AUGUSTA STATE MEDICAL PRISON
Facility Information
- Bed Capacity
- 1,326 beds
- Current Population
- 1,164
- Active Lifers
- 330 (28.4% of population) · Apr 2026 GDC report
- Life Without Parole
- 136 (11.7%)
- Address
- 3001 Gordon Hwy, Grovetown, GA 30813
- County
- Richmond County
- Opened
- 1983
- Operator
- GDC (Georgia Dept. of Corrections)
- Warden
- Deshawn Jones
- Phone
- (706) 855-4700
- Fax
- (706) 869-7933
- Staff
- Deputy Warden Security: Latasha Harris
- Deputy Warden Security: Orbey Harmon
- Deputy Warden Security: Michael Paschal
- Deputy Warden C&T: Barbra Colon
- Deputy Warden Admin: Samantha Carter
Special Designations
- Medical Hub
- Mental Health Services
About
Augusta State Medical Prison in Grovetown is the state’s flagship close-security medical facility, providing level-V specialty medical and mental-health care for seriously ill and high-acuity incarcerated people from across the system. Built in 1982 and opened in 1983, it combines general housing units with an on-site hospital that includes acute-care, long-term-care, crisis, and pre-/post-operative beds. It primarily houses men but can receive women for medical treatment, and it has been repeatedly cited in reporting for understaffing, high mortality, and serious quality-of-care concerns.
Mortality Statistics
369 deaths documented at this facility from 2020 to present.
Deaths by Year
- 2026: 12
- 2025: 45
- 2024: 65
- 2023: 64
- 2022: 65
- 2021: 57
- 2020: 61
County Public Health Department
Food service and sanitation at AUGUSTA STATE MEDICAL PRISON fall under the jurisdiction of the Richmond County Environmental Health Department. Incarcerated people cannot choose where they eat — public health inspectors carry an elevated responsibility to hold this kitchen to the same standards applied to any restaurant.
Contact
- Title
- EH Specialist
- Name
- Derek Buzhardt
- Address
-
1916 North Leg Road, Bldg K
Augusta, GA 30909 - Phone
- (706) 667-4234
- Derek.Buzhardt@dph.ga.gov
- Website
- Visit department website →
Why this matters
GPS has documented black mold on chow-hall ceilings, cold and contaminated trays, spoiled milk, and pest contamination at Georgia prisons. The Department of Justice's 2024 report confirmed deaths from dehydration and untreated diabetes tied to food and water deprivation. Advance-notice inspections let facilities stage temporary fixes that disappear once inspectors leave.
Unannounced inspections by the county health department are one of the few outside checks on kitchen conditions behind the fence.
How you can help
Write to the county inspector and request an unannounced inspection of the kitchen and food service operation at this facility. A short, respectful letter citing Georgia food-safety regulations is more powerful than you think — inspectors respond to public concern.
Sample Letter
This is the letter Georgia Prisoners' Speak mailed to all county environmental health inspectors responsible for GDC facilities. Feel free to adapt it.
April 26, 2026
RE: Request for Unannounced Public Health Inspection of Food Service Operations at AUGUSTA STATE MEDICAL PRISON
Dear Derek Buzhardt,
I am writing to respectfully request that your office conduct a thorough, unannounced inspection of food service and sanitation practices at AUGUSTA STATE MEDICAL PRISON, located in Richmond County.
Documented concerns
Georgia Prisoners' Speak, a nonprofit public advocacy organization, has published extensive investigative reporting on food safety and nutrition failures across Georgia's prison system, including:
- Dangerous sanitation conditions — black mold on chow hall ceilings and air vents, contaminated food trays, and spoiled milk served to inmates.
- Severe nutritional deficiency — roughly 60 cents per meal; inmates receive only 40% of required protein and less than one serving of vegetables per day.
- Preventable deaths — the U.S. Department of Justice's 2024 report confirmed deaths from dehydration, renal failure, and untreated diabetes following food and water deprivation.
- Staged compliance — advance-notice inspections allow facilities to stage temporary improvements, then revert once inspectors leave.
Firsthand testimony
In Surviving on Scraps: Ten Years of Prison Food in Georgia, a person who has spent more than ten years in GDC custody describes no functional dishwashing sanitation, chronic mold on food trays, and roaches found on the undersides of trays at intake facilities. Full account: gps.press/surviving-on-scraps-ten-years-of-prison-food-in-georgia.
Specific requests
- Conduct an unannounced inspection of the kitchen and food service operations at this facility, with particular attention to dishwashing equipment, tray sanitation procedures, and food storage conditions.
- Evaluate compliance with applicable Georgia food safety regulations, including O.C.G.A. § 26-2-370 and the Georgia Food Service Rules and Regulations (Chapter 511-6-1).
- Verify permit status and confirm whether the facility is subject to the same inspection schedule as other institutional food service establishments in the county.
- Make inspection results available to the public, as permitted under Georgia's Open Records Act (O.C.G.A. § 50-18-70).
Incarcerated individuals cannot advocate for their own health and safety in the way a restaurant patron can — they cannot choose to eat elsewhere. This places an elevated responsibility on public health officials to ensure these facilities meet the same sanitation standards applied to any food service establishment.
Thank you for your attention to this important public health matter.
