Nye County commissioners approve $2.15 million jail medical contract with Serenity Health after public questions

The Nye County Board of Commissioners voted 5–0 on Oct. 29 to approve a $2,150,704.80 professional services agreement with Serenity Health (dba Serenity Mental Health) to provide medical services at county detention centers from Nov. 1, 2024, through Dec. 31, 2025. The board also instructed staff to correct a clerical error in the contract’s insurance language and noted the agreement includes a 30-day termination provision that makes the arrangement effectively month-to-month.

Why it matters: The contract will be funded from the county’s 10236 Nye County Jail Fund and represents a significant near-term increase over the prior contract, prompting public scrutiny and commissioner questions about procurement, oversight and value for money.

Public commenters asked for more transparency and oversight before the board voted. Karen Waldman, a member of the public, urged the board to delay approval and asked whether the contract had been put out to bid, why the cost rose by roughly $360,000 from the prior year and whether the county had required disclosure of the contractor’s principals to avoid any appearance of conflicts of interest. “Why is this contract over $360,000 more than the previous contract?” Waldman asked. She also pressed for performance metrics and time-accountability records for contractor staff.

A caller, Michael David Garcia, told the board he observed differences between services provided to ICE detainees and local inmates and raised concerns about billing and commissary pricing. “There’s a lot of wasteful spending inside there and there’s a lot of blurred lines as far as how we’re double billing our services,” Garcia said.

County staff and the sheriff answered questions about insurance, ICE detainees and funding. Stephanie Elliott (county staff) said the county had received a current certificate of liability insurance and that a revised certificate naming Nye County (rather than the town of Pahrump) was forthcoming. Elliott said attempts to secure grant funding to offset the contract increase were unsuccessful and confirmed the contract will be funded through the 10236 jail fund.

Sheriff Joe McGill told the board that Nye County is not currently housing ICE inmates in Tonopah under a standalone ICE housing contract, though state arrests can carry immigration detainers; he said that because medical personnel are on-site under existing agreements, non-ICE inmates receive the same medical services as ICE detainees at no extra charge. “So actually the local inmates are receiving additional services at no cost,” McGill said.

Several commissioners pressed for more competitive procurement. One commissioner estimated the contract equated to roughly $6,000 per day in aggregated medical costs and urged that the county put the services out to bid. County staff noted professional services procurement rules differ from commodity purchases and that any formal bidding or extensions would be brought back to the board for action.

Motion and vote: Commissioner (S3) moved to approve the professional services agreement, to execute the agreement and to fund it from the 10236 jail fund, and requested that contract language in item 11 (insurance) be corrected in the written document. Commissioner (S8) seconded. The board voted in favor; the motion carried 5–0. One commissioner (S4) stated they were submitting a protest vote while voting aye.

What’s next: The board directed staff to correct the contract’s insurance language as noted in the motion and to return items related to pro tem appointments and bidding procedures to a future agenda for further consideration.

Sources: public comments from Karen Waldman and Michael David Garcia; statements by Stephanie Elliott (county staff) and Sheriff Joe McGill during the Oct. 29 Nye County Board of Commissioners meeting; the board’s motion and vote.