County hopes to cut jail health care service costs

Charleston County has changed its inmate health care provider, hoping to save some money in tough economic times while offering quality care and maintaining security at the jail, work camp and juvenile facility.

The county previously had a contract with Prison Health Services Inc., which expired at the end of June, said Mitch Lucas, Charleston County's chief deputy and jail administrator. But the County Council approved a six-month contract with the Carolina Center for Occupational Health, which began July 1.

County Council Chairman Teddie Pryor said council members approved the short-term contract hoping the new company can offer better services at a cheaper rate.

Lucas said his department's budget was cut this fiscal year, which began July 1, and staffers needed to find places to save money.

The county will pay the new contractor $1.8 million for the six-month contract, he said. During that time, the Carolina Center will put in place programs that will save money, Lucas said. Before the contract expires, the county will accept proposals for a longer term inmate health contract, Lucas said. He expects that the Carolina Center will apply.

The county will pay the previous provider, Prison Health Services, "considerably more" than $3.5 million for services in the 2009 fiscal year, Lucas said. All the bills for that period haven't been submitted, he said, so he isn't sure what the total will be. The company would have increased the rates the county is now paying if it extended the contract six months, Lucas said, so the county went with another provider.

One of the ways the county hopes to save money on inmate health is by offering more medical services at the jail, Lucas said. Carolina Health plans to train employees to do more on site. Health workers are employed by the company, Lucas said, not the county. The Carolina Center will hire most of Prison Health's employees.

Security officers must accompany inmates to the hospital, Lucas said. And staffers mostly work overtime to do it. Each 24-hour period an inmate is at a hospital costs the county about $1,500 for security, he said.

He said he can't quickly provide an accurate cost estimate for security for inmates at hospitals. But he hopes to save on such costs with the new contractor.

One day last week, the county was housing 1,726 inmates, 1,542 of them at the main facility on Leeds Avenue, Lucas said, though the number fluctuates from day to day.

Providing health care in such a setting isn't easy, he said. Jail populations typically have more injuries and health problems than the general population, he said.

And inmates can't keep medication or needles in their cells. So inmates must get assistance from medical staffers for things people outside the jail could do for themselves, Lucas said. "Security of the facility is always paramount."

Reach Diane Knich at 937-5491 or dknich@postandcourier.com.