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SHELBY COUNTY, Tenn. - The Reverend Al Sharpton is coming to Memphis Tuesday to give the eulogy for Ramon McGhee, a Shelby County Jail inmate who died after "severe neglect" and "severe body insect infestations", according to his preliminary autopsy.

McGhee's family told FOX13 that the 42-year-old was covered in lice and bed burgs when he arrived at a hospital on January 12, 2024, two days after he was found unresponsive at 201 Poplar.

RELATED: Prelim autopsy of 201 Poplar inmate shows 'severe body insect infestations'

Rev. Sharpton will deliver McGhee's eulogy at his memorial service at Mississippi Boulevard Christian Church on Tuesday, March 5 at noon.

Gershun Freeman, Deion Byrd and Marcus Donald, other Shelby County Jail inmates who died, will be eulogized alongside McGhee, according to the office of attorney Ben Crump who represents McGhee's family.

Families of all the inmates are expected to be in attendance alongside Crump and Rev. Sharpton.

Two deputy jailers were charged with murder after video was released showing a lengthy physical altercation between Freeman and several jailers at 201 Poplar.

RELATED: 2 deputy jailers charged with murder, several others with assault in Gershun Freeman's death, sources tell FOX13

Deion Byrd died after being stabbed by another inmate outside of a courtroom at 201 Poplar, according to investigators.

RELATED: FOX13 Investigates: Family of 201 inmate killed files wrongful death lawsuit

Marcus Donald had recently had his case dismissed and was waiting to be released when he was placed in a cell with Stephen Robinson. Robinson strangled Donald to death and pled guilty to his murder in November of 2023.

RELATED: Shelby County inmate who killed man waiting to be released pleads guilty to murder

According to McGhee's preliminary autopsy, the 42-year-old suffered from "a multitude of ailments" due to neglect, including severe anemia, kidney disease and organ failure/severe sepsis.

Crump called the preliminary autopsy findings "evidence of the abuse and intolerable treatment constantly experienced by inmates."

The Shelby County Sheriff's Office released a statement following McGhee's death, calling it "unacceptable" and saying that corrective measures have been put in place.

"The jail struggles daily with mentally ill residents, particularly those who refuse medication and treatment for medical issues. Some of them, unfortunately, use their bodily waste to stain their cell walls and floors. Their cells are cleaned daily and multiple time a day, if needed. These cell conditions are not commonplace in the jail. Many of our mentally ill residents belong in treatment facilities, not this jail," the sheriff's office said, in part.

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Call Comes as Transplant Recipients on Medicare Mark One Year Without Access to Blood Test Able to Catch Rejections Early

NEW YORK, March 6, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- The Health Equity in Transplantation Coalition (HEiTC) representing Black, Brown, and minority transplant patients nationwide is calling on the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) to restore Medicare coverage for critical diagnostic blood tests without any ties to biopsies. Last week, CMS issued a revised Billing Article and public statement highlighting a revision to its March 2023 coverage policy, which linked the administration of blood tests to a biopsy. In a statement from HEiTC Executive Chairman Al B. Sure! and Senior Advisor Rev. Al Sharpton, the Coalition noted the change does not clarify the level of access that Medicare recipients have to life-saving care.

"We appreciate that CMS has taken steps to address the confusion caused by the March 2023 billing article across the country, doctors stopped administering blood tests to patients on Medicare on the grounds that they would no longer be covered. But the CMS revision and statement last week does not clarify whether access to these tests for organ transplant recipients on Medicare is tied to a biopsy. Biopsies are painful, risky, and are often prescribed too late by that point, organ rejection may have already begun. The purpose of these blood tests is to catch a rejection before it happens, which is nearly impossible if they are linked to a biopsy. We pray that is no longer the case, and we urge CMS to publicly clarify to the transplant community, healthcare providers, and all others whether that is the case.

The lack of clarity on this issue continues to put a vulnerable population of overwhelmingly Black and Brown transplant recipients at risk. This is an injustice against those on public health insurance, who rely on it to help with their daily journey toward recovery. They have now been left without a shield for a year as they fight against this bureaucratic confusion. We will not give up on the fight, as we continue to call on CMS to fully restore Medicare coverage for these tests as it works to finalize its coverage policy. A year of confusion shouldn't set the precedent for a lifetime of uncertainty."

The milestone anniversary comes as Al B! and Rev. Sharpton last week applauded BlueCross BlueShield of South Carolina for its decision to cover routine cell-free DNA testing for kidney and heart transplant patientswithout any ties to biopsies.

