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Benton County approves opioid-settlement funds to expand jail medical services and training
Summary
The Benton County board approved using opioid‑settlement funds to pay for prescription safety boxes, training at Virginia Gay Hospital and up to $65,000 to help expand contracted jail nursing to full‑time hours, with the goal of reducing costly emergency transports and recovering medical reimbursements.
Benton County supervisors voted to allocate a package of opioid‑settlement funds to support jail medical services, prescription safety programs and provider training.
A county opioid committee reported it has received approximately $278,001 in settlement proceeds to date and is conservatively projecting up to $480,000 over time. Committee members asked the board to approve commitments that together account for most of the current balance, including distribution of SafeRx prescription lockboxes, a training grant to Virginia Gay Hospital and an allocation of up to $65,000 to help offset the increased cost of moving a contracted jail nurse to 40 hours per week.
The county’s contract with Advanced Correctional Healthcare (ACH) currently provides a 16‑hour per week nurse under a $121,000 annual contract. Staff said restructuring that contract to provide 40 hours would raise the contract to roughly $191,000 — an increase of about $70,000 — and the opioid funds would be used to cover part of that increase while staff pursue reimbursement and new federal inmate contract revenue to offset the expense.
One committee member said the jail has begun receiving reimbursements from the county’s ASO for psychiatric medications and related services, noting a recent $7,000 reimbursement and an estimated $3,000 per month in ongoing recoveries. Supporters argued that a full‑time contracted nurse could triage inmates on site, reduce nonessential emergency‑room transports and improve billing to recover previously missed reimbursements.
During discussion board members pressed staff on contingencies: the ACH contract structure, how replacement coverage would work for vacation or absence, and where the opioid funds would be tracked. Staff said the nurse would remain employed by ACH (not county payroll) and ACH would provide replacement coverage when needed.
The board approved the opioid‑fund allocations as presented and specifically approved using opioid settlement funds (not county general revenues) to pay the jail nurse offset and listed projects, with motions and an affirmative vote recorded.
