Medical & Mental Health in Wyoming (WDOC)

If You Believe Someone Is in Crisis

Wyoming publishes a direct channel: the WDOC Inmate Crisis Line, 855-602-0772, staffed 24 hours a day, every day. WDOC describes it as a mechanism for inmates and their families, friends, and attorneys to inform staff of someone needing immediate intervention — a person in crisis, in the mental-health and suicide-risk sense WDOC’s page describes. Callers should be ready to give the person’s facility, name, WDOC number, and what they have observed.

The line covers people in WDOC facilities only — not county jails. WDOC’s same page lists the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline (call or text 988) as a resource for anyone, including family members themselves.

Who Provides Care

Medical, dental, vision, and mental health care in Wyoming’s five prisons is delivered by a contract provider — the published policy defines healthcare services as those “provided by a contract medical services provider.” Since July 1, 2024, that contractor has been NaphCare, Inc., covering all five facilities under a contract reported to run two years; NaphCare replaced YesCare (formerly Corizon), the provider for the prior 18 years, per the company’s announcement and Wyoming news reporting. Whether the contract was renewed past mid-2026 has not been published — the provider can change, but the WDOC policies below govern access to care regardless of who holds the contract.

How a Person Gets Care

The published access policy works like this:

• The person submits a Sick Call Request form — for medical, dental, vision, or mental health concerns. Requests can be made daily and are triaged daily by health staff.
• Clinical services operate at least five days a week, with on-call emergency coverage where a facility lacks 24/7 medical staffing.
• Clinical decisions belong to licensed medical professionals — the policy bars correctional staff from approving or denying healthcare requests.
• Chronic conditions (asthma, diabetes, HIV, hypertension, seizure disorders, serious mental illness, and others) are managed through chronic-care clinics with individual treatment plans and follow-up generally at least every 90 days.
• Pregnant women receive prenatal and postpartum care, with delivery at outside hospitals; the policy allows high-risk pregnancies to be housed in the vulnerable-population unit at the Medium Correctional Institution in Torrington.

On cost: the policy states that “health care shall not be denied based on an inmate’s ability to pay,” and WDOC publishes no co-pay amount anywhere in its current policies or website. The Prison Policy Initiative listed Wyoming in 2025 among states that have ended medical co-pays in their prisons; WDOC itself has published no statement either way, so treat the absence of a posted fee as exactly that.

Mental Health Services

The published policy describes a 14-day mental health assessment during intake, an inpatient mental-health unit with 24-hour nursing, and a Mental Health Residential Treatment Program for people with serious mental illness who cannot function in general population. People with severe mental illness or developmental disability can be referred for placement outside the corrections system.

When Care Falls Short: the Grievance Process

Healthcare disputes are explicitly grievable under Wyoming’s published grievance policy, after the medical department’s own resolution process. The person — not the family — files, with one published exception below. The steps and deadlines:

1. Informal resolution — raise it with staff within 5 days, then a written Inmate Communication Form (Form 320) within 10 days of the incident
2. Grievance — Form 321 to the facility grievance manager within 30 calendar days of the incident; a written, reasoned decision is due within 10 working days
3. Appeal to the warden — within 7 days of the response; the warden has 30 days
4. Appeal to the WDOC Director in Cheyenne — within 10 days of the warden’s response; the Director’s decision is final

For situations carrying substantial risk of injury, an emergency grievance gets a decision on emergency status within 2 working days and a written response within 3. For sexual abuse, PREA grievances have no filing deadline, skip the informal step — and family members may file on the person’s behalf, the one place a third party can enter the process directly.

What Family Members Can Do

Beyond the crisis line and a PREA grievance, the practical channels are indirect: the person initiates sick call and grievances themselves, and medical privacy rules limit what staff can tell you about diagnosis or treatment. Concerns about a facility’s handling of a medical situation can be put in writing to the warden (facility addresses are in Mail & Packages) or to WDOC’s central office: 1934 Wyott Drive, Suite 100, Cheyenne, WY 82002, (307) 777-7208.

Verify Before Acting

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