INVESTIGA TIO N

Deliberate 
Indifference:
Systemic ADA Violations and 
Endangerment of Wheelchair 
Users at Women’s Huron Valley 
Correctional Facility










February 2026


Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) 
violations at Michigan's only women's 
prison.


01
Executive Summary

03
Background

05
Methodology

07
Findings

18
Personal Testimony

21
Recommendations

22
Conclusion

23
Appendix


Women with disabilities are, on average, missing 
half of their meals and over 75% of critical 
medication doses due to an inadequate supply of 
functioning wheelchairs and aides.
Disability Rights Michigan (DRM), the federally mandated Protection and Advocacy (P&A) 
system for Michigan, issues this report following a comprehensive investigation that 
confirms systemic Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) violations at Women's Huron 
Valley Correctional Facility (WHV). For years, the Michigan Department of Corrections 
(MDOC) has failed to provide wheelchair users at WHV with reliable access to food, 
medicine, and programming.

The ADA mandates that necessary medical equipment must be provided to individuals to 
guarantee reliable, equal access to programs, services and activities. In prisons, this includes 
access to things like educational programming, food services, and medical services. For 
incarcerated individuals, these protections are essential. This report examines operational 
failures by the MDOC to meet these requirements at WHV.

A U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) ADA investigation of WHV, initiated in 2010, found that 
many wheelchairs MDOC provided to individuals were “broken, dirty, and ill-fitting,” with 
some lacking essential parts like foot supports. The investigation concluded the facility 
must ensure all individuals with disabilities receive appropriately fitted wheelchairs that are 
“routinely cleaned, repaired, maintained, and generally kept in safe, operable condition.” 
DRM's investigation, conducted over a decade later, documents the persistence of these 
issues.

Since 2019, DRM repeatedly alerted MDOC to conditions that threaten the health and 
safety of wheelchair users. MDOC has failed to remedy significant issues facing 
wheelchair users within WHV and in some instances, the MDOC Office of Legal Affairs 
denied issues even exist. When repeated notifications and a final high-level meeting with 
the MDOC Office of Legal Affairs and the Michigan Attorney General's office in January 
2024 failed to produce corrective action, DRM initiated a formal investigation.







This investigation, which included 
interviews with over 200 incarcerated 
individuals, analysis of meal and 
medication attendance data, and extensive 
site monitoring, provided documented 
evidence that MDOC is failing wheelchair 
users at WHV.

MDOC has systematically prevented access 
to meals, medication, and programming for 
incarcerated individuals with disabilities. 
These failures fall short of ADA requirements 
and the state's fundamental responsibility to 
provide care.


“It has only one wheel that’s 
right, so I don’t know how long 
this will work... I can’t crawl, so 
when this breaks for good I will 
be left somewhere without a 
wheelchair.”


Wheelchair User, 
1/30/25












 



To use a wheelchair at WHV, an incarcerated individual must have a 
prescription from health services. Health services evaluates the individual and 
determines whether they need a temporary, for-distance, or permanent wheelchair.



TEMPORARY


FOR-DISTANCE


PERMANENT



 



&	Prescribed 
for temporary 
conditions.
&	Example:
surgical recovery.


&	Prescribed for limited-
use.
&	Stored in housing unit 
common areas, for use by 
multiple individuals.
&	For travel to meals, 
medication, and programs 
outside of their unit.


&	Prescribed 
for a specific 
person's 
permanent 
use.
&	Stored 
inside 
individual 
cells.
&	For travel 
inside their 
unit and around 
the facility.



 

Wheelchair Attendants
Some individuals with permanent, temporary, or for-distance wheelchair 
prescriptions are also prescribed a wheelchair attendant. These attendants are other 
incarcerated individuals hired by MDOC to push women unable to self-propel their 
wheelchairs. Not all wheelchair users are prescribed this assistance.

Initial Contact: 2019
Beginning in 2019, DRM initiated contact with leadership from WHV and MDOC 
regarding frequent complaints from wheelchair users who were unable to access 
meals, medications, and programming. Complaints stemmed from a lack of 
available, in-repair wheelchairs (both permanent and for-distance), the absence 
and/or lack of wheelchair attendants, and staff refusal to let individuals use for-
distance wheelchairs. Then Warden Brewer dismissed these initial reports and 
asserted there was no issue.