These lifesaving tests are critical to detect possible early signs of organ rejection, even before there are apparent clinical signs or symptoms, and enable medical intervention to protect the transplanted organ.One year ago,Palmetto GBA, a private Medicare Administrative Contractor that runs the MolDX program scaledback coverageof these non-invasivediagnostic tests. Lawmakers from both sides of the aislehaveweighed in. In August, abipartisan letter signed by 14 members of the House of Representativesled by Reps. Anna Eschoo (D-CA) and Dr. Michael Burgess (R-TX), expressing concerns about the March rollbacks was sent to CMS and earlier this year, Congressional Black Caucus Chair Steven Horsford also raised this issuein a letterto CMS and the Department of Health and Human Services.

Organ transplant care is critical for Black, Hispanic and Latino Americans, who together represent 40 percent of transplants in the U.S. well above the 32 percent of the general U.S. population. Additionally, Black Americans rank lowest in graft and patient survival among recipients of solid organ transplants, due in part to higher immunological risk leading to higher rejection rates, making blood tests a critical component of their post-transplant care. Compounding the issue, an astounding 50 percent of those on the 100,000 person transplant waiting list are Black or Hispanic/Latino, making access to transplantation and equitable post-transplant care an important and growing issue in this community.

Press Contact: Rachel Noerdlinger[emailprotected]

SOURCE Health Equity in Transplantation Coalition

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HEiTC'S AL B. SURE! AND REV. AL SHARPTON TO CMS: RESTORE MEDICARE COVERAGE FOR LIFE-SAVING ... - PR Newswire

A crowd of more than 1,200 doctors, nurses, hospital workers, and community members joined union members and elected officials to shut down a section of Clarkson Avenue across from SUNY Downstate University Hospital on Thursday to loudly express their support for keeping Downstate open and condemn the Governors plan to close it.

United University Professions (UUP), the nations largest higher education union, hosted the Brooklyn Needs Downstate rally. UUP was joined by other national and statewide labor leaders from the American Federation of Teachers, the New York State AFL-CIO, NYSUT, PEF, and the New York State Nurses Association. The noon rally drew faculty and staff from Downstate, residents, medical students, patients, and community members who gathered in solidarity with UUP to show Governor Hochul why she needs to rethink her plan to close SUNY Downstate Hospital.

A group of Brooklyn faith leaders spoke at the rally, as did several Brooklyn-area state legislators, including Senator Zellnor Myrie, who has loudly opposed the governors plan to close SUNY Downstate Hospital. Speakers noted that decades of neglect and disinvestment by the state have threatened patients access to equitable, high-quality health care services in Brooklyn.

Union leaders are calling for the governor to immediately stop the closure plan and convene an inclusive and deliberative public process in which the community and all other stakeholders are meaningfully engaged. This process should focus on developing a sustainability plan for Downstate that maintains the hospital as a free-standing facility that can provide core specialty services and other critical health care services the Central Brooklyn community needs and deserves. Read more here!

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More than 1200 Frontline Workers and Reverend Al Sharpton Rally With Faith and Union Leaders, Elected Officials at ... - New York City Central Labor...

Union members showed up en masse last Thursday to demand that the State University of New York (SUNY) Downstate Hospital stay open, shutting down the block the hospital occupies. Reverend Al Sharpton, founder and president of the National Action Network (NAN), joined them.

I was born and raised in Brownsville and Ive known central Brooklyn all my life, Sharpton said at the rally. We have had a [lack] of medical health places to take care of the needs of our community. Downstate has been one of the few. Now they want to blame the lack of funding on the folks that made little do much. This staff has taken little and kept lives going.

Sharpton said that shutting down Downstate will not be tolerated.

The rally bookmarked the latest back and forth between the community and the state over the supposed closure of the hospital, which has suffered from decades of disinvestment and a projected $100 million deficit in the current state budget. SUNY Downstate is a teaching hospital that serves primarily Medicaid and underinsured patients. Its also where the magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) medical device was invented.

Governor Kathy Hochul and SUNY Chancellor John Kings proposed plan involves moving inpatient services across the street to Kings County Hospital, among other things, to alleviate the hospitals financial strain.

After decades of disinvestment at SUNY Downstate, Governor Hochul is the first governor to focus on the healthcare needs of Central Brooklyn, said Hochuls office in a statement. She has committed $400 million to bring high-quality health care to residents in a modernized facility while protecting healthcare jobs. At her direction, SUNY will continue to listen to the voices of residents as it finalizes plans to invest in and revitalize Downstatenot close it.

