Federal Medical Center - Rochester

Federal Medical Center - Rochester, or FMC Rochester, is an administrative security federal medical center located in Minnesota. This facility was opened  in 1984 as a state mental hospital and is now one of six medical referral centers for the Federal Bureau of Prisons.

FMC Rochester houses a total population of 693 male offenders requiring specialized or long-term medical or mental health care. Inmates are assigned housing in various settings that range from individual cells to open dormitories.

Notable former inmates include Jim Bakker, who was released from custody in 1994 after serving five years at FMC Rochester. He was the founder of Praise the Lord (PTL) Ministries who was convicted of fraud in 1989 after stealing millions of dollars in donations from his members.

Sol Wachtler was released from custody in 1994 after serving 11 months. He was the former Chief Judge of the New York Court of Appeals. He was found guilty in 1992 of sending messages to his ex-mistress threatening to kidnap her 14-year-old daughter in retaliation for her ending their affair.

Three-time presidential candidate Lyndon LaRouche was released from custody in 1994 after serving 5 years. He was convicted in 1988 of scheming to defraud the IRS and deliberately defaulting on more than $30 million in loans from his presidential campaign supporters.

Prison Insights

Visiting Hours and Rules

Visiting hours at FMC Rochester are on Fridays, Saturdays, Sundays, Mondays, and Federal Holidays from 8:15 a.m. to 2:30 p.m.

Immediate family (mother, father, spouse, children, step parents, foster parents, and

siblings) will not be limited in number except when overcrowding becomes a problem. In those cases, no more than five (5) immediate family members will be allowed to visit.

Communal visiting (visiting with a number of people who are not immediate family) will not

be authorized unless prior written approval is given by the Warden.

Getting on the Approved Visit List

Authorized visitors who can visit an inmate include family, friends, and associates. You can't visit an inmate unless he puts you on the visiting list.

Everyone must fill out a visitor form, and they must have a relationship with the inmate prior to incarceration. If a potential visitor does not have a prior relationship with the inmate, their request will be reviewed by the warden.

Once the inmate requests to add someone to their visit list, a correctional counselor will provide them with a visiting form, and the inmate is responsible for mailing these out and letting the potential visitor know that they need to fill out the form and return it to the institution staff.

The unit team will do a background check and determine if a visitor application is approved. They make their decision based on constructive and security factors. The process takes about a week, and the unit staff will notify the inmate when the requested visitor is approved or refused.

It is the inmate’s responsibility to notify the visitor of the decision, and the process is the same for both adult and minor visitors.

Basic Visit Procedures and Rules

If you are 16 years of age or older, you must bring a valid photo ID with you to the visit, like a state or federal ID card, driver's license, or current passport. Birth certificates are not valid forms of ID.

All visitors are subject to a visual and pat search by an officer. You will also be scanned by a metal detector.

Any item you bring into the facility will be opened and searched by a staff member, and anyone who refuses a search of themselves or their property will not be allowed to visit with the inmate.

Visitors may bring the following items into the institution:

• One 5" x 7" clear plastic coin purse
• $20.00 (bills no larger than five dollar bills)

Visitors with small infants will be allowed to bring a small diaper bag with the following items:

• Small receiving blanket
• Two jars of unopened baby food and two bottles of infant milk/formula
• Three (3) diapers

Visitors are not authorized to bring any item into the institution to give to an inmate. Lockers are not available to visitors for the storage of personal items. These items must be returned to the visitor's personal vehicle.

Cell phones, pagers, cameras, or devices of any type are not authorized inside the institution.

Visitors should dress within the bounds of good taste and should not wear clothing which would offend others who may be present in the visiting room.

Visitors who are not in proper attire will be denied a visit. Visitors are not allowed to wear:

• Tight clothing
• Transparent clothing
• Spandex clothing
• Tank tops
• Halter tops/sleeveless shirts
• Any item of clothing that has hole or holes
• Wrap-around skirts
• Hats or caps
• Camouflage clothing
• Grey sweatpants, sweatshirts, thermals
• Green, khaki, or orange colored pants, shirts, or skirts
• Plunging necklines that expose back, cleavage or chest (i.e. v-necks, scoop necks
• Opened toed or open heeled shoes, (i.e., sandals or slip-ons for both male & female)
• Shorts and skirts which are higher than the top of the knee when standing
• No attire with questionable wording, (i.e., gang affiliation, profanity, etc.)
• No shirts that hang less than 3 inches below the belt line

Jackets, coats, or sweaters will only be allowed during the months of October 1 through June 1. Scarves and gloves are not allowed in the Visiting Room.

