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ORANGE COUNTY <br />BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS <br />ACTION AGENDA ITEM ABSTRACT <br />Meeting Date: August 18, 2009 <br />Action Agenda <br />Item No. ~_ <br />SUBJECT: Jail Medical Services Contract <br />DEPARTMENT: Sheriff PUBLIC HEARING: (Y/N) No <br />Asset Mgmt & Purchasing Srvs <br />ATTACHMENT(S): <br />Contract <br />INFORMATION CONTACT: <br />Lindy Pendergrass (919) 245-2900 <br />Pam Jones (919) 245-2652 <br />PURPOSE: To consider approving a contract for Jail Medical Services with Southern Health <br />Partners (SHP), Chattanooga, Tennessee. <br />BACKGROUND: For many years, the County contracted with local physician practices to <br />provide medical care for the inmates housed in the Orange County Jail. Each of these <br />practices chose to terminate the contract due in part to various factors inherent to correction <br />facility medical care. In 2006, the Sheriff chose to contract with an Alamance County physician <br />who specialized in inmate care and also provided service to other area jails. The Sheriff is now <br />proposing to contract with Southern Health Partners (SHP), a company that provides a <br />structured and comprehensive jail medical program whose resources far outweigh those <br />provided by a single physician or medical practice. SHP has been in business for 14 years and <br />provides jail medical services in 11 states. Inmate capacities in jails served by SHP range in <br />size from 25 to 700 inmates. Orange County has a rated capacity of 129 beds. Based on <br />information from some of the 46 North Carolina counties now using this service, SHP brings <br />continuity to the medical services and provides consistently good quality care to inmates at an <br />economical price. While the firm is headquartered in Tennessee, the contract will be managed <br />through the office in Charlotte. <br />SHP medical personnel will be on site for a minimum of 84 hours per week and will provide all <br />medical care needed by inmates in the Orange County Jail. Further, SHP will provide on-site <br />care for mental health patients whose conditions can be managed in the jail facility. Any off-site <br />care determined to be medically necessary by SHP staff for either physical or mental conditions <br />will also be scheduled and managed by SHP. This level of comprehensive inmate medical care <br />will allow the detention staff to focus more on daily operations. <br />In addition to direct medical care, SHP will develop and implement clear policies and procedures <br />regarding inmate medical care. This will provide clarity and direction for detention staff in <br />