NaphCare, Inc., announces new agreement with Worcester County, Massachusetts

By NaphCare Inc

Published: 09/16/2011

| Company Profile | CorrectSource

Article:
September 12, 2011

Birmingham, AL - NaphCare, Inc., a Birmingham based independent provider of correctional medical care services, recently reached an agreement with the Worcester County Jail and House of Correction in West Boylston, Massachusetts.

The contract is for one year with an option to renew for three years. The amount of the contract is being negotiated, but Jail Superintendent Shawn P. Jenkins expects it to be closer to $4 million than to $5 million. Service will begin 30 days after the contract is signed. It will result in a “six-figure saving” in a $39.7 million budget, he said. “We have a legal obligation to provide extensive medical services to inmates, but skyrocketing costs in every aspect of inmate care have highlighted the inefficiencies of running our own medical department. After an extensive seven-month review, as well as meeting with other sheriffs and several vendors, NaphCare clearly had the most efficient and effective path forward.”

“We are in the correctional business, not the health care business. This will significantly improve daily operations and the quality of care,” said Worcester County Sheriff Lewis G. Evangelidis. , “With over $6 million in budget cuts since FY ’09, there is no way to continue with business as usual. As annual medical billings approach $5 million, NaphCare will provide better service, lower costs by streamlining the delivery of care, as well as provide comprehensive oversight aimed at eliminating inefficiencies that have plagued an unpredictable budget-buster for years.”

In Massachusetts, NaphCare has contracts with the Federal Bureau of Prisons at the Federal medical facility at Devens, with the Essex County Sheriff for the Essex County Correctional Facility, and provides dialysis services through contracts with University of Massachusetts Correctional Health at the state prison in Shirley and the Massachusetts Treatment Center in Bridgewater. Essex Sheriff Frank Cousins said, “Since contracting with NaphCare several years ago, my costs have been reduced, our inmate grievances have dropped, costs are predictable, and I believe that we deliver a higher quality of care to the inmates in our custody. Most importantly, our staff can focus on inmates, instead of running a triage center.”

“We are excited to begin another partnership in Massachusetts and with Worcester County,” said CEO James S. McLane. “This is an opportunity for us to utilize our experience, our system and our philosophy of providing care the highest quality inmate healthcare to serve the county well in its cost saving goals.”

NaphCare currently serves 45 clients in 25 states, employing approximately 850 dedicated correctional healthcare professionals.