One day after VTDigger published a report detailing a history of opioid diversion by the top health care contractor at the Springfield prison, the Department of Corrections revoked his security clearance, preventing him from working in Vermont’s prisons.
Al Cormier, the department’s chief of operations and acting commissioner, told VTDigger that corrections officials hope to have a “deeper involvement” in the hiring process by Wellpath, which holds the contract for health care in Vermont prisons.
Because Robert Stevenson, the former Springfield health care leader, is a Wellpath employee, the department does not have the power to terminate him, Cormier said. He called the revocation of security clearances “not uncommon.”
Stevenson had served as the health services administrator at Southern State Correctional Facility since September. In that role, he supervised health care staff and helped to ensure quality care.
Public records showed that Stevenson’s nursing license had been suspended or revoked in North Carolina, North Dakota and New Mexico for diverting or improperly wasting opioids.
He told VTDigger last week that his disciplinary history was irrelevant to the job, which he characterized as an administrative role.
Louise Walker, who worked for Stevenson as the Springfield prison’s director of nursing, told VTDigger she uncovered Stevenson’s disciplinary history last month through a search of public records. She said she flagged her findings to Wellpath’s human resources leader in Vermont and demanded that company leaders take action. Three weeks later, she said, they fired her.
On Wednesday, after learning that Stevenson no longer worked at the Springfield prison, Walker said she felt “ecstatic.”
“I was validated; my concerns were real,” Walker said. “I know I stood up for the right thing, even though it cost me my job.”
In an interview, Cormier said the department “wanted to make sure we had all the information” before making a decision about Stevenson’s clearance, which it revoked on Tuesday. Stevenson was informed at work and led out of the building, Cormier said.
Wellpath became Vermont’s prison health services contractor in July, beating out the only other bidder, Wexford Health Sources. The state is contracted to pay the private equity-owned Wellpath about $33 million in the first year.
“I still have faith that our relationship will continue to grow and be positive,” Cormier said of the department’s “very new relationship” with Wellpath.
The department plans to meet with Wellpath’s communications and public information team to foster a better dialogue between the two organizations, according to Cormier.
Without a health services administrator or director of nursing — the two top health care positions — at the Springfield prison, Cormier said he believed staff at Wellpath’s regional office in Waterbury had been filling in.
“It should not impact the health of the population at all,” he said.
Vermont is only four months into a three-year contract with Wellpath. Amid discussions in the Legislature regarding poor health care in Vermont’s prisons, the Joint Justice Oversight Committee directed the corrections department to research how much it would cost for the state government to take over health care in its facilities.
The department estimated it would cost $80 million to $100 million annually to make the switch when factoring in transition costs. Cormier said corrections was “agnostic” about such a change.
Cormier said the department had not spoken to Walker since her firing. He would not comment on whether he believed she was wrongfully terminated by Wellpath.
