The Connecticut Department of Correction on Tuesday announced a slate of reforms focused on improving the quality of healthcare for people who are incarcerated, including a new director of inmate medical services, a team to oversee the implementation of reforms and investments in technology advancements.
News of the plans comes after a March 2026 report published by the state Correction Ombuds found “systemic deficiencies” in access to medical and mental healthcare faced by those in DOC custody, particularly for outpatient specialty services.
Around the same time, a CT Insider investigation revealed similar delays, including one account of a Connecticut prisoner diagnosed with colon cancer who waited nearly three years for a colonoscopy and another who waited over two years for a tooth extraction.
During a press conference with reporters after the close of the recent legislative session, Gov. Ned Lamont raised the issue explicitly while mentioning some strides that have been made in criminal justice reform.
“I’m proud of the fact that we have half as many people incarcerated as we had 15 years ago. Much lower recidivism rate,” Lamont said “Now we’ve got to work on healthcare in our prisons.”
Sharonda Carlos, who was appointed DOC commissioner in March, said the reforms mark a shift for the department, which she sees as a “human services agency” that should meet the medical, mental health, spiritual and educational needs of those in its custody.
“This agency is turning a corner,” Carlos stated in a Tuesday release. “The changes we are announcing today reflect a commitment to treating those in our care with the dignity and humanity they deserve.”
As of January, DOC had more than 2,600 specialty care appointments that needed to be scheduled, according to the CT Insider report. In roughly 630 cases, people had been waiting over six months for DOC to schedule their appointments.
A task force made up of officials from various state agencies is addressing the backlog for specialty appointments and appointment bookings that now outpace new appointment requests, according to the Tuesday release. That team includes officials from DOC, the Office of Policy and Management, the Department of Social Services and the University of Connecticut Health Center.
Other changes include the appointment of Craig Burns in the newly created role of executive director of inmate medical services. Burns is a physician who has experience at Yale, UConn and in clinical leadership at DOC. DOC will also modernize electronic health records and launch temporary specialty clinics in cardiology and gastroenterology to address some of the most acute shortages.
Correction Ombuds DeVaughn Ward said the changes are “welcomed” but noted that his team is still reviewing data it received from DOC to assess the agency’s progress in reducing the appointment backlog.
A lingering problem
Less than 10 years ago, Connecticut restructured its prison healthcare in response to concerns about substandard care.
For two decades, UConn Health managed medical care for DOC. In 2018, DOC took back its own healthcare operations amid widespread reports of mismanagement by UConn, including lacking quality of care and denials for specialty services — concerns still being expressed today.
Ward said that Carlos’ approach to leading the agency and recently passed legislation make him hopeful that improvements can be made. He acknowledged there aren’t many states serving as a model for how to provide high-quality care within prisons.
“It’s a great challenge,” Ward said, “but also presents a tremendous opportunity for the state of Connecticut to be a leader on this issue.”
During Connecticut’s 2026 legislative session, lawmakers passed House Bill 5567 — legislation they called “a start” to addressing the healthcare-related problems within DOC.
Part of the law includes the formation of a Correction Medical and Health Commission, which would be tasked with creating a 10-year plan for improving medical services in the state’s correctional facilities.
The legislation also eliminates medical copays for those in DOC custody and requires DOC to create an online system that allows people to make requests for medical care and access their health records electronically.
But it remains unclear how much money the state would have to invest to make lasting improvements to the system. Ward thinks the new Correction Medical and Health Commission could help to provide an answer.
“Lawmakers have been asking that for a long time,” Ward said. “What is the number that we need to be able to provide our constitutionally mandated health care to this population?”