Correspondence: 2021 - 2023
Despite pausing in-person monitoring during the COVID-19 pandemic, complaints 
from within WHV continued. DRM engaged in formal correspondence and 
negotiation with MDOC officials throughout 2021 to 2023, raising these concerns 
with WHV Warden Howard, Health Services, the MDOC Office of Legal Affairs (OLA), 
and the Michigan Department of Attorney General (OAG). This included numerous 
formal letters to WHV administration, OLA, and the OAG. Officials repeatedly denied 
the complaints, and the responses did not result in meaningful changes to conditions 
at WHV.


Formal Records Request and Findings (2023)
With no progress through dialogue, DRM filed a formal records request in 2023. Our 
review indicated a clear undersupply of attendants and wheelchairs. When findings 
were presented, the OLA dismissed them, characterizing documented medical 
needs for wheelchair attendants as "desires" for assistance, and stating the root of 
the problem was that wheelchair users thought they were entitled to a wheelchair 
attendant.


High-Level Meeting and Response (2024)
To address the impasse, a high-level meeting was held with the OLA and the OAG in 
January 2024. DRM presented detailed documentation of these issues and received 
assurances that OLA would "look into it." No substantive changes followed.


Initiation of Formal Investigation (2024-Present)
Faced with MDOC's continued inaction and ongoing complaints from wheelchair 
users, DRM initiated a full-scale, evidence-based investigation. The findings of that 
investigation, detailed in the following sections, confirm the systemic failures 
incarcerated individuals and DRM have reported for years.







To assess ADA compliance at WHV, DRM 
conducted a multi-method investigation 
from December 2019 to the present. As the 
federally designated Protection & Advocacy 
(P&A) system for Michigan, DRM holds 
authority under federal law to access facilities, 
records, and individuals with disabilities to 
investigate allegations of abuse and neglect.

Our investigation employed the following 
methods to ensure a comprehensive and 
evidence-based analysis.

&	Site Visits and Interviews
&	Records Review


Site Visits and Interviews
As part of its federal mandate, DRM conducted 
routine monitoring visits to WHV. Despite 
quarantine restrictions within the MDOC, DRM 
continued to receive complaints from wheelchair 
users via phone and letter, indicating the persistent 
nature of these issues.


“[Staff] told inmates there will not be 
any more [additional] wheelchairs in 
units and if they want to go to chow 
they will walk. We have diabetics that at 
times go too low… those who have 
seizures. If someone feels they are not 
able to walk that far they go without 
eating.”

Wheelchair User, 1/30/25





Following the lifting of quarantine restrictions, DRM conducted targeted site visits 
focusing on wheelchair access in August 2023, November 2023, May 2025 
(large-scale, facility-wide visit), and October 2025.

During these visits, investigators:
&	Interviewed more than 200 incarcerated individuals who use wheelchairs.
&	Interviewed facility staff and administration, including corrections officers, medical 
personnel, and administrative staff.
&	Documented the number, availability and condition of MDOC wheelchairs.



Records Review
DRM submitted formal requests for and reviewed documents from MDOC and WHV, 
including:

&	Incarcerated individual grievances and appeals related to mobility equipment and 
accessibility.
&	Medical records and healthcare requests (kites) from wheelchair users.
&	Meal and medication line attendance data for women with prescriptions for 
wheelchair attendants.
&	MDOC policies and WHV procedures concerning ADA compliance and 
accommodations.
&	MDOC Bureau of Healthcare Services Medical Service Advisory Committee 
Guidelines for wheelchair prescribing.

&	Internal communications relevant to wheelchair and attendant availability.



This investigation found that wheelchair users who 
required assistance repeatedly missed meals and 
prescribed medications.

DRM identified systemic failures at WHV across multiple areas of daily life. These 
findings are organized into three interrelated categories:
&	Access to Basic Necessities and Programming
&	Wheelchair System Failures
&	MDOC Contradictions & Dismissive Responses

Access to Basic Necessities and Programming
Among the most consistent complaints raised by wheelchair users were missed 
meals, medications, and programming due to the unavailability of 
wheelchairs or attendants. To quantify this issue, DRM requested and analyzed meal 
attendance and medication line records for wheelchair users. Our records analysis 
overwhelmingly confirmed what wheelchair users at WHV had been saying for years: 
they were missing meals and medications at alarming rates.

