Sheriff pitches proposal for correctional health care

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HUNTSVILLE — A proposal to hire a correctional healthcare firm at an annual cost of $99,737.60 to serve the inmates at the Scott County Jail was presented to County Commission’s Intergovernmental Committee here Monday evening.

And while no action was taken on the proposal, it was discussed at length, given serious consideration and is expected to be brought up again at a special called meeting later this month.

Basically, the proposal outlined by County Mayor Rick Keeton and Sheriff Anthony Lay calls for the county entering into a contract with Advanced Correctional Healthcare of Peoria, Illinois, to provide on site nursing services (40 hours per week to serve the medial needs of up to 130 inmates), under the supervision of a registered nurse practitioner (on site weekly and on call 24/7) and a physician (on site monthly and on call 24/7).

In addition, the plan provides for pharmaceuticals (with stated exclusions), disposal of medical supplies and management services, including risk management, continuous quality improvement, cost containment, utilization management and corporate support.

The proposal calls for either a three- or five-year contract for services, with a “nine-day out” provision for either party being included in the contract, according to Mayor Keeton.

Mayor Keeton pointed out that Dr. Trent Cross had resigned his position as physician for inmates at the Scott County Jail, and that $48,000 of the $100,000 budget for inmate healthcare had already been expended in the first two months (July and August) of the new fiscal year, due to having to transport ailing inmates to the hospital’s Emergency Room.

The only objections noted to the proposal centered around giving the committee members time to study the proposal and be given an opportunity to at least look at proposals from other healthcare providers before a decision is made.

Commissioners Paul Strunk and Ernest Phillips were among those who favored a formal presentation by a representative of the company, with time to study this and other similar proposals.

Both Sheriff Lay and Mayor Keeton stressed the need to move on the proposal quickly, and it was suggested that a special called meeting of the committee be held to make a decision prior to the regularly scheduled monthly meeting of the full Commission, at which time it could be voted up or down.

In the only other Intergovernmental Committee business Monday, Commissioner Daniel Murley was appointed to represent the Commission on the county’s Solid Waste Board, and County Attorney John Beaty, when asked to report on lawsuits, stated: “I’m pleased to report that I have nothing to report.

AMBULANCE SERVICE NEEDS REVEALED

County Commission’s Emergency Services Committee voted to allow the Scott County Ambulance Service to purchase a 12-foot flatbed trailer to transport an already-acquired ATV ambulance, and heard several other EMS needs from Ambulance Service Director Jim Reed Monday night.

Reed explained that the ATV “Mule” had been available for off-road needs since July 4, but efforts to acquire a custom-made enclosed trailer had been unsuccessful. In the meantime, Reed said, the ATV ambulance was unavailable for a total of “nine documented runs we needed to us it on.”

A motion by Commissioner Willie Boyatt to allow Reed to purchase a flatbed trailer was approved by an all-aye vote of the committee.

Reed was also given committee approval to meet with Finance Director Keith Jeffers to determine what equipment should be acquired to replace a combination printer, copier and fax machine at the Ambulance Service.

And, during his 30-minute appearance before the committee, Reed also expressed his department’s need for:

• “Toughbook” laptop computers for each of his ambulances, as well as mounting bracket hardware, to speed up the process of filing run reports and billing information on ambulance runs. He pointed out that the onboard computers were already in use in other East Tennessee locations;

• A dictation/billing service contract with a firm which specializes in filing Medicare claims directly from reports generated by paramedics immediately following ambulance runs;

• A long overdue review of salary schedules for Ambulance Service personnel as a follow-up to the “8-year step” adopted by the Commission “six or seven years ago;”

• Action on awarding the bids for two Chevrolet ambulances which were advertised “two or three months ago;” and,

• More space for office and meeting needs for the Scott County Ambulance Service.

CREDIT CARD PAYMENT PLAN OK’d

In a very brief meeting, the Building and Grounds Committee:

• Approved a motion to allow Scott County Clerk Pat Phillips to begin utilizing “Telecheck” credit card payment service in her office, as well as to invite other office holders the opportunity to sign onto the service;

• Mayor Keeton informed the committee that the East Tennessee Community Design Center (CDC) will perform a grant-funded engineering and design study of the old Jail and Courthouse at no cost to the county.

The mayor also gave an update of problems at the Scott County Justice Center, which include lighting problems in the District Attorney General’s office space, a higher than normal humidity level inside the building, a roof leak, and “rusting” problem on 10 of 24 stainless steel commodes in the jail portion of the facility.

The Community Development Committee, which featured only an announcement-type agenda, failed to meet due to the lack of a quorum.