County approves Altra professional services agreement to give jail medical staff physician access

A county staff member presented an Altra Professional Services Agreement for commission approval, saying the contract would provide a single physician to oversee and be available to the jail nurse and could reduce transports to hospitals for juveniles and others.

The presenter said the contracted doctor would allow on-site nurse referrals for services such as STD testing and other clinical needs that previously required outside transport. The presenter noted that if a patient has Medicaid or family insurance, those payers would cover costs; otherwise, the county would incur the expense.

A commissioner asked whether signature authority could be expanded. The motion on the contract was amended to permit either the named department head (Miss Robin) or the commission chair to sign the agreement. The amended motion passed unanimously.

Why it matters: the agreement changes how jail medical care is handled operationally by making physician oversight more immediately available to nursing staff, which county presenters said is likely to reduce off-site transports and associated costs. The county did not specify annual contract cost during the presentation.