Denial of Regular Meals
Women with wheelchair attendant details consistently missed meals because they 
could not get to the dining hall. DRM reviewed meal attendance records for women 
who required wheelchair attendants and found access to food was severely limited.

Meals Missed
Number of Women
Percentage
>33%
62 of 82
75.6%

>50%

46 of 82

56.1%

>75%

10 of 82

12.2%



Denial of Regular Meals
On average, every woman with a wheelchair attendant missed about 
half of their meals every single day for more than five months. This 
supports frequent reports that wheelchairs and attendants necessary to attend Food 
Service are often unavailable. Because these numbers include those who received in-
cell meals, the scope of the problem is understated.




Group
All women with attendants served 
primarily at Food Service

All women with attendants, including 
those who received a high number of 
in-cell meals


Average % of Meals Received
42.07%


51.23%



 













*Methodology, data sources, assumptions, and detailed calculations 
supporting these findings are provided in Appendix A (Meal 
Attendance Data & Methods)



Inaccessible Medications
Women who relied on wheelchairs at WHV were frequently unable to access prescribed 
medications because they could not get to the medication lines.
These barriers were directly tied to the lack of available wheelchairs and wheelchair 
attendants and resulted in widespread gaps in care for serious medical conditions.

To understand the scope of these barriers, DRM reviewed medication administration 
records for women with wheelchair attendant details. The findings show that 
medication access was not merely inconsistent, but routinely unavailable.
DRM focused its review on three medications commonly prescribed to treat 
seizures, high blood pressure, and diabetes, conditions that typically require 
consistent, ongoing treatment and can lead to serious medical emergencies if 
medications are missed.

Across all three categories, access was alarmingly low. As a group, women did 
not receive even one-quarter of the medications they were prescribed. 
No medication category exceeded a 25% access rate.



Category
Access to Prescribed 
Medications
Seizure
18.9%
Diabetes
19.3%
Blood Pressure
24.6%

These findings show that medication access failures were not limited to a single 
condition or treatment type. Instead, they reflect MDOC's systemic inability to provide 
equipment and supports necessary to ensure wheelchair users' access to essential 
medical care.


Inaccessible Medications
Medication inaccessibility was not limited to occasional missed doses. For many 
women, prescribed treatment was effectively unavailable.

Nearly one-third of women received less than 10 percent of their prescribed 
medications. Only a small number of women were able to access medications with 
any regularity.

&	31% of women received less than 10% of prescribed medications
&	Only 6 women received more than half of their medications.

The scale and consistency of these medication gaps cannot reasonably be explained 
by individuals choosing to skip medications. The outliers in the data were women who 
had regular access to their medications.

For these women reaching medication lines depended on the availability of 
equipment and attendants that were routinely unavailable. Under these conditions, 
access to medication became arbitrary and unpredictable.

These risks are well-documented and foreseeable. The widespread failure reflects a 
systemic breakdown in the provision of basic care for women in WHV.


*Methodology, data sources, assumptions, and detailed 
calculations supporting these findings are provided in Appendix B 
(Medication Access Data & Methods)





Programming
Wheelchair users consistently reported being 
unable to attend required programs due to the 
lack of a functional wheelchair or wheelchair 
attendant. This creates a critical barrier for 
prisoners with disabilities.

In the MDOC, completion of recommended 
programs, including educational requirements 
such as the GED, job training, religious services, 
and therapeutic groups like Alcoholics 
Anonymous (AA), domestic abuse survivors, and 
anger management, is a formal component of 
parole consideration. When a wheelchair or 
attendant is unavailable, individuals fall out of 
step with course schedules, miss instructional 
time, and struggle to maintain active participation 
in groups. This disrupts their ability to 
complete required programs and, in turn, 
may delay or deny parole through no 
fault of their own.

