MANSFIELD — Sheriff Steve Sheldon said Thursday it’s a “different era” these days in terms of potential medical needs for inmates at the Richland County Jail.
“We have people that come in that have mental health issues. We have people that are coming in that have drug and alcohol issues. We’ve learned that, especially through the drug issues, they might be in jail for four or five days before they go through a severe withdrawal.
“We need to have plan in action to be able to deal with that,” Sheldon said during a meeting with county commissioners to discuss medical needs in the 266-bed facility.
That’s why Sheldon and Capt. Chris Blunk, his jail administrator, are seeking an “enhanced option” in the department’s next jail medical services contract, including the addition of a second LPN at the jail 24/7 (including holidays) and a “very comprehensive (drug/alcohol) treatment program” for inmates.
“We would be observing or assessing and documenting every four hours those who the medical staff determines are experiencing severe withdrawal,” Blunk said. “That would definitely be an enhancement of what we currently do.”
He said timely health appraisals of arriving inmates by a nurse would also be improved.
Blunk said that appraisal would be done within two hours of every new inmate’s arrival at the jail, an assessment now done within 14 days under the administrative code.
“We would like that to get done within two hours of them coming into our building. That’s really just due to the the spike of individuals who are sick coming in our door,” Blunk said.
The county has contracted with Advanced Correctional Healthcare for the past several years, including the current annual deal for $673,318 that expires Feb. 29. That contract included a 4 percent increase from the year prior.
Blunk said the company, headquartered in Peoria, Ill., had offered a renewal option with the same current services with an increased cost of 33 percent, about $222,000. The contract has also covered a doctor who is available at any time and a full-time registered nurse.
He said ACH had wanted nearly $1 million for a one-year deal with the enhanced options sought by the department.
He said the department believed its best option was to advertise the contract, beginning Jan. 16, which would allow ACH to submit a bid. Bids will be opened on Feb. 1, according to Rachel Troyer, the county’s central services coordinator.
“I have six companies that I will be reaching out to about this (request for proposals),” Blunk said.
County commissioners approved a $9.7 million budget for the county jail in 2024, including $760,850 for the medical services contract for inmates.
“We don’t know what the bid will come in at. That’s the reason that was put in at $760,000 because we have no idea how it will be bid out,” Sheldon said.
Blunk said, “We started thinking about (improved healthcare options) in 2022. Last year, around June, we started fleshing these ideas out, putting them on paper and really putting something together.”
County administrator Andrew Keller said the medical contract line item in the jail budget doesn’t address “option one versus option two.”
“So once the commissioners are in receipt of proposals, you’ll compare those numbers to what that line item provided for in the budget,” Keller said.
Commissioners appeared receptive to the idea costs could be rising for the contract.
“We are prepared to spend the money because I think it will benefit our jail by making it safer by having a nurse there most of the time,” Commissioner Darrell Banks said.
“When people (are jailed), if they are sick, we know what we have to do with them, keeping them away from other inmates. If anything else happens down there, we will have medical people close by,” Banks said.
“In the long run, we hopefully we don’t have to send as many people to the emergency room or to the hospital, so hopefully we can save a little bit on that,” the commissioner said.
