Cascade County Commissioners unanimously approved a four-year contract to Turn+Key Health LLC during their Aug. 23 meeting for inmate medical services at the Adult Detention Center.

The county posted a request for proposals in April, after Alluvion Health exited its four year contract after one year.

Undersheriff Scott Van Dyken said that the cost to the county for the first year of the contract is $2,044,261.84.

Alluvion exiting medical services contract at county jail

In the second year, the cost will increase by 2.5 percent to $2,100,479.04.

In the third year, the cost increases by 3 percent to $2,163,493.41 and in the fourth year, it increases by 3.25 percent to $2,233806.95, according to the Cascade County Sheriff’s Office.

According to Van Dyken’s June 8 memo to commissioners about the three proposals received, Turn+Key Health’s proposal covered all but three of the county’s requirements. The other two were missing more requirements, according to the memo.

The contract cost includes a medical records management system, some lab services and some radiological services, according to Van Dyken.

County approves medical services contract for jail [2021]

Van Dyken told commissioners that the company will have medical staff on site at the jail 24/7.

The national company was also recently awarded the inmate medical services contract in Yellowstone County, Van Dyken said.

He said that’s good for Cascade County so they can share manpower resources if needed.

He said that the county legal office was working on adding a provision to the contract that if the jail population drops by 300 for 90 consecutive days, they’ll drop the cost of the contract by 25 percent.

The contract approved during the Aug. 23 meeting is based on a daily average of 400 inmates, Van Dyken said.

For the last month, the average daily population was 400-428, he said.

The county is currently down about a third of the detention staff and they’re working to get other county detention centers to take some of their inmates, Van Dyken said.

He said that Turn+Key will start Sept. 1 so the company is flying in some medical personnel for the quick startup, as well as keeping on some Alluvion personnel who want to stay at the jail. He said the company has also interviewed some nurses who formerly worked at the jail and want to return.