These programs also provide personal growth, 
trauma recovery, and spiritual and emotional 
support, in addition to the skills and support 
networks that directly impact successful 
community reintegration. In excluding 
wheelchair users from both the benefits of 
programming and a pathway to parole, the MDOC 
effectively denies parole consideration to 
prisoners based on lack of mobility rather than 
lack of progress.




“I am writing because there is a 
shortage of wheelchair aides here at 
the facility, and myself and others 
who have wheelchair details due to 
serious medical 
conditions/disabilities are having to 
forego callouts and major 
programming as a result of this 
shortage.”

Wheelchair User, 12/5/2023





Wheelchair System Failures
DRM’s investigation found these barriers were 
the result of overlapping failures in the wheelchair 
system itself, including:

&	Unsafe and Inoperable Wheelchairs
&	Chronic Shortage of Wheelchairs
&	Non-compliant Prescribing System

Unsafe and Inoperable Wheelchairs  
DRM observed widespread problems with the 
condition of wheelchairs available to 
incarcerated women.

During a visit in October 2025, DRM observed 
and photographed many wheelchairs in significant 
disrepair, including missing footrests, sunken 
seats, and broken arm rests.

This assessment did not include components 
whose malfunction or absence was not readily 
identifiable by DRM monitors. For a number of 
the wheelchairs that were missing footrests, 
individuals had tied plastic trash bags around 
their legs as makeshift footrests.



“As these WC [wheelchair] for 
distance details expire and patients 
request them, the MPs [medical 
practitioners] onsite have been 
educated to be very judicious in who gets 
them renewed.”

Matthew Ellison D.O. WHV Medical 
Provider 1/12/24

[Email to WHV Administration and Health 
Services staff]


Wheelchair System Failures

Unsafe and Inoperable Wheelchairs


"The wheelchair vendor went 
out of business and no 
longer does repairs. The 
cost of repairs now 
outweighs the cost of a new 
chair."

Office of Legal Affairs, 
June 2025









Wheelchair System Failures
Chronic Shortage of Wheelchairs
WHV lacks adequate equipment to meet the basic mobility needs of its population. As of 
July 2025, MDOC reported that 126 individuals had active "for distance" wheelchair 
details. At the same time, the facility reported having only 56 "distance" wheelchairs 
allocated across its 14 housing units.
This created a deficit of 70 wheelchairs, meaning that on any given day dozens of 
individuals with a verified medical need for a wheelchair are simply unable to get one.

MDOC reported it has moved from a repair system to a replacement system, related to cost. 
However, the significant undersupply of wheelchairs indicates failures in the replacement 
system as well.

126 Needed - 56 Available = 70 Lacking














Wheelchair System Failures

Non-compliant Prescribing System
For individuals whose medical details specify they require an attendant to push them due 
to a condition that prevents self-propulsion, such as inadequate upper body strength or a 
chronic medical condition like congestive heart failure, the access barriers are more 
severe.

In a Detroit Free Press article (2/26/19) covering Michigan Department of Corrections 
violations of the ADA, journalist Paul Egan reported that Jeri Taeckens, a blind individual 
formerly incarcerated at WHV, described a systemic lack of reliable prisoner aides. She 
stated this problem affected not only her but also prisoners who used wheelchairs, causing 
them to miss meals and appointments, and added that the wheelchairs themselves were 
often in poor repair. Egan wrote, "At the women's prison, a lack of reliable access to aides 
results in such prisoners missing meals and appointments, and the wheelchairs 
themselves were often in poor repair and/or beneath ergonomic standards, she said."

WHV has continuously failed to assign and manage a sufficient number of wheelchair 
attendants. There is no accountability system; attendants are not consistently assigned to 
specific users, resulting in an unreliable daily process where individuals with disabilities 
must repeatedly request assistance to access meals, medical care, and other critical 
services. The procedures for obtaining assistance are not standardized and place the 
entire burden on the wheelchair user.



Wheelchair System Failures
&	Inconsistent and Unreliable Procedures: Procedures for obtaining 
wheelchair assistance varied by housing unit and were often ineffective. In some 
units, wheelchair users were expected to secure an attendant in advance, a 
practice that fails for same-day needs such as meals or medication. Mandatory 
6:00 AM lobby meetings frequently fail because attendants do not show up. Officers 
often resort to last-minute, unreliable solutions like calling attendants from other 
units. When this fails, wheelchair users are forced to find their own solutions, 
routinely having to request to "catch a ride": asking others traveling in the same 
direction to push them where they need to go. These "rides" are rarely free, and the 
individual risks being stranded at some point along their journey. As a result, 
wheelchair users were routinely left without assistance and unable to reach meals, 
medication lines, or required appointments.

