Serious medical issues cited at juvenile prisons March 15, 2007 Dallas Morning News, March 15, 2007 AUSTIN - Lawmakers on a joint House-Senate committee tackling the Texas Youth Commission investigation heard Wednesday about problems with health care at the state's juvenile prisons. Jay Kimbrough, the special master overseeing the investigation, told the panel that he had run into serious medical problems in his visits to youth facilities last weekend, including an inmate whose anti-convulsive drugs had run out. Officials with the University of Texas Medical Branch, which oversees health care at the juvenile facilities, testified that TYC employees were not following proper procedures with drug distribution. "There is no excuse for that," said Dr. Ben Raimer, UTMB's vice president of community health services. But he said lawmakers have to realize TYC staffers are strapped: It's incredibly difficult to get nurses to work in TYC facilities "when you have student riots every other day." « Back | The Newsroom »