Presiding Commissioner Bill Taylor signed a new jail medical contract to provide services for detainees held within the Pettis County Jail at the request of Sheriff Brad Anders.

The Sheriff’s Department paid roughly $60,000.00 a year for jail medical when Anders took office. This contract allowed for a once a week visit by a licensed physician and 24/7 telehealth; it had no on-site nursing. After the passage of Proposition A, which is a current revenue via 1/2 percent sales tax, the department signed a new contract at a rate of $290,000 annually.

This new contract introduced a full-time, 40-hour a week nurse, same physician visit, telehealth, and 6 hours a week from a mental health professional.

The new contract the department chose is with a new company and the annual cost of that contract is $551,126.84. This includes two full-time nurses (84 hours a week) 7 days a week, medical and dental supplies, a pharmaceutical pool covering up to $30,000.00 in pharmaceuticals (not including medications for HIV/AIDS, hemophilia, hepatitis, oncology, etc.), electronic health records (which is a much needed advancement), same physician attendance, and 32 hours a week for on-site mental health services. This quote is at an average daily population of 210 detainees; the previous costs were associated with an average daily population of 150 detainees.

The vast majority of this expense will be paid from revenue generated in sales tax.