&	Restrictive and Arbitrary Policies: Attendants reported being subject to 
informal limits on the number of times they were required to assist each day, leaving 
wheelchair users stranded for additional needs such as meals or medical 
appointments.

&	Failure to Conduct Proper Medical Assessments: MDOC sometimes 
reduced or canceled wheelchair attendant assistance without documented medical 
evaluations of an individual’s ability to self-propel, raising concerns about medical 
appropriateness and due process.








*Methodology, data sources, and detailed calculations supporting these 
findings are provided in Appendix C (Wheelchair System Data & 
Observations)



MDOC Contradictions & Dismissive Responses
DRM's attempts to resolve these issues have been met with inconsistent and dismissive 
responses from MDOC officials.

&	Contradictions in Policy: When asked why WHV changed its policy on 
assigning and storing distance wheelchairs, OLA called DRM's understanding 
"incorrect" (7/16/25) and stated individuals with distance wheelchair details were 
never assigned a wheelchair or allowed to keep chairs in their cells. This 
contradicts both the lived experiences of many wheelchair users and DRM’s review 
of individual responsibility contracts, which showed that such wheelchairs were 
individually assigned.

&	Admission of No Standards: MDOC stated "the distance they're traveling 
does not matter" for a distance wheelchair detail (8/22/25). However, according to 
statements from multiple individuals, unit officers regularly use their own discretion 
to deny wheelchair use based on distance, demonstrating a clear policy-to-
practice failure. This admission is further contradicted by a WHV Wheelchair 
Report from April 2025, which includes medical orders that themselves specify 
distance limitations and allowances.

&	Dismissal of Concerns: When DRM escalated these issues to OLA and the 
OAG, OLA responded the complaints received from wheelchair users were not 
legitimate and blamed a "disconnect in understanding." They dismissed widespread, 
firsthand accounts of hardship by suggesting the "determination of 'medical need' 
may differ from the desires of the prisoner," treating the accounts of incarcerated 
individuals and their advocates as unreliable regarding their own disabilities.





The following quotations, drawn from 
complaints received by DRM over 
multiple years, reflect the hardships 
wheelchair users experience within 
WHV.
"My wheelchair is broken. It has no footrests and 
I'm sitting on bars. Custody told me if I use a 
plastic bag to hold my feet again, they will ticket 
me. And it's best not to put a pillow on the seat. 
That's also a ticket.
Health Services and WHV set us up to fail all the 
way around." (Wheelchair User, December 
2025)
"I had to find a volunteer because I had no aide, as 
there wasn’t enough aides in the unit.” 
(Wheelchair User, 11/30/2020)

“I was moved to [housing unit]. Since then, I’m 
experiencing wheelchair aide problems again, 
not having any. When I approached [staff] about 
this I was told they didn’t have any permanent 
aides and didn’t know any names of any.” 
(Wheelchair User, 5/30/2020)

“[Staff] told inmates there will not be any more 
[additional] wheelchairs in units and if they want to 
go to chow they will walk. We have diabetics that 
at times go too low… those who have seizures. If 
someone feels they are not able to walk that far 
they go without eating.” (Wheelchair User, 
10/9/2025)




"I miss numerous meals due to no 
aide or no wheelchair to use.
Custody blames Health Services and 
Health Services blames custody. 
Health Services will not authorize 
meals in the unit so I can eat, and the 
dietician now refuses to order diabetic 
snacks for me. She told me I don't go 
to chow often enough to have them."

