City health director outlines steps taken at City Justice Center; deaths and overdoses decline after oversight changes

The St. Louis Department of Health told the Public Safety Committee on Jan. 26 that its yearlong oversight of medical care at the City Justice Center (CJC) has produced measurable improvements in several metrics since the department assumed responsibility in October 2023.

Doctor Matty Chachwayo Davis, identified in committee as the City’s director of health, said the department does not provide direct medical care inside the jail but does oversee and evaluate the medical contractor. “We do not provide the care. We do not make decisions about anything that happens within the city jail. We provide oversight, evaluation, and recommendations,” she told the committee.

The emergency contract with a new health-care provider, Physicians Correctional USA (PCUSA), began Dec. 1, 2023. The Department of Health said it engaged the National Commission on Correctional Health Care (NCCHC) for audits, site visits and recommendations and that NCCHC will continue periodic on-site assessments.

Key points the Department of Health presented to the committee:

- Oversight and corrective action: DOH implemented weekly coordination meetings among PCUSA, corrections leadership and DOH staff, built a living corrective-action plan addressing roughly 30-plus items identified by national reviewers (intake, detoxification and suicide prevention among the priorities), and began regular biweekly reviews with the contractor.

- Staffing and recruitment: PCUSA retained an estimated 80–90% of the…