Where Do You Go With A Designation To An FMC?
When you get your federal prison designation, if you are sent to an FMC, or Federal Medical Center, it doesn’t necessarily mean you’re going to the hospital in federal prison.
Most of the federal medical centers around the country run by the Bureau of Prisons or the federal prison system are actually correctional complexes that have multiple institutions.
For example, the federal prison complex in Butner, North Carolina, has five different institutions on the complex. There’s the FMC, which is the medical center, as well as a camp, two mediums and a low.
Now, most inmates incarcerated at each of those institutions are Care Level 2 or Care Level 3.
But, it doesn’t mean you’re going to the hospital itself. If you’re not sick enough at the time of designation, you are probably just going to another facility within the complex. It’s taken into account that your care level could require care, and so it’s wise to keep you near medical infrastructure if it’s needed.
As an additional note, if you are camp eligible and see a designation for an FCI or a USP, sometimes they don’t actually put the prison camp in the designation letter. Most prisons with a security level low or higher have a “satellite camp,” which allows minimum security designated inmates to work on the grounds of the complex to maintain the property.
These housing units are separated from those meant for higher security levels, and usually exist outside of the fenced-in portion of the property.