Montgomery County approves Southern Health Partners for inmate medical services starting July 1

The Montgomery County Board of County Commissioners voted to approve a contract with Southern Health Partners to provide inmate medical services beginning July 1, pending signatures, after a presentation and negotiated revisions to the vendor proposal.

Commissioners approved the contract by voice vote; Commissioner Beaver, Commissioner Cordray and Commissioner Klubin all voted yes.

County officials told the board Southern Health Partners was the only bidder for the service. County negotiators said they revised several contract terms prior to approval, including removing a medical price index escalation and limiting annual increases to 3 percent rather than the 4 percent the vendor had proposed. County staff also said the contract clarifies operational details such as which party performs MedPass duties and who packages medications.

County staff described staffing and service-level elements in the proposal: a nurse on-site 40 hours a week for daily sick call; at least a nurse practitioner or physician assistant (and possibly a physician) on-site for several hours weekly; and a stated goal by the vendor to treat what can be handled in-house and transport to hospital care when the vendor or staff determine it is necessary. The presenters told commissioners the current contractor will stop service July 1, making a timely transition important.

County staff noted the vendor’s proposal excludes elective medical care and that the contract includes language indemnifying the county from the vendor’s medical decisions. Commissioners were told that, statutorily, the sheriff must provide adequate health care for inmates; the county’s contract and indemnity language were presented as addressing who will make and bear professional medical decisions under the agreement.

Board discussion referenced ownership of the core medical records program: county staff said the records system portion of the work would be structured as a three-year arrangement so the county will have ownership after that period. Commissioners asked whether a formal resolution was required; staff said the arrangement is year-to-year for the medical services while the core medical records program is a three-year structure for ownership purposes.

A county staff member described readiness and transition planning: the vendor represented it could begin staffing quickly but that hiring employees would take additional time; staff said vendor personnel could be on site July 1 to begin transition activities.

The chair directed signatures on the contract after the vote, and county staff arranged for the clerk’s copy to be processed and scanned into county records.

What’s next: the county will complete signatures and proceed with vendor transition steps; the contract start date was presented as July 1 and staff emphasized timeline sensitivity for hiring and data transition.