Wheelchair User, December 2025



"Being diabetic and taking insulin, I must eat, but I cannot walk to the chow hall. I lose my 
balance easily due to neuropathy in my feet, legs, and hands. There are days when my legs 
hurt so bad that I cannot walk to diabetic lines." (Wheelchair User, December 2025)


“I have a wheelchair accommodation due to health concerns that make it difficult in 
walking especially long distances… and difficulty in getting to many of my appointments 
due to a lack of adequate wheelchair aides. There are many times I miss appointments 
to health care, Outpatient Mental Health, the law library, and legal writer appointments. 
All of these are important appointments having to do with my physical and mental 
health as well as my access to the courts. I live in a housing unit that has many 
individuals in wheelchairs and there are not enough wheelchair aides to push everyone 
everywhere they have to go.” (Wheelchair User, 10/21/2025)

"I cannot tell you how many times WHV has made (redacted) push herself backwards 
using her toes to get to diabetic lines and back. She gets stuck on an incline many times. 
Officers will not get an aide to push her, nor will they wake any up to push her. For years 
now, if she wants insulin she uses her toes and pushes herself." (Wheelchair User, 
November 2025)


“I am writing because there is a shortage of wheelchair aides here at the facility, and 
myself and others who have wheelchair details due to serious medical 
conditions/disabilities are having to forego callouts and major programming as a result 
of this shortage. I have written the warden, RUM [Resident Unit Manager], PCs 
[Prisoner Counselor], and anyone else who will listen. I have also written to our field 
tech only to have her say this is a classification issue.” (Wheelchair User, 12/5/2023)







“I have been having problems getting aides to 
push me and with staff having the aides do their 
job.” (Wheelchair User, 9/18/2025)


“We have no one to handle wheelchairs or 
wheelchair repairs. If they say they do, they are 
lying to your face. Even officers here want to 
know why we have no wheelchairs.” 
(Wheelchair User, 10/23/2025)

“I’m [redacted] old with end stage [redacted] 
and I am wheelchair bound. However, for 
months I have not had a working wheelchair. 
The wheelchair person refuses to give me a 
workable wheelchair. My original wheelchair 
had a defective seat. It tore apart and the chair 
became useless to me – I had no seat to sit in. 
Instead of going through channels, she left me 
with a very used chair that I could only go 
backward in. I am in the [redact]… I found 
another chair (with help from other inmates 
here) in a pile of broken, unrepaired 
wheelchairs. It has only one wheel that’s right, 
so I don’t know how long this will work …I can’t 
crawl, so when this breaks for good I will be left 
somewhere without a wheelchair.” 
(Wheelchair User,1/30/25)


“[Redacted] got a new wheelchair in 
July and soon after the rubber came 
off the tire. [Redacted] told 
healthcare about it who confiscated 
the chair and got her an old rusty 
used one. [Redacted] states she has 
contacted [WHV staff] several times 
over the last few months with no 
response.”

Wheelchair User, 2/3/25


RECOMMENDATIONS
To remedy these violations and prevent further harm, DRM recommends MDOC 
immediately implement the following operational and systemic changes:

1.	Assign individual wheelchairs to all users, ending the flawed communal pool 
system.

2.	Immediately notify all wheelchair users that if they need a wheelchair attendant, 
they must have a detail for a wheelchair attendant and provide instructions on how 
to request an assessment for an attendant.

3.	Assign specific attendants to specific users to ensure accountability and 
reliability, with a backup attendant pool on call in case of assigned attendant 
unavailability.

4.	Create and implement clear, standardized procedures for requesting and receiving 
attendant assistance.
5.	Post clear, accessible instructions for requesting and receiving attendant 
assistance in all housing units.
6.	Develop and implement written procedures for the wheelchair attendant position.
7.	Provide enough wheelchairs to serve all users and maintain a pool of reserve 
wheelchairs for use in case a wheelchair breaks or the number of wheelchairs 
needed increases.
8.	Conduct an emergency audit to immediately repair or replace all broken 
wheelchairs.

9.	Implement regular, documented protocols for wheelchair inspection and 
maintenance.

10.	Expand training for all custody and healthcare staff on ADA obligations.


Conclusion





The evidence in this report documents the 
Michigan Department of Corrections has 
maintained conditions at Women's Huron 
Valley Correctional Facility that routinely 
endanger wheelchair users, failing to meet 
Americans with Disabilities Act obligations and 
basic standards of care.

The "distance wheelchair" system is structurally 
flawed and insufficient by ADA standards. It 
denies individualized accommodations and 
requires disabled individuals to compete for 
access to poorly maintained equipment and 
unreliable assistance.

