Inspection of Farmville Detention Center in 2024 finds several violations of medical care policies, procedures

PRINCE EDWARD COUNTY, Va. (WRIC) -- An inspection of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement's (ICE) Farmville Detention Center in Prince Edward County from December 2024 found several violations of medical care policies and procedures, among other issues.

Farmville Detention Center, located at 508 Waterworks Rd., is operated by ICE and owned by CoreCivic, a Tenn.-based corrections company. Abyon, LLC was the owner when the inspection was conducted.

The inspection of the facility was conducted from Dec. 17 through Dec. 19, 2024, by ICE's Office of Detention Oversight (OCO) and found 19 total "deficiencies," or violations of ICE detention standards, policies or operational procedures.

Of those 19 violations, 12 pertained to medical care, three were related to "significant self-harm and suicide prevention and intervention," one pertained to recreation and one was related to visitation.

As part of the inspection, 34 detainees were interviewed, who each voluntarily participated. ODO reportedly requested to interview 13 additional detainees, each of whom declined. No detainees reportedly made allegations of discrimination, mistreatment or abuse.

The number of records or detainees referenced in most violations throughout the inspection was redacted.

Medical care violations

According to the inspection, one detainee told staff during the intake process on Sept. 24 and again during a medical follow-up on Oct. 17 that he had peanut and red meat allergies, but as of Dec. 17, he had not been placed on a medical diet for his allergies. He was then placed on the correct diet on Dec. 18.

Another violation of medical care policies pertained to medical staff not reporting detainees being diagnosed with a "communicable disease of public health significance."

Medical staff did not report a redacted number of detainees who had suspected active tuberculosis within a working day after it was identified, suspected or confirmed.

In addition, the inspection said that some health care staff had no verifiable license, certification, credential or registration on file in compliance with state and federal requirements.

Another violation highlighted that some health care providers did not conduct mental health evaluations within 72 hours of mental health referrals during the intake process. This was noted to be a repeat violation.

Further, inspectors found that detention officers, rather than medical staff, served as chaperones during medical encounters and examinations. This was reportedly a repeat violation.

The report also said that, in some records, the detention centers' clinical medical authority did not review some detainees' health assessments to assess the priority for treatment.

Some detainees did not receive an evaluation by a health care provider within 72 hours after being referred for mental health treatment, the inspection said. This was a repeat violation and a "priority component."

In addition, a redacted number of detainees referred for mental health treatment reportedly never received an evaluation, and in seven different instances, some were evaluated from six to 60 days after referral.

Some detainees who were prescribed psychotropic medications received no regular evaluation by a medical professional. These evaluations are required to be held at least once a month to ensure proper treatment and dosage.

For some taking prescribed psychotropic medications, the inspection said there were no records of documented informed consent before medication was given. This was a repeat deficiency.

The report said an intra-organizational, external peer review was not conducted in regard to some independently licensed medical professionals.

Through peer reviews, inspectors found that no annual documentation of an intra-organizational, external peer review was conducted for a licensed medical professional since their employment on May 17, 2022.

Violations regarding self-harm and suicide prevention and intervention

Inspectors found that, in some instances, no annual suicide prevention refresher training was provided. This was noted as a priority component.

Of those placed on suicide watch, some were monitored by facility staff for as little as 16 to 41 minutes. This was reportedly a priority component.

In addition, of those placed on suicide watch, one detainee received a welfare check conducted by clinical staff 12 hours after the previous check on May 20, 2024, and another received a welfare check 11 hours after the previous check on July 23, 2024. This was noted as a repeat violation.

Activities violations: Recreation and visitation

Detention center staff did not provide detainees with an FM wireless headset for television viewing and access to "appropriate language stations or choices," according to the report.

The facility's legal visitation logbook did not include a sign-in section for the supervising attorney's name.

Grievance system

The detainee handbook provided by the facility did not notify detainees of the procedures for contacting ERO Washington Field Office to appeal a decision.

Staff training

The facility's administrator reportedly did not contact ERO Washington Field Office for access to relevant U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) training resources, such as DHS Office for Civil Rights and Civil Liberties training modules.

Post-inspection briefing

Following each inspection, ODO reportedly holds a closeout briefing with the facility and the local ERO to discuss preliminary findings.

ICE said a summary of these findings is shared with ERO management officials, and afterward, ODO provides ICE leadership with a final compliance inspection report to help the ERO in developing and initiating corrective action plans and providing senior executives with an independent assessment of facility operations.

The full inspection is available below.