Prison board recommends Armor Health to county commissioners for inmate medical services

The Lackawanna County Prison Board voted to recommend to the Board of Commissioners that Armor Correctional Health Services (Armor Health) be awarded the contract to provide medical services at the Lackawanna County Prison.

Armor Health made a presentation to the prison board outlining its clinical model, data analytics, staffing and retention strategies. Rex Caldwell, director of business development for Armor Health, told the board the company plans to provide 27.7 full-time-equivalent positions, including 2.7 FTEs dedicated to a medication-assisted treatment program. Caldwell said Armor emphasizes an aggressive intake assessment and ongoing risk stratification to prioritize high-need patients and reduce avoidable emergency-room visits: "that initial assessment is, we think is the most important, important, part of what we do," he said.

The company said it uses dashboards and an electronic health record to give administration real-time access to intakes, health assessments and sick-call activity, and that its EHR will interface with Diamond Pharmacy. Caldwell also described recruitment and retention measures including market-based pay, sign-on and retention bonuses, student loan reimbursement and an in-house staffing agency, and said Armor has worked with other county jails, including Erie County and Franklin County, Ohio.

Warden Tim, who presented the department's operations earlier in the meeting, told the board he had spoken with Erie County Warden Mike Coleman about Armor's performance there: "he had nothing but glowing and raving reports for Armor Health," Warden Tim said, and credited the provider with reducing unnecessary medical transports and associated overtime. After questions from board members and the public, the prison board approved a motion recommending Armor Health to the Board of Commissioners.

Public commenters asked about dental care and continuity of care after release. Bev Debaros asked, "what do you have for, dental care?" Caldwell said Armor would evaluate dental services and expected to "keep the current dentist" while conducting meet-and-greets and qualification reviews. Eileen Acapinty, a retired nurse from Dunmore, asked about coordination with community providers and discharge planning: "Can you be more specific as to the providers that you will be working with?" Caldwell named outreach to local partners including the Wright Center and said Armor intends to coordinate community links and discharge plans.

The board's action is a recommendation only; the Board of Commissioners will make the final contract award and execution on behalf of the county. The prison board's motion to recommend Armor Health passed after a voice vote of "ayes," with no recorded dissent in the meeting transcript.

Votes at a glance: The prison board made a formal recommendation that Armor Correctional Health Services be awarded the contract for provision of medical services at the Lackawanna County Prison; the board approved the recommendation by voice vote and forwarded it to the Board of Commissioners.

Remaining administrative steps mentioned by the warden and Armor staff include finalizing electronic health record data transfer, meet-and-greets with staff, and coordinating with the county purchasing office to complete contract paperwork.

This recommendation follows the prison board's review of proposals earlier in the procurement process and a committee that interviewed multiple vendors; board members said Armor's proposal was both the committee's highest-rated recommendation and the lowest-cost proposal among those reviewed.