MDOC officials have been made aware of these 
failures for years. Their consistent response has 
been to dismiss the concerns of those affected 
and the documentation provided by advocates. 
The result is a facility where access to food, 
medicine, and mobility depends on chance and 
the discretion of staff rather than guaranteed 
rights.

These conditions require immediate correction. 
MDOC must take prompt action to address these 
issues and meet ADA requirements. The 
recommendations in this report provide a clear 
path for compliance. Implementation represents 
both a legal requirement and a necessary 
systemic correction.


The ADA mandates that necessary 
medical equipment must be provided 
to the individual to guarantee reliable, 
equal access to programs, services, and 
activities.

This requirement extends to 
individuals who are incarcerated in 
prisons and detention facilities.


DRM, 2026


Appendix A:  Meal Attendance Data & Methods

The most consistent complaints DRM received from wheelchair users at WHV concerned missing meals, 
medications, and programming due to unavailable wheelchairs or attendants. To quantify this issue, DRM 
requested and analyzed meal attendance and medication line records for wheelchair users. The following 
data documents the extent of access limitations within the facility.

Data Sources Reviewed
DRM analyzed MDOC data related to meal attendance for 82 individuals with wheelchair attendants. The data 
reveal significant access problems.


Time Period Covered
MDOC provided breakfast, lunch, and dinner attendance records for 141 days (January 1, 2025
- May 22, 2025).

Assumptions Used in the Analysis
DRM assumed each individual should have attended breakfast, lunch, and dinner one time every day. To avoid 
skewing results with individuals whose incarcerations may have begun after January 1, 2025, or ended before 
May 22, 2025, total days were calculated using the first day MDOC recorded the individual attended a meal line 
to the last day MDOC recorded the individual attended a meal line. If an individual attended every meal line for 
the full span of the reported days, they should have received 423 meals.

Method for Calculating Missed Meals
On average, women needing wheelchair attendants only received 51.23% of the meals they should have.
Treatment of in-cell meals: In the data, some of the women received a high number of in-cell meals, meaning 
MDOC staff brought the meal to them instead of having them eat at the chow hall. When DRM excluded women 
receiving a high number of in-cell meals from the data, the women served primarily at Food Service received 
42.07% of the meals they should have.

Summary of Aggregate Results
62 of the 82 women missed more than a third of their meals, or more than one meal every day. This is 
equivalent to skipping breakfast, lunch, or dinner every day for more than five months. 46 of the 82 women 
missed more than half of their meals. 10 out of 82 women missed more than 75% of their meals. Over the 
course of approximately 141 days, the 82 women combined to miss 17,621 total meals, for an average of 
1.52 meals missed per woman, per day.



Women have often reported not being able to get to medication lines due to a lack of wheelchair attendants. To 
investigate this, DRM reviewed MDOC Electronic Medication Administration Records (EMARs) for 85 women 
with details for wheelchair attendants, to estimate how often the women were able to get to pill lines for 
needed medications.
Data Sources Reviewed
The EMARs MDOC provided span 193 days (February 1, 2025 - August 12, 2025) and are separated by 
individual. Each individual’s EMAR contains columns for the pill line date, which pill line (AM, Noon, PM), the 
prescription number, the name of the medication, and a frequency code. The frequency codes indicate how 
often the person is supposed to take the medication. For example, the code “QHS” means the person should 
take the medication once a day, at bedtime.

Medication Categorization Method
DRM reviewed all 85 EMARs to identify and categorize the prescribed medications based on what they treat, 
using medication descriptions from Mayoclinic.org to decide the most common treatment use.

Rationale for Medication Categories
DRM focused on three medication categories: Seizure, High Blood Pressure, and Diabetes. DRM chose to 
focus on these medications for three main reasons. First, they often treat serious medical conditions. Second, 
they are for conditions that tend to be long term, reducing the possibility that someone would suddenly stop 
taking them. Third, unlike psychotropic medications, they are not used to treat conditions that may cause the 
individual to decide to skip taking them voluntarily. It is entirely possible MDOC prescribed some of the 
categorized medications to treat other things. The full list of medications in each category is below.






