Monroe County lawmakers are pressing for an explanation of why County Executive Adam Bello's administration renewed a contract with the jail's medical provider without the Legislature first investigating concerns about the firm's ability to deliver care.
The state Commission of Correction had recommended the legislative assessment of PrimeCare Medical's fitness to continue providing health services at the jail after a man died in custody.
Brian Harmon's death — nine days after being booked into the jail in 2023 — has raised alarm among Republican and some Democratic lawmakers. The case and the overlooked inquiry surfaced recently with a lawsuit brought by Harmon’s son. But a WXXI News review found it was not the first local complaint lodged against the healthcare provider — and not the first involving an inmate death.
At least 10 federal lawsuits have been filed against PrimeCare's practice in the Monroe County Jail since 2019. The federal filings, many handwritten by inmates, show PrimeCare being accused of denying patients medication, giving incorrect doses of insulin, and in one case, neglecting to treat a patient's Charcot neuroarthropathy, a rare condition that causes the collapse of the bones in the feet. The inmate now uses a wheelchair.
The state issued its directive to reassess PrimeCare’s activities in December 2025. It's unclear if any legislators were informed of the need to conduct the inquiry. The county renewed its contract with PrimeCare at the start of this year — a $13.6 million extension set to run through January 2027.
“This is not a routine administrative oversight," Republican Caucus leader Sean McCabe wrote in a Monday letter to Legislature President Yversha Roman. “A man died in County custody. The State found his death was preventable and directed this Legislature to investigate the fitness of the medical provider involved. That directive was not followed.”
Roman did not return a request for comment. Bello referred questions to the Sheriff's Office, which declined comment citing pending litigation.
When asked about PrimeCare in March 2025, Sheriff Todd Baxter said the department was “pretty happy” with the provider.
"They haven't done everything perfect, but neither have we, right? In the world of anything. We're human beings," he said. "But I don't have any indicators saying there's a real big problem here."
He noted that the contract is re-evaluated before each renewal, and an outside auditor does spot checks. He also spoke about the complexity of the work.
“We're dealing with a very difficult health population, right? And most of the people that are incarcerated have multiple health issues, and we realize that,” he said. "When people come in, sometimes it's the only time a person will see a doctor in years, when they get incarcerated. That's not the best way to see a doctor, so we're going to provide that. Plus, they're in my care and custody, so I'm going to provide the best service I can. I'm obligated, by law, to do that."
Harmon was booked into the jail on a parole violation on Sept. 21, 2023. His son’s lawsuit alleges that Harmon immediately was taken to the jail’s medical wing for complaints of incontinence, abdominal discomfort, and an inability to eat. An ultrasound several days later showed Harmon had a massively enlarged, obstructed bladder. His blood sugar and heart rate also were shown to be highly elevated.
Harmon was not provided basic medical services, the lawsuit states, despite allegedly clear signs of critical illness, including that he was often naked and soaked in urine. PrimeCare reportedly claimed that Harmon refused treatment — allegedly declining an EKG because he was "too weak to walk" and a check of his blood sugar and his abdominal pain because he was sleeping, the lawsuit states.
"A 62-year-old incontinent man lying naked in a jail cell with a ‘strong body odor,’ refusing assessments with terse assurances, presented obvious signs of physical decompensation and cognitive impairment," Elliot Shields, an attorney for Harmon's son, wrote in the lawsuit. "No defendant performed a hands-on assessment, notified the facility physician, or arranged a hospital evaluation."
Harmon's death on Oct. 1, 2023 at Strong Memorial Hospital was attributed to sepsis caused by an advanced urinary obstruction. The state report notes that Harmon was “covered in feces” when admitted to the hospital and his skin was cool to the touch.
The complaint regarding Harmon's death was first reported by the Democrat and Chronicle.
"It's just a complete system failure from top to bottom, showing lack of policies that would have saved his life, lack of adequate staffing on the part of PrimeCare, and just in general the inadequacy of private medical contractors because of the perverse incentives to make a profit," Shields said in a phone interview. "And the only way you make a profit is by denying people medical care that they need."
PrimeCare did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The state report noted that PrimeCare fired three employees — a physician's assistant and two nurse practitioners — after Harmon's death and called for the jail's medical director to examine a series of failures in treating Harmon. PrimeCare was also named as a defendant in the death of Roxanne Whitfield-Odle, who was admitted to the Monroe County Jail in June 2018 with a medical history including "asthma, high blood pressure, bipolar disorder, complex partial seizures, throat cancer, fibromyalgia, acid reflux, and a past history of strokes."
PrimeCare was accused of not providing Whitfield-Odle her required medication. She died in early July of that year.
In May 2023, five months before Harmon's death, Baxter's re-election campaign received a $5,000 donation from Todd Haskins, the chief operating officer for PrimeCare, state campaign finance records show. Haskins appears to be the only PrimeCare executive to contribute to Baxter’s campaign. But it was the largest donation Haskins has made in a New York race and tied with two other donors for the largest single contribution Baxter received in that year's race.
Includes reporting by investigations and enterprise editor Brian Sharp.