Sincerely,
[Your name]
Food Safety Inspections
Georgia Department of Public Health
What the score doesn't measure. DPH grades kitchen compliance on inspection day — food storage, temperatures, pest control. It does not grade whether today's trays are clean. GPS reporting has found broken dishwashers at most Georgia state prisons we've documented; trays go out wet, stacked, and visibly moldy — including at facilities with recent scores near 100.
Who inspects. Most Georgia state prisons sit in rural counties — often with fewer than 20,000 people, several with fewer than 10,000. The environmental health inspector lives in that community and often knows the kitchen staff personally. Rural inspection regimes don't have the structural independence you'd expect in a city-sized health department. Read the scores accordingly.
Read the investigation: “Dunked, Stacked and Served: Why Georgia Prison Trays Are Making People Sick”
Recent inspections
| Date | Score | Purpose | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Feb 26, 2026 | 98 | Routine | |
| Aug 15, 2025 | 90 | Routine | |
| Apr 11, 2025 | 91 | Routine | |
| Dec 4, 2024 | 97 | Routine | |
| Jun 25, 2024 | 96 | Routine | |
| Dec 19, 2023 | 100 | Routine |
February 26, 2026 — Score 98
Routine · Inspector: DEREK BUZHARDT
| Code | Violation | Pts | Inspector notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 17C |
physical facilities installed, maintained, and clean 511-6-1.07(5)(a),(b) - good repair, physical facilities maintained; cleaning, frequency & restrictions, cleaned often enough to keep them clean (c) Repeat | 1 | Observed ice build up around doors of walk in freezers. C/A - replace worn door seal. |
August 15, 2025 — Score 90
Routine · Inspector: DEREK BUZHARDT
| Code | Violation | Pts | Inspector notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1A |
proper cold holding temperatures 511-6-1.04(6)(f) - time/temperature control for safety; cold holding (p) Corrected | 9 | Observed milk in milk cooler at 48 degrees F in milk walk in cooler. C/A - move milk to a working cooler. COS - manager moved milk to produce cooler. |
| 17C |
physical facilities installed, maintained, and clean 511-6-1.07(5)(a),(b) - good repair, physical facilities maintained; cleaning, frequency & restrictions, cleaned often enough to keep them clean (c) | 1 | Observed light not working in exterior walk in freezer. C/A - repair light in walk in freezer. |
| 17C |
physical facilities installed, maintained, and clean 511-6-1.07(5)(a),(b) - good repair, physical facilities maintained; cleaning, frequency & restrictions, cleaned often enough to keep them clean (c) | 1 | Observed ice building up in all walk in freezers. C/A - service units to help with ice build up. COS - manager had ice scrapped out of freezers. |
| 17C |
physical facilities installed, maintained, and clean 511-6-1.07(5)(a),(b) - good repair, physical facilities maintained; cleaning, frequency & restrictions, cleaned often enough to keep them clean (c) | 1 | Observed seal missing around door of walk in cooler. C/A - repair seal on cooler door. |
April 11, 2025 — Score 91
Routine · Inspector: DEREK BUZHARDT
| Code | Violation | Pts | Inspector notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1A |
food separated and protected 511-6-1.04(4)(c)1(i)(ii)(iii)(v)(vi)(vii)(viii) - packaged & unpackaged food separation, packaging, and segregation (p, c) | 9 | Observed raw eggs stacked above orange drink mix in exterior walk in cooler. |
December 4, 2024 — Score 97
Routine · Inspector: DEREK BUZHARDT
| Code | Violation | Pts | Inspector notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 15A |
food and nonfood-contact surfaces cleanable, properly designed, constructed, and used 511-6-1.05(2)(a) - equipment and utensils, constructed of durable materials (c) Repeat | 1 | Observed ice accumulation (heavy) on floor of walk in freezer (outside). C/A: Repair freezer. |
| 17C |
physical facilities installed, maintained, and clean 511-6-1.07(5)(a),(b) - good repair, physical facilities maintained; cleaning, frequency & restrictions, cleaned often enough to keep them clean (c) Corrected | 1 | Oberved hamburger patties left on ground outside of walk-in-freezer (outside) after cleaning. C/A - dispose of all food debris after cleaning and do not leave food debris out on ground. COS - manager had workinginmated clean up mess. |
June 25, 2024 — Score 96
Routine · Inspector: Jasmine Anderson
| Code | Violation | Pts | Inspector notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 12A |
contamination prevented during food preparation, storage, display 511-6-1.04(4)(q) - food storage (c) Corrected | 3 | Observed meat on floor in outside walk in freezer. Observed watermelons on floor in outside walk in cooler.COS Employees actively moving food off floor. |
| 12C |
wiping cloths: properly used and stored 511-6-1.04(4)(m) - wiping cloths, use limitation (c) | 3 | Observed wiping cloth not stored in sanitizer solution. c/a: Keep wet wiping cloths stored in sanitizer at the appropriate concentration. |
| 15A |
food and nonfood-contact surfaces cleanable, properly designed, constructed, and used 511-6-1.05(2)(a) - equipment and utensils, constructed of durable materials (c) | 1 | Observed ice accumulation (heavy) on floor of walk in freezer (outside). C/A: Repair freezer. |
December 19, 2023 — Score 100
Routine · Inspector: Jasmine Anderson
No violations recorded for this inspection.