Earlier this year, Jeff Gambord realized he couldn’t remember the last time he had a physical exam. So he requested his medical record from Coalinga State Hospital, the psychiatric facility where he’s been a patient since 2006. Gambord learned it’d been more than a year, and he was curious if this was common—so he encouraged others to request their records, too. “When we went back and looked up a couple other patients on this unit, some go back as far as two or three years as not having received exams,” he said. This at a facility that’s required to provide physicals at least once a year, and more often for serious ongoing conditions. “I was quite shocked to find this out,” Gambord said. Gambord is 61. The average age at Coalinga is 55, older than any other state hospital or prison, according to state data. That’s because most are committed here for life. They’ve already served prison sentences for their crimes, years or decades behind bars, but a court later deemed them a danger to
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