Several groups and unions dont support the states plan, such as United University Professions (UUP), the American Federation of Teachers (AFT), New York State AFL-CIO, New York State United Teachers (NYSUT), Public Employees Federation (PEF), and New York State Nurses Association (NYSNA).

Five hospitals have closed in Brooklyn since 2003, said UUP.

It is a travesty that we are here again at SUNY Downstate fighting for this hospitals survival. I was there in 2012 and 2013, when Governor Cuomo wanted to privatize it, said PEF President Wayne Spence. Seven years later, he designated it a COVID-only hospital. The healthcare heroes at Downstate helped hundreds of thousands of New Yorkers survive the pandemic. They are amazing public servants, and they deserve better. If the state really wants to transform Downstate, lets work together now, when theres a budget surplus, to fund and staff it, so that anyone who needs quality, affordable health care in Central Brooklyn can get it.

AFT President Randi Weingarten said that shuttering a hospital in a predominantly Black and brown community that also trains healthcare professionals is a slap in the face.

The unions were joined by a group of faith leaders and several elected officials, including Senator Zellnor Myrie and Assemblymember Latrice Walker, who have loudly opposed the states plan.

Brooklyn needs SUNY Downstate, said Walker. It is a vital safety-net hospital that treats everyone who walks through their doors regardless of their ability to pay. Ninety percent of the patients there are on Medicaid, uninsured, or underinsured. Most of them are people of color with limited access to quality health care, which ought to be a basic human right. The failure to save SUNY Downstate will only exacerbate the health disparities that already exist in the Brooklyn neighborhoods served by the hospital. The failure to save SUNY Downstate will decrease life expectancy and send the message that some people in Albany dont care if poor people live or die.

Rev. Kirkpatrick Cohall, senior pastor of Lenox Road Baptist Church, said the proposed changes to SUNY Downstate have created nothing but anxiety and concern from within the hospital system as well as in the community.

Downstate has been on the forefront of fighting for equity and access to the best health care in this city for many years, Cohall in a statement. The COVID pandemic revealed the enormous disparities in our healthcare system and confirmed that those disparities are deeply rooted in racism and discrimination. Consequently, the proposed changes are viewed with great suspicion and concern that vital services, jobs, and economic stability for the residents will be severely diminished. Keeping Downstate open and viable will continue to address the inequities and disparities in our healthcare system. Ariama C. Long is a Report for America corps member who writes about politics for the Amsterdam News. Your donation to match our RFA grant helps keep her writing stories like this one; please consider making a tax-deductible gift of any amount today by visiting https://bit.ly/amnews1.

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November 26, 2023

Reverend Al Sharpton:Switching gears now. Joining me is New York City Mayor Eric Adams. Mayor Adams, thank you for coming on the show.

Mayor Eric Adams:Thank you.

Reverend Sharpton:I want to get into the migrant situation and budget challenges, but I wanted to have you also to discuss a number of issues facing the city. But first, though, I have to ask you about several items in the news related to you and to your administration.

On Wednesday, a lawsuit was filed against you by a woman who says you sexually assaulted her while you both were working for the city in 1993. You said Thursday you don't recall even ever meeting the accuser. What more can you tell us about this case, if anything, and why it's being brought, if as you say, you don't even know the person.

Mayor Adams:I don't know that. And I want to be clear: the law that was passed that allowed a look back period of any form of action like this, I support the law. I think it should be used and not abused. I have no idea, you know, why this was brought forth. I don't recall ever meeting this person, over 30 years ago this was stated took place.

And you know, people like you who know me, I have always fought on behalf of not only women specifically but in general uplifting people and in protecting people. I protected people for 22 years as a police officer, and I know what it is to make sure that people should always see the protection that they deserve.

And we don't know the full scope of what this allegation is, but it's going to follow It's the process, and I'm going to continue to do what I have to do to make sure the city navigates out of some challenging time.

Reverend Sharpton:Now, there's also the FBI campaign finance investigation. Federal authorities have this month raided the homes of your chief fundraiser as well as another aide and seized several of your electronic devices. The probe was reportedly looking at whether a Turkish consulate building may have been approved improperly. You said you are cooperating with investigators and haven't been accused of any wrongdoing.

But for city residents who are concerned about corruption and who have read stories about your past trips to Turkey and have questions, what is your message to them right now, Mr. Mayor?

