Prison Visitor Guide

Medical & Mental Health in Virginia (VADOC)

How health care works in Virginia prisons — the in-house provider, no co-pay, medication-assisted treatment, pregnancy protections, the grievance process, and the corrections ombudsman families can contact.

Last reviewed: 2026-06-12

Getting Care

Health care in Virginia prisons is delivered mainly in-house by VADOC’s Health Services Unit — staff and contractors — after the department moved away from a single private medical contractor. A person requests non-emergency care through sick call — a request form or sign-up that nursing staff triage daily, with clinical services available at least five days a week — and emergencies are handled around the clock. People with chronic conditions are seen on a recurring basis, and people in restrictive housing receive a daily visit from a health professional.

No Co-pay

Virginia does not charge a medical co-pay. The state suspended its former $5 charge in 2020 and ended it permanently, and the current access-to-care procedure carries no co-pay — so a person is not billed for requesting a sick-call visit, and no one is denied necessary care for inability to pay.

Medication-Assisted Treatment

VADOC offers medication-assisted treatment (MAT) for opioid use disorder. The program includes buprenorphine (continued for people who enter with a verified prescription), long-acting injectable naltrexone for people nearing release, and naloxone — with free take-home kits provided at release — alongside counseling, case management, and peer support. MAT is offered at a set of facilities and has been expanding; the women’s prisons (Fluvanna and the Virginia Correctional Center for Women) are among the sites.

Mental Health

VADOC runs six specialized mental-health units licensed by the state behavioral-health authority, providing screenings, crisis management, group and individual therapy, and medication management.

Pregnancy Care

Virginia law limits the use of restraints on a pregnant person. No restraints may be used during labor or delivery, or during postpartum recovery (defined as at least eight weeks), unless there is a specific, documented safety or flight-risk determination — and then only the least restrictive option, with a written report to the warden. The law also limits restrictive housing during pregnancy and postpartum recovery and allows a newborn to remain with the mother for 72 hours after birth.

Raising a Concern

A person raises a problem — including about medical or mental-health care — through the grievance process (Operating Procedure 866.1). It runs in steps: an informal written complaint (filed within 15 days of the issue), then a regular grievance (within 30 days), then a Level II appeal, which is the final administrative step before a person can go to court. An emergency grievance, for an immediate risk of serious harm, gets a response within eight hours.

Families have separate channels:

  • The Corrections Ombudsman. Virginia created an independent Office of the Department of Corrections Ombudsman (within the Office of the State Inspector General) in 2024. It takes complaints from incarcerated people, families, friends, and advocates about conditions, medical and mental-health care, visitation, and rights, and it inspects facilities. Reach it at the toll-free line (833) 351-6640, by its online complaint form, or by mail at Corrections Ombudsman Unit, P.O. Box 1151, Richmond, VA 23218.
  • Sexual abuse (PREA). A family member can report sexual abuse or harassment to VADOC’s 24/7 hotline at 1-855-602-7001, through the third-party reporting form on VADOC’s PREA page, or by mail. A grievance about sexual abuse has no filing deadline.
  • VADOC releases information about a person’s care only with the person’s authorization.

Where to Get Help

Several Virginia organizations work with incarcerated people and their families: the ACLU of Virginia (litigation and policy on prison conditions), NAMI Virginia for mental-health support (national HelpLine 1-800-950-6264), the Humanization Project, and Virginia CURE, a family-led prison-reform group. For pregnancy and postpartum support, the Virginia Prison Birth Project provides doula and lactation services.

Verify Before Acting

For the general, nationwide overview of this topic, see the national guide: Know Your Rights.

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.