBS producer Angela Carone spent an afternoon photographing inside California largest prison hospital.

SAN DIEGO — As part of our ongoing investigation into prisons, we spent a day at the California Medical Facility in Vacaville, California. CMF is a prison that houses aging, infirm, and ill inmates. It also has a hospice unit for terminally ill inmates.

Aging inmates are among the fastest growing segments of the inmate population, according to government statistics. They also cost three times more than younger inmates because of age-related health care costs. Health care for inmates accounts for almost twenty percent of the state's total corrections budget.

The Project Envision documentary, "Life in Prison," will air Jan. 25 at 9 p. m. on KPBS Television.

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