Mayor Adams:Well, I've been consistent with one thing, Reverend Sharpton, to my team. Number one, we participate in all investigations and we follow the law. We follow the rules. You know, as I stated, as a former law enforcement person, I know what it is to follow the rules and follow the law, and I'm telling my team to do that.

We want the same thing that the SDNY the Southern District wants, is to find out exactly what took place. And people point to the number of trips to Turkey. I traveled to Africa seven or eight times, South America, Central America, to China. New York City's an international city and we have some of the largest population of the various diasporas of all of these various groups. And I try to make it clear that we're a welcoming city and we want to have these international relationships.

The United Nations sits off the East River of this city, and that's the role I have as the mayor of the City of New York. So, we're going to be as cooperative as possible to give any information that is needed. I continue to tell my team to cooperate and follow the rules and the law, and that's what we're doing.

Reverend Sharpton:Now, switching gears. I was honored to have you join us on Thursday at National Action Network's House of Justice in Harlem to serve Thanksgiving meals to the needy. And you've been there just about every year of National Action Network, about 31 years, and you've certainly been there and on Christmas since you've been mayor.

But the thing that was different this year, number of migrants refugees seeking shelter in our city right now. And you've been very vocal about the dire situation that large U.S. cities face as temperatures drop and shelters are full. Many of these migrants are coming from climates that they're certainly not ready for a winter here or in Chicago or other places. What needs to happen right now to address this issue, Mr. Mayor?

Mayor Adams:And you know, you're right, as I joined the National Action Network and others on Thanksgiving day, throughout the week on Wednesdays I'm out giving out food every Wednesday just about, on34th Street. But we also travel throughout the city. And your analysis is a correct one. As I saw the faces of people, I saw different groups, people coming from West Africa, from South and Central America, Russian speaking locations all coming through our southern border and n making their way to New York City, Chicago, Los Angeles, Houston and other municipalities; and, you're seeing what's playing out in Massachusetts right now where they basically stated they have no more room.

We've opened over 210 what we call Humanitarian Relief Centers, several different various shelter systems, even opened a large HERRC on Floyd Bennett Field. This is going to cost us $5 billion during this fiscal year, $7 billion we need to find in January. And it's economically not sustainable and the place is not sustainable.

In other cities people are sleeping in precincts, in hospitals, sleeping on the streets. We must come up with a real decompression strategy and ensure that we can use the 108,000 different cities, towns, villages and municipalities to spread this problem across the entire country and not just in certain cities. It is not sustainable. It is unfair to the migrants and it's unfair to New Yorkers, taxpayers in the city.

Reverend Sharpton:Yes, I saw an article in The New York Times just the last couple of days that there's been thousands of migrants coming in from China that come through South America. So, it's not just as easy as just trying to hit at one nationality, as some people are, for their own biased reasons, want to do.

But you're taking heat, as other mayors are, for budget cuts that you have to propose earlier, you did earlier this month cutting spending at every city agency and even closing libraries on Sundays. You've talked about the cost of caring for migrants and the need for more federal help. But what do you say to critics who argue your cuts to social spending in particular will only make it worse for the problems of homelessness and crime that you're trying to address? Could the cuts be done differently than what you've laid out, and what could the federal government to help you and other mayors?

Mayor Adams:And I join them. I know New Yorkers are angry, I know migrants are angry. They want to work. They have called us with the opportunity to work in our city and our state and country where we have a large number of jobs that are available. This is not the type of budget I want. I want a budget where I am investing in children and families and clean streets and making sure we continue to get the success that we're seeing.

A decrease in crime in the city: homicides and shootings are down in double digit, and our transit system, you're seeing four million riders peaking out back on our system. This is not the budget I want, and I respect the fact that New Yorkers are angry. But by law I have to balance the budget two years out, and the November plan that was a readjustment was the realization that the numbers we put in place at the beginning of the year last year was not really fitting what the costs were actually going to be.

And so, by law, I'm required to balance the budget, and when you're looking at roughly $33 billion is really what we have discretion on, the money has to come from somewhere.

So, we're seeing a perfect storm. We're seeing the sunsetting of the Covid dollars that we received. We're seeing union contracts that had to be settled, many union members were going without contracts. And then we're seeing a migrant crisis, and we're recovering financially as fast as we want. So, the team is doing a great job of trying to minimize the pain, but this is the reality that we'll face if we don't get the help from the national government that we deserve.

Reverend Sharpton:Mayor Eric Adams, thank you for being on PoliticsNation with me tonight.

Mayor Adams:Thank you very much.

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