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Woodbury County approves contract with Tri State Nursing for after-hours employee drug screening, passes 4-1
Summary
The Woodbury County Board of Supervisors approved a service agreement with Tri State Nursing to provide after-hours drug screening for county employees. The measure passed 4-1 after brief discussion about past experiences with the vendor and the lack of local alternatives.
The Woodbury County Board of Supervisors voted to approve a service agreement with Tri State Nursing to provide after-hours drug screening for county employees, passing the motion 4-1.
Human Resources Director Melissa Thomas told the board the agreement would allow Tri State Nursing to conduct drug screens at times when the emergency room is the only local option. “There’s no other place in town besides the emergency room for our employees to go if they do need a drug screen,” Thomas said, adding that although the provider may charge for mileage and hours, “it’s gonna be cheaper and they will come to us.”
Board members discussed whether other providers were available. A board member said, “There isn’t any other company to use. I’ve worked with this company and had a lot of bad outcomes,” to which Thomas responded that after-hours direct screening options are not otherwise available and that the ER sometimes calls Tri State, which can result in double billing: “and then they call TriState. So we end up paying twice,” she said.
Supervisor Benjures moved the motion and Supervisor Nelson seconded it. The chair called for the vote; four supervisors voted in favor and one voted against. The board record indicates Supervisor Carper cast the lone no vote. The agreement, Thomas said, “has been approved by our assistant county attorney.” The contract amount, billing rates, and effective dates were not specified during the discussion.
The board did not direct additional follow-up at the meeting beyond approving the agreement. Thomas characterized the contract as a way to save time and provide an on-call screening option for workplace incidents.
Ending: The signed agreement and any related billing details were not read into the record during the meeting; the human resources office will hold the contract documents per regular county practice.
