Medical & Mental Health in Hawaii (HI DCR)
How health care works in Hawaii prisons — in-house DCR Health Care Services Division at the in-state facilities, CoreCivic medical care at Saguaro in Arizona, and how to request care or raise concerns.
Health care at the in-state facilities
Hawaii runs a unified system: the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (DCR) operates both the prisons and the Community Correctional Centers (jails). Unlike many states that hire a private prison-health company, DCR delivers care at its in-state facilities in-house through its Health Care Services Division, the department’s own medical division.
The sources reviewed do not name any statewide for-profit medical contractor for the in-state facilities, and do not publish a co-payment amount. Confirm whether a co-pay applies and how much it is with the facility’s medical unit, because neither figure is published.
Routine care generally begins at each facility’s medical unit through a request submitted to the medical staff. Confirm the current request procedure and any exemptions with the facility, because details change.
Mental-health care
Mental-health care at the in-state facilities is part of the same in-house structure under DCR’s Health Care Services Division. Some facilities also run residential treatment programs — for example, the KASHBOX residential substance-abuse program at Waiawa Correctional Facility and the Ke Alaula therapeutic community at the Women’s Community Correctional Center. Confirm what is available at a specific facility with that facility, because programs vary by site.
Care at Saguaro (Arizona)
Hawaii holds some sentenced men at Saguaro Correctional Center in Eloy, Arizona, a private prison operated by CoreCivic under contract. Medical care at Saguaro is provided by CoreCivic, not by DCR’s own medical staff.
A health or treatment concern at Saguaro starts with that facility’s process. Hawaii oversees Saguaro through DCR’s Non-State Facilities branch, and the Hawaii Correctional System Oversight Commission’s mandate also covers Saguaro, so the oversight avenue below applies to people held there as well.
Raising a concern and the grievance process
A health or treatment concern that cannot be resolved with the facility’s medical staff can be raised through the facility’s grievance process, the formal procedure for inmate complaints. Confirm the current grievance steps and deadlines with the facility, because details change.
Outside the department, the Hawaii Correctional System Oversight Commission (HCSOC) is the state’s independent oversight body for the correctional system. Established in 2019, it is overseen by an Oversight Coordinator and a panel of commissioners, and its mandate covers the in-state prisons and jails as well as Saguaro. The HCSOC is an oversight body rather than a substitute for a facility grievance; the facility’s own process is the route for filing a complaint about care.
Verify Before Acting
Sources
This page is compiled from the following publicly available sources. Policies change without notice — confirm current details with the facility before relying on them.