{"id":2267,"date":"2026-01-21T12:33:22","date_gmt":"2026-01-21T17:33:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/senatedems.com\/cavanagh\/?p=2267"},"modified":"2026-01-21T12:33:24","modified_gmt":"2026-01-21T17:33:24","slug":"mdoc-medical-communications","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dev.senatedems.com\/cavanagh\/2026\/01\/21\/mdoc-medical-communications\/","title":{"rendered":"Sen. Cavanagh Champions Bipartisan Legislation to Improve Transparency, Humanity in MDOC Medical Communications"},"content":{"rendered":"

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LANSING, Mich. (Jan.\u00a021,\u00a02026)\u00a0\u2014\u00a0Today,\u00a0Sen.\u00a0<\/span>Mary<\/b>\u00a0Cavanagh\u00a0<\/span><\/b>(D-Redford Twp.)\u00a0introduced\u00a0<\/span>Senate Bill\u00a0769<\/a><\/u><\/span> to bring greater accountability and dignity to the Michigan Dept. of Corrections\u2019 (MDOC) medical communications system. This bipartisan legislation \u2014 crafted in tandem with the department and supported by a broad coalition of advocacy groups \u2014 would require MDOC to provide every incarcerated Michigander with standardized medical release and emergency contact forms, in addition to an informational brochure with instructions on both forms. Senate Bill 769 would also ensure that families are immediately informed in the event of a critical medical emergency of an incarcerated individual that requires hospitalization.<\/p>\n

\u201cRight now, there are no clear communications plans in place to ensure\u00a0that\u00a0families of incarcerated\u00a0people\u00a0are informed\u00a0in the event of a\u00a0medical emergency, leaving them to deal with\u00a0the pain of\u00a0being left in the dark\u00a0while a loved one\u00a0is\u00a0in crisis,\u201d said Sen.\u00a0<\/span>Cavanagh<\/b>. \u201cMy legislation would protect the dignity of incarcerated Michiganders and their families by improving medical communications in our state’s correctional facilities \u2014 because even if someone is incarcerated, they still have loved ones who care deeply about their safety and well-being.\u201d<\/p>\n

This legislation is\u00a0a Senate version of\u00a0<\/span>House Bill 5216<\/a><\/u><\/span>,\u00a0which was led by Rep.\u00a0<\/span>Stephanie Young<\/b> (D-Detroit) after a constituent and mother shared the devastating experience of losing her son during his incarceration and not being contacted during his critical medical emergency.\u00a0 Senate Bill 769 has been referred to the Senate Committee on Civil Rights, Judiciary, and Public Safety where it awaits further consideration.\u00a0<\/div>\n

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LANSING, Mich. (Jan.\u00a021,\u00a02026)\u00a0\u2014\u00a0Today,\u00a0Sen.\u00a0Mary\u00a0Cavanagh\u00a0(D-Redford Twp.)\u00a0introduced\u00a0Senate Bill\u00a0769 to bring greater accountability and dignity to the Michigan Dept. of Corrections\u2019 (MDOC) medical communications system. This bipartisan legislation \u2014 crafted in tandem with the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2125,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"on","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2267","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-press-release"],"yoast_head":"\nSen. Cavanagh Champions Bipartisan Legislation to Improve Transparency, Humanity in MDOC Medical Communications - Senator Mary Cavanagh<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Sen. 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