County to pay $100,000 more a year for inmate healthcare

DOUBLE SPRINGS    -Budget concerns will possibly be facing the Winston County Commission, after they reached a new agreement with the company providing healthcare services for county jail inmates, at a cost of over $100,000 more per year than the previous agreement.
The commission voted in their August 12, meeting to enter into agreement with Quality Correctional Healthcare for prisoner medical services at a cost of $22,868.40 per month, retroactive to August 1.
“Now, how long is this going to last, and what’s the deal on that?” asked Commissioner David Cummings before the vote was taken.
“This will be our contract, and if you ever want to break it, you have 60 days notice,” responded Commission Chairman Roger Hayes. “We had to go ahead and do something.”
Hayes told Cummings that the updated cost, for which the commission would be voting, is about 18 percent less than what the company had first billed the county.
Cummings made the motion to approve the agreement, with Commissioner Rutger Hyche seconding the motion and all voting in favor.
Officials with Quality Correctional Healthcare, of Birmingham, had approached the commission during their June 24 meeting, presenting a proposal to improve the healthcare situation for inmates in the county jail.
Ritchie Harbison, COO, and Brandon Channell, national sales director for QCH, claimed to be in the red over the nurse situation at the county jail, claiming a second full-time nurse was needed.
Before the updated agreement, QCH provided a full-time nurse and a part-time nurse for jail inmates, but due to an increased work load, the part-time nurse was working over 30 hours a week, which brought her up to needing health insurance and benefits as if she was a full-time employee,  Harbison explained.
“We’ve been losing money every month,” Harbison told the commission. “We’re losing about $2,000 a month.”