Orange County Jail Healthcare Workers Go Weeks Without Pay as Vendor Files for Bankruptcy

GOSHEN, N.Y. – Orange County Jail’s medical vendor, YesCare, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy on May 8, and some healthcare workers at the jail say it’s been weeks since they’ve been paid with no idea on when their next paycheck will come.

Orange County Jail has been using YesCare as its medical vendor since January 2025 after its previous medical vendor, WellPath, filed for bankruptcy in 2024. YesCare, a Tennessee-based prison healthcare company, was formerly known as Corizon – which filed for bankruptcy in 2023 after hundreds of medical malpractice lawsuits. Corizon then later created two new subsidiaries, YesCare and Tehum Care Services.

There are roughly 40 healthcare workers at the county jail, according to staff members, that have not been paid for weeks.

David Birmingham, a Licensed Practical Nurse (LPN), said it’s been more than three weeks since his last paycheck from YesCare. Birmingham, whose worked at the county jail for over three years, said the abrupt changes to medical vendors have grave healthcare and financial consequences to both staff and individuals housed at the jail.

“YesCare did not pay the pharmacy, for example, so we lost the pharmacy contract,”  said Birmingham. “That means we have a local pharmacy, Good Neighbor, that’s helping out, but the local pharmacy in town can’t supply a giant institution like that. There’s just things they can’t do that we need.”

Radio Catskill reached out to Orange County Executive Steven Neuhaus about how this will affect medical staffing and incarcerated individuals. They declined to comment. Orange County Sheriff’s Office responded with the statement below after this article was published.

“To be clear, all required medical services are being provided to inmates of Orange County Jail. Orange County has terminated YesCare’s contract to provide such services, seamlessly transitioning to a new medical provider — CFG Health Systems, LLC. This was done to comply with the County’s obligation to provide for the health, safety, and welfare of those incarcerated at the County’s Jail,” said Orange County Deputy Christie Meany in an email to Radio Catskill.

“The County has fully paid YesCare through its April invoice; the May invoice is presently being reviewed and processed in the ordinary course. Any failure by YesCare to pay its employees must be addressed to YesCare and not the County.”

Other healthcare workers that Radio Catskill spoke with allege that the constant changes in medical vendors can sometimes create delays in when patients receive their prescribed medication.

Available medical supplies are also dwindling. Birmingham alleges that some workers have had to resort to using food service gloves instead of personal protective equipment (PPE) latex gloves because that’s what’s available during some shifts.

“They’re not practical. They’re not made for medical practice. You can’t unwrap an insulin syringe with those gloves,” said Birmingham.

Another healthcare worker who asked us not to share their name out of fear of retaliation said the supplies haven’t been sufficient for months for basic medical supplies like butterfly needles and lancets to draw blood.

Healthcare workers in jails and prisons in Alabama, Kentucky, and other states have also not been paid for weeks. In New Mexico, Doña Ana County commissioners unanimously voted to approve $170,000 to pay workers at the county detention jail as YesCare awaits court approval to pay employees.

Orange County Jail is one of five Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) detention facilities in New York state and is ICE’s only detention facility in the Hudson Valley. 

The jail, located about an hour and half north of Manhattan in Goshen, New York, has long faced criticism over alleged human rights violations and medical neglect for ICE detainees – allegations that Orange County Undersheriff Evelyn Mallard has called “rumors.”

READ: Orange County Sheriff’s Office Calls Medical Neglect Allegations Inside Jail ‘Rumors’

The county jail’s population includes more than 390 incarcerated individuals, with roughly 40 percent of the population detained by ICE.

One healthcare worker at the Orange County Jail, who asked us not to share their name out of fear of losing their job, said they haven’t gotten paid since May 1. Since then, they’ve had to turn to family members and friends to stay financially afloat. 

“I live paycheck to paycheck,” said the healthcare worker. “My basic needs have always been able to be taken care of, and now I’m relying on others to take care of my basic needs.” 

The looming financial stress has become so dire to their mental health, they say, that at one point they forgot to check one patient’s pulse during a vital sign monitor. “Sometimes, even if it’s a small mess-up, it could be life and death.”

Healthcare workers at Orange County Jail say they’ve received no clear answers on when they’ll get paid but say they suddenly have a new medical vendor, CFG Health. Some found out about their new medical employer through an employee onboarding process email CFG Health sent out on May 11 – three days after YesCare filed for bankruptcy. 

It’s unclear if Orange County had a formal bidding process or how CFG Health was selected.

Further Reading: After YesCare Bankruptcy, Orange County Jail Quietly Swaps Medical Vendor – for Company Led by Former YesCare Execs

Update: This article was updated on May 19, 2026 to include comments from the Orange County Sheriff’s Office we received after the article was published.

Image: Exterior signage of the Orange County Jail in Goshen, N.Y. (Photo Credit: Kimberly Izar)