Peach County commissioners are set to vote Tuesday on a new jail healthcare contract that would expand correctional healthcare coverage.
PEACH COUNTY, Ga. — Peach County commissioners are expected to approve a new jail healthcare contract Tuesday that would expand mental health coverage, standardize weekend nursing shifts and introduce electronic medical records at the county jail for the first time.
At any given time, more than 100 people are in custody at the Peach County jail. Jail Commander Capt. Tommie Fowler said between 30 and 50 of those inmates are dealing with some form of mental illness — but under the current contract with CorrectHealth, the entire facility shares just one hour of mental health care per week.
“If we have multiple individuals that needs that mental health time that’s gonna kind of overlap so some people may not get seen,” Fowler said.
The Peach County Sheriff’s Office is asking commissioners to approve a switch from CorrectHealth to Southern Health Partners, a company with more than 31 years in the inmate healthcare industry that currently serves 43 facilities across Georgia.
The proposed contract would quadruple mental health provider hours — moving from one hour per week to eight hours every two weeks. It would also ensure nurses are on site every day of the week with consistent shifts, something Fowler said has been inconsistent under the current arrangement.
“It’s a hit and miss finding nurses to cover for the weekend,” Fowler said.
Southern Health Partners representative Chris Hudson, a former jail administrator, addressed commissioners during last week’s work session and pointed to a broader statewide trend.
“Inmates are coming to jail sicker and sicker. When I ran the jail for 8 years it wasn’t as bad as it is today,” Hudson said.
The proposal also includes an optional electronic medical records system. Fowler said moving away from paper records would make it easier to track inmate health histories and share information with outside providers.
The base contract with Southern Health Partners would cost the county a little over $305,000 annually — about $55,000 more than the roughly $250,000 the county pays now. Fowler said the added cost is justified. The coverage is funded through the sheriff’s budget for the jail.
“It’s better to pay it now than to have to pay it later. We can run into a lot of lawsuits not having the adequate care for some of these individuals,” Fowler said.
Fowler said the department wants the community to know the changes are being made with inmates’ well-being in mind.
“It do matter to us, and we’re doing the best that we can to move in the right direction,” Fowler said.
The item is on Tuesday’s consent agenda during the Peach County Board of Commissioners’ regular session in Fort Valley.