Lake County firing jail health care firm for not promptly treating inmates
The company overseeing health care at Lake County's jail and juvenile detention center will be fired for not promptly examining and treating inmates, officials said Wednesday.
Pittsburgh-based Wexford Health Sources has had the job for a little more than a year. However, the firm hasn't met "key parts" of its two-year contract, Lake County Board Chairman Aaron Lawlor said.
Problems included delayed prisoner examinations and treatments, both for physical ailments and mental health issues, Lawlor said.
"(Inmates) deserve access to health care while they're incarcerated," he said.
Officials discovered lower-than-desired staffing levels, too, Undersheriff Raymond J. Rose said.
"They weren't meeting the standards of how we (wanted) to operate," Rose said.
Representatives from the Lake County sheriff's office, the state's attorney's office and the county administration met with Wexford executives about the situation, but problems continued, officials said.
Last week, officials exercised a 30-day termination clause in the Wexler contract, effectively firing the firm, officials said.
"We are taking this very seriously," Rose said.
Wexford was paid about $2.2 million annually to handle the job.
The county board now is preparing to hire a Miami company called Armor Correctional Health Services to replace Wexford on a temporary basis.
A one-year contract for an estimated $3 million is on the table. County commissioners could approve the deal when they meet Tuesday.
The proposed change was discussed Wednesday during the board's financial and administrative committee meeting.
The new pact will cover medical services at the jail in downtown Waukegan and at the juvenile complex near Vernon Hills.
About 600 inmates are incarcerated at the jail each day, on average, officials said. The juvenile center has room for about 40 detainees.
County officials will search for a health company to hire on a long-term basis once Armor is aboard, Lawlor said.
Health care services at the jail have been scrutinized in recent years because of the deaths of two inmates in 2012.
Lyvita Gomes of Vernon Hills died in January 2012 after a hunger strike at the jail. She was dehydrated and malnourished.
Eugene Gruber of Grayslake died in March 2012, about four months after a violent confrontation with a guard at the jail left him paralyzed.
Relatives of both inmates later sued the county over the deaths. Gruber's family settled for $1.95 million in 2014.
The Gomes case hasn't been resolved.
Additionally, criminal charges were filed against two jail guards who authorities say were involved in the Gruber case. One of them later died, while the other awaits trial.