Hats and/or scarves with wigs utilized for chemotherapy patients or hair-loss diseases must include documentation from a certified physician and the item(s) will require an x-ray examination and be subject to physical search procedures.

Younger children will be allowed appropriate outerwear year round. Upon arrival in the Visiting Room outerwear will be stored in a designated area and will not be worn during the visit.

It is necessary for all visitors to wear undergarments and shoes.

Any questionable clothing will be cleared through the Institution Duty Officer or the Operations Lieutenant before being allowed into the Visiting Room

There is no limit on the amount of mail that inmates receive, but all correspondence must have the inmate’s complete name, registration number, facility name, and address.

You can only send cards or letters to these addresses. Paperback books, newspapers, and magazines must come directly from the publisher via a subscription or mail order.

Inmates cannot receive packages through the mail, with the exception of a package of release day clothing. You can't send the release day package until 30 days prior to the scheduled release date.

How to Call an Inmate

Federal inmates are not allowed to have cellphones and they can't receive inbound calls. They can make outbound calls during approved hours, and they must pay for them with the money that is on their personal account or call collect.

Inmates will use TRULINCS to call to both landline and cell phones. This is also how inmates are able to send and receive emails. Your number must be added to the contact list for approval.

All phone calls are limited to 15 minutes, and will be monitored and recorded.

How to Send Money

Sending money is one of most important things you can do for an inmate. The prison will issue each prisoner the minimum amount of clothing and hygiene items, and provide them with three meals a day. But, it is extremely difficult for prisoners to have any level of comfort when living with just the items that are prison-issued.

Inmates can receive outside funds while incarcerated at a BOP-managed facility, which are deposited into their commissary accounts.

Postal Service

For federal prisoners, you can send money through the United States Postal Service by MONEY ORDER to the following address:

Federal Bureau of Prisons
Inmate Name
Eight-Digit Register Number
Post Office Box 474701
Des Moines, Iowa 50947-0001

Send the funds to the address above. Replace the second line with the inmate's valid, full committed name. Replace the third line with the inmate's eight digit register number.

Never send money directly to the prison. If you are using the postal service, you must always send your money order to the bureau of prisons using the above address.

MoneyGram

You can send an inmate funds electronically using MoneyGram's Express Payment Program.To send funds using this method, please read and follow these steps carefully:

• Wait until an inmate has physically arrived at FMC Rochester.
• Gather the information you'll need. Which includes the inmate’s name and number.
• Visit moneygram.com to complete your payment.

Information needed to complete MoneyGram payment:

• Account Number: Inmate's eight-digit register number with no spaces or dashes, followed immediately by the inmate's last name (example: 12345678DOE).
• Company Name: Federal Bureau of Prisons
• City & State: Washington, DC
• Receive Code is always: 7932
• Beneficiary: Inmate's full committed name

Western Union

If you would like to see a sample Western Union form click here. On their website, they have a special form for sending money to inmates, and you go directly to it by clicking here.

You will need to know the inmate’s full name and number, and you can pay with a debit or credit card at westernunion.com. Remember, any time you send money to an inmate you must always include their name and registration number on everything.

There are a few things that inmates can spend their money on. This includes phone calls, emails, and commissary.  The commissary is the prison store, where inmates can buy things like beverages, meals and snacks, OTC medications, stationary, personal hygiene items, clothing, or other miscellaneous products.

Please be aware that prisoners have their own economy inside the prison walls just like we do in the real world. Inmates that have a lot of money can do a lot of things both legal and illegal. Prisoners can potentially use the money in their account to buy things for other inmates in exchange for drugs and paraphernalia. This activity is illegal and can get an inmate in a lot of trouble.

​Programs For ​Inmates

• Drug Abuse Education Course
• Non-Residential Drug Abuse Program (NR-DAP)
• Literacy
• English as a Second Language (ESL)
• GED
• Parenting Program
• High School Diploma (via paid correspondence)
• Post-Secondary Programs (via paid correspondence)
• Vocational training in Landscape Management through Rochester Community and Technical College (RCTC)
• Apprenticeships in Biomedical Equipment Repair, Electrical, HVAC, Painting, and Plumbing
• Art activities
• Wellness programs

Pictures of Federal Medical Center - Rochester

Careers at Federal Medical Center - Rochester

If you are interested in pursuing a career with the Federal Bureau of Prisons, you can find available positions at FMC Rochester by visiting USAJobs.gov. The salaries at the facility begin around $40,000 and can go up into the six-figure range, depending on the position.

Reviews from employees at FMC Rochester report that it was what you would expect a government work environment to be. The work/life balance is good, and the salary and benefits are considered the reason to seek a career with the Federal Bureau of Prisons.