Southern State Correctional Facility in Springfield, Vt. Photo by Elizabeth Hewitt/VTDiggerUpdated at 3:57 p.m.A doctor employed by Vermont’s former prison health care provider is suing the company alleging it forged his signature on policy documents and fired him after he raised concerns regarding the conditions inside Vermont’s prisons. Dr. George Zazzali served as Vitalcore’s chief medical officer of operations in Vermont in 2021, according to court records. In the suit, filed in U.S. District Court for the District of Vermont last month, he claimed Vitalcore “forged his signature” on a more than 500-page policy and procedures manual submitted to state officials. In 2020 Vermont began a three-year contract with Vitalcore for prison health care. During that time, the state experienced a spate of deaths in its prisons, which Vermont Department of Corrections officials attributed to an older and sicker prison population. The death of David Mitchell in particular drew scrutiny, as eyewitnesses reported he had repeatedly requested medical attention the day he died. An investigation by the Vermont Defender General’s Office later determined Vitalcore staff did not seem to know how to perform CPR and other lifesaving procedures. Vermont now contracts with Wellpath, one of the country’s largest prison health care providers. Department of Corrections officials say there is often significant staff overlap from contractor to contractor. Court records describe Dr. Zazzali’s account of how he uncovered a number of startling facts regarding the provision of health care in Vermont’s prisons during August 2021. It was unclear whether people prescribed buprenorphine, an opioid use disorder medication, had ever met with a licensed clinician, according to the lawsuit. Zazzali also reported being concerned when he learned that Vitalcore only had one psychiatric provider for the entire prison system.Medical equipment, Zazzali alleges, “was in a state of disrepair that indicated years of neglect,” and nurses were performing examinations they were unqualified to conduct, the lawsuit states. Zazzali alleges that Vitalcore “failed to comply” with the policies on which it forged his signature, providing “sub-standard levels of care.” He expressed concern that signing the policy would implicate him in a “False Claims Act violation.”Two days later, Zazzali was fired, according to the lawsuit. Zazzali, through the Washington D.C. based firm The Employment Law Group, which is representing him, declined an interview request. The case was initially filed this summer in state court before being moved to federal court last month. A lawyer for Vitalcore did not respond to a request for comment. A Vermont Department of Corrections spokesperson said the department was unaware of the lawsuit’s allegations prior to its filing. Responding to Zazzali’s allegations, an attorney for Vitalcore argued in court filings that the doctor’s allegations of forged signatures on a policies or procedures document do not fall under Vermont’s false claims act. The law only governs “a claim to the State for payment or approval,” Vitalcore argued. Zazzali is seeking back pay and damages as part of the suit. Alan Keays contributed reporting.Read the story on VTDigger here: Doctor sues Vermont’s former prison health care provider alleging fraud.