Orange County NC Website
Browse       Search
Southern Health 3 <br /> Partners <br /> April 13, 2023 <br /> Sheriff Charles Blackwood <br /> Orange County Sheriff's Office <br /> 106 East Margaret Lane <br /> Hillsborough, NC 27278 <br /> Re: Health Services Agreement <br /> Dear Sheriff Blackwood: <br /> Southern Health Partners has been proudly partnering with Orange County since 2009. With our <br /> contract anniversary approaching, I want to welcome you to reach out with any questions or needs. I <br /> would be happy to speak with you if there were any areas of the contract you would like to discuss. <br /> Being on the front lines caring for patients and serving our customers' correctional health care needs, <br /> SHP has repeatedly confronted a range of financial and operational challenges since the outset of <br /> the pandemic, including substantial growth in expenses across labor, drugs, and supplies, let alone <br /> higher economy-wide inflation. Labor costs have presented a dramatic and extended wave of <br /> challenges. Quality staffing is central to the care process and represents a significant portion of our <br /> operating budget. With nursing shortages being what they are nationally, we have continued to <br /> experience considerable issues with recruitment and retention of nurses, especially in perspective to <br /> correctional work. <br /> As we strive to ensure coverage at our facilities, we have become increasingly reliant on utilizing <br /> current staff, Operational managers, travel nurses and agency staffing as resources for providing <br /> coverage until we can bring on permanent team members to fill open positions. We have increased <br /> recruitment efforts as well as added higher pay rate scales, sign-on on bonuses, and other benefits <br /> to help attract applicants. These coverage and recruitment practices, of course, come at a much <br /> greater cost to SHP than originally budgeted for in our contracts, as the parties could not have <br /> foreseen such an unprecedented hike in healthcare labor costs. <br /> Professional lines of insurance and employee benefits costs have continued an upward trend, as well <br /> as expenses for prescription drugs. Medical supply costs are another area which has hit hard over <br /> the past few years, considering supply chain disruptions and infection control practices/procedures <br /> put in place to comply with governmental regulations and to assure the health and safety of patients, <br /> and facility/medical staff. A major driver in increased medication costs has been the continued spike <br /> in drug prices, coupled with increased utilization, treating sicker patients in the correctional <br /> environment during and since the pandemic. <br /> Despite persistent cost pressures, SHP has tried to price annual contract adjustments modestly over <br /> the history of the contract. Unfortunately, our direct and indirect costs have escalated to the point of <br /> being unsustainable without an adequate annual increase for the new contract year. We have <br /> incorporated a 5% adjustment on the base fee and per diem rate based on continuation of the <br /> program at the current level of staffing/services for the 2023-2024 period. The new rates are provided <br /> for you below. <br /> Place2030 Hamilton Blvd,Ste.140 <br /> Chattanooga, <br /> 423.553.5635(phone)423.553. .- <br />