Clark County approves $940,000 contract for 24-hour jail nursing and medication therapy

The Board of Clark County Commissioners on April 22 authorized a $940,000 contract with TEAMHealth/Premier Physician Services to provide jail medical and nursing services for June 1, 2026–May 31, 2029.

Sheriff Chris Clark said the county has experienced nursing-staff shortages and that the agreement will provide 24-hour nursing coverage "for the first time" at the Clark County Jail, which he said should “alleviate some of the hospital visits in the middle of the night.” The contract is funded primarily from jail expenditures and payroll, supplemented by commissary funds to cover third-shift staffing, the sheriff’s office said.

Clark described an embedded medication enhanced therapy program in the vendor proposal, saying TEAMHealth would manage the program to help reduce recidivism and “help return inmates to society in better shape than when they came to jail.” When asked about local recidivism, Sheriff Clark said Clark County’s three-year recidivism rate is 32½ percent.

Commissioner Charles A. Patterson said the contract is budget neutral for the commission and praised the collaboration between the sheriff’s office and commissioners to improve public safety and reduce costs tied to off-site hospital transports.

The board voted unanimously to approve Resolution 2026-0316 authorizing the contract. The recorded roll call for the resolution was Commissioner Lohnes, Yes; Commissioner Patterson, Yes; Commissioner Rittenhouse, Yes.

The contract documents state the funding sources as jail expenditures and jail commissary funds; the board did not adopt separate funding actions. The sheriff’s office told commissioners it issued a Request for Proposals and evaluated vendors before selecting TEAMHealth.

Next steps: under the approved contract TEAMHealth is expected to begin providing services on June 1, 2026, and the sheriff’s office will implement the medication enhanced therapy program as described in the vendor submission.