A lawsuit alleges inmate medical records were falsified so that the Broome County Jail would pass accreditation. That complaint was filed on Monday against Correctional Medical Care Inc., the company contracted by the Broome County Jail.

Three women formerly employed by the company say their supervisor asked them to change dates on medical records to make it appear that sick or injured inmates were seen to more quickly than they were.

"There was a follow-up with a neurologist. There was an official diagnosed concern, and appointments were not made in a timely manner," says Nicole Dzeidzic, a Registered Nurse.

"We were trying to fix things going forward and they wanted us to 'fix' things going backward," says Jennifer Rivers, former Health Services Administrator for Correctional Medical Care Inc.

All three women say they were either fired or forced to resign when they refused to do as asked.

"She told me that all of this documentation, needed to appear appropriate, and all the dates needed to appear correct because if they didn't, we would have a big issue. And she did say to me, 'when I say 'we' will have a big issue, I mean you will have a big issue because you won't be here," says Maggie McDonnell, former Director of Nursing.

Dzeidzic says the company accused her of doing exactly what she says she refused to do: falsify dates on physical exam documents. Dzeidzic says there was an investigation and she was told she would be reported to the state, so she resigned.

The plaintiffs say they did not file a complaint within the company or anywhere else before taking legal action.

Broome County Sheriff David Harder says he was not aware of the complaint.

Correctional Medical Care Inc. issued the following statement in response to the lawsuit.

The suit filed by three former employees of CBH Medical is baseless and built upon a number of lies and exaggerations. Allegations that CMC was engaging in practices aimed at keeping its costs as low as possible are patently false. CMC and CBH Medical have donated in excess of $2,105,599 in staffing since their inception to address the rising acuity and severe health concerns in jails. The correctional facilities house a population with the highest levels of chronic disease, mental health, and substance-abuse problems. No employee of CBH Medical or CMC has ever been instructed to falsify a medical record. One nurse was terminated by her co-litigant before the end of her probationary period for inappropriate conduct. That co-litigant was responsible for the medical unit in the Broome County Correctional Facility and voluntarily resigned after having her job performance addressed. One nurse was terminated and reported to the Office of Professions after admitting to falsifying medical records during an investigation, which was immediately reported to the Office of the Attorney General. It has become a cottage industry for some plaintiffs’ attorneys to abuse public perception and distort and exaggerate facts for their own personal gain. This attorney reached out to us and made a six-figure monetary demand to settle and avoid public scrutiny. We chose to proceed to litigation. This complaint, like any other, will go through the litigation process to separate facts from unfounded allegations. Correctional healthcare companies employ thousands of qualified and caring medical professionals – our neighbors and colleagues – who, alongside correctional staff, saves thousands of lives every day. — Shane Sunday, Vice President of Correctional Medical Care Inc.

Below is the full complaint.