Supervisors approve contract steps to privatize jail nursing; staff say short-term savings may become long-term cost and leverage issue

Washington County supervisors reviewed a proposal to contract with an outside vendor for nursing services at the county jail and voted in committee to adjust staffing patterns in advance of the contract.

County staff presented a line-by-line cost comparison between continuing county-employed nursing staff and the vendor proposal from Eden (vendor name provided in the presentation). The county’s budgeted nursing salaries and the estimated savings from eliminating internal positions were compared with the vendor’s contracted price. “So the total is $4.64 $6.00 5. And then on the right side, you see the Eden proposal is $5.24,” said the presenter, who walked supervisors through monthly and seven-month cost projections. After accounting for a budgeted vacancy that staff had expected not to fill, the staff analysis calculated a modest net savings of about $26,005.94 for the remainder of 2025.

Supervisors raised several concerns: benefits loss for county employees who might move to the vendor, the erosion of bargaining leverage if the county eliminates internal nursing capacity, and whether commissary or other restricted revenue streams could lawfully cover the contract. The presenter said most nurses indicated they would accept the change and that public-health vacancies could offer county employees alternate roles. “One RN that’s full time…there is an option…if you want to go to public health and keep your county benefits,” staff said.

Board members debated the trade-offs. One supervisor said contracting could remove administrative burden and recruiting difficulties; another warned privatization can lock the county into higher prices later because the county would no longer have its own staff to provide competition. “You’ll be further ahead to lock into a 2 or 3 year contract,” one member said; another replied that options and contract terms can mitigate immediate leverage loss.

Personnel staff explained that if the contract is executed, the committee must change the official staffing pattern and remove the nurse positions; the committee approved removing 12 nursing positions from the staffing pattern effective one day prior to the contract start date, contingent on the contract’s execution. Committee discussion emphasized clarity on effective dates and contract provisions for staffing shortfalls. A committee vote carried the staffing-pattern change, with staff noting the removal will be timed so payroll obligations are not incurred incorrectly.

Staff also said that larger medical contracts previously proposed to the county had been far greater in cost; the vendor Eden currently provides medical PAs to the jail and proposed to add nursing functions as a bundled service. Supervisors asked for appropriate contractual safeguards — such as refund or staffing-performance clauses — before the county signs a final agreement.