At the behest of state standards and the county’s own risk pool, the Grays Harbor County commissioners on Monday, May 8, looked to amend a contract with the county jail’s medical services provider. Ultimately, however, the commissioners postponed action until next week.
Currently, the county jail’s medical services are provided by Dr. Yong Ki Shin of Montesano Internal Medicine. Recent revisions to Shin’s contract were approved in January.
The current scope of work through the contract is not in line with Jail Accreditation Standards as proposed by the Washington Association of Sheriff’s and Police Chiefs. The most notable missing piece of medical service is the need for medical and psychological evaluation for new inmates during intake.
The new draft contract being considered on May 8 would see Shin earning $44,900 per month (up from $20,825 per month), however that amount is expected to increase slightly.
Currently Shin is insured for up to $1 million. The county’s risk pool (which handles litigation and makes insurance recommendations) has urged the county to see insurance increased to $3 million.
“To go from $1 (million) to $3 (million) is not going to be a huge amount,” Commissioner Vickie Raines said, noting she imagined the increase in premium costs to be less than $1,000 per year. “Shin’s contract fee would increase to cover the additional insurance.”
While the contract has been approved by the county’s legal team and Shin’s legal representative, the contract has not been considered by the county’s Human Services advisory board. Shin’s contract is paid using one-tenth of 1 percent treatment sales tax money.
The requested contract increase will work out to be nearly $300,000 more per year compared to Shin’s current contract. Raines said the Human Services advisory board should have an opportunity to review and make a recommendation on using one-tenth of 1 percent funding for the contract.
Grays Harbor County Sheriff Rick Scott said that a recent survey of inmates at the county jail showed that some 90 percent of inmates qualify for use of the one-tenth of 1 percent funding.
And though the rate is increasing, Shin noted that it is still less expensive than contracting services. Shin is local and the nurses he hires to support the jail services are local as well. Evening and weekend calls for medical services will be cheaper for the county because the staff is already located in Montesano.
Both Raines and Scott agree that services will improve moving forward compared to current practices.
“It’s a huge liability to have our deputies giving medication,” Raines said. “It hasn’t been perfect.”
“We’ve been able to get by over the years, but that’s no longer really an acceptable way of providing medical services,” Scott said.
The commissioners have asked Shin to provide a quote for the increased insurance premiums, and they will give the Human Services advisory board an opportunity to review the contract. It’s expected that the commissioners will reconsider the contract with the additional premium costs during the May 15 commissioners meeting.