Assumptions Used in the Analysis
&	DRM counted medications with no pill line listed towards the total they received, to account for MDOC 
providing the medication outside of pill lines.

&	DRM did not count medications individuals took with no pill line listed in the total they should have taken, 
to avoid counting one-off medications.


Summary of Aggregate Results
Out of the 85 EMARs DRM reviewed, forty-four individuals (51.8%) were on at least one seizure, high 
blood pressure, or blood sugar medication. Thirty-eight individuals (44.7%) received seizure medications, 
ten individuals (11.8%) received high blood pressure medications, and twelve people (14.1%) received 
blood sugar medications. Twelve individuals (14.1%) received medications in two or more of DRM’s 
categories, with 2 individuals (2.4%) receiving medications in all three categories.

In total, there was no category in which the group as a whole received even 25% of their medications. High 
blood pressure medications fared the best, at 24.6% (1065 out of 4332), with blood sugar medications at 
19.3% (1478 out of 7649) and seizure medications at 18.9% (3412 out of 18054). For seizure medications, the 
individual who received the highest percentage got 82.1% of her medications. For high blood pressure, 
83.9%. For blood sugar medications, like insulin, the woman receiving the highest percentage got only 56.2% 
of her medications.

Out of the 44 women receiving medications in the three categories, 14 (31.2%) received less than 10% of 
their medications. As stated below, even if DRM’s estimates are off by a significant amount in MDOC’s 
favor, women with details for wheelchair attendants are not able to get to pill lines to take their needed 
medications. This is not an issue of a few individuals deciding to skip medications. The outliers are those 
that get more than half of their medications: only 6 women (13.6%) did.



Data Limitations
For some individuals, the first pill line attendance listed is well after February 1, 2025. DRM does not have 
data on when the individuals were first prescribed their medications, so we cannot say whether they 
should have been attending medication lines. Given the long-term nature of medications considered, DRM 
counted days from February 1, 2025, to the day the person first attended a med line as days the individual 
should have received their medications. DRM did not account for individuals passing away, leaving prison, or 
voluntarily skipping medications in its review.

Given those data limitations, DRM’s numbers are an admittedly rough estimate of how many medications 
an individual should have received. However, the estimate paints such a stark picture of medication 
inaccessibility for women who require wheelchair attendants but there would need to be overwhelming 
evidence to the contrary to negate DRM’s conclusion: women with wheelchair attendant details were not 
able to get to pill lines and were not able to get the medications they needed.





During a large-scale monitoring visit in May 2025 and a follow-up visit in October 2025 to document wheelchair 
conditions, DRM staff spoke with multiple individuals with permanent wheelchair details and observed similar 
conditions.


Observed Wheelchair Conditions
Most of the distance wheelchairs had one or no footrests. MDOC reported that four distance wheelchairs 
were assigned to each housing unit. However, monitors found an inconsistent number of wheelchairs in the 
units at a time when all prisoners were required to be in their cells and no distance wheelchairs should have 
been outside of the unit. Furthermore, many housing units had more than four distance wheelchair users. DRM 
spoke with an individual housed in the infirmary who has a permanent wheelchair detail. She demonstrated that 
one of her wheelchair's wheels did not function properly and the brakes were inoperative.

Wheelchair Repair and Maintenance Information
DRM's inquiries into WHV's repair process revealed inconsistent and insufficient responses from the 
administration. Having received many reports concerning broken wheelchairs, DRM inquired with WHV 
Health Services in June 2024 about their repair process. Health Services administration stated the facility 
was addressing the issue, claiming, "We had a vendor come to the facility that had to lay eyes on all the chairs 
requiring repairs... The chairs are now in the process of being redistributed to the units."

However, after observing the continued poor conditions during our May 2025 visit, DRM followed up with the 
Office of Legal Affairs (OLA) in June 2025. OLA provided a different account, stating, "The wheelchair vendor 
went out of business and no longer does repairs. The cost of repairs now outweighs the cost of a new chair." 
OLA further explained that an individual with a broken wheelchair could simply request a new one, a solution 
that has proven ineffective given the documented equipment conditions.


 






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Phone: 517.487.1755  	800.288.5923
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www.drmich.org


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