PORT ANGELES — Clallam County has renewed a one-year agreement with Correctional Healthcare Management for medical services in the Clallam County jail.
Jail Superintendent Ron Sukert said the contract is for the same level of service at the same cost as it was in 2011: $200,000 per year.
The three commissioners unanimously approved the contract Tuesday.
Clallam County hired Correctional Healthcare Management in 2010, saying Olympic Medical Center had been raising its annual fees for home health nursing services.
Replaced longtime agreement
“This replaced our longtime agreement with Olympic Medical Center,” County Administrator Jim Jones said Monday.
“This is a significant savings in the cost for that program.”
Jones said the agreement is “probably somewhere between [$300,000] and $400,000 a year cheaper than the path we were on.”
Sukert said the terms are “status quo” from last year.
Greenwood Village, Colo.-based CHM will continue to staff the jail with two nurses and provide on-call services.
The agreement with CHM will be in effect through March 2013.
Commissioners also signed a contract amendment with the state Department of Corrections for a second officer to transport women offenders from the jail to the Washington Corrections Center for Women in Purdy.
“All the costs remain the same for the previous year,” Sukert said.
“This addendum allows us to recoup the cost of a second officer.”
When two officers are needed, the county will charge the state an additional $248.
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Reporter Rob Ollikainen can be reached at 360-417-3537 or at rob.ollikainen@peninsuladailynews.com.
