Barnstable County Sheriff Moves To In-House Medical, Mental Health Staff

Cross-posted from the Falmouth Patch June 28th, 2023

FFIMI applauds Sheriff Donna Buckley’s decision to not renew Wellpath’s healthcare contract to provide healthcare at Barnstable County Correctional Facility in the fall.

“Our inmates come to us with significant mental and physical health challenges, so healthcare has to be a priority,” said Buckley. “They will be returning to the community, so we have an obligation to address these issues.” 

CAPE COD, MA — The Barnstable County Sheriff’s Office is reworking how they provide medical and mental health care for inmates at the Barnstable County Correctional Facility.

Sheriff Donna Buckley announced that the sheriff’s office will be moving to an in-house medical and mental health care team to provide care for inmates. The office has been evaluating the effectiveness of using a private vendor for these aspects of her office over the past six months. Officials have decided that “this is not the path forward for the Barnstable County Correctional Facility.”

“Our inmates come to us with significant mental and physical health challenges, so healthcare has to be a priority,” said Buckley. “They will be returning to the community, so we have an obligation to address these issues.”

Staffing has also been an issue in the current model, and something the sheriff’s office believes they can do better.

“Considering the unique challenges of housing, transportation, and the rising cost of living on the Cape, we must be able to devote every dollar spent on recruiting and retaining medical staff. Currently, that is not possible under a private vendor model,” Buckley said.

Wellpath, LLC, which has had a healthcare contract with BCCF for almost three years, is a private, for-profit company that provides inmate health services throughout the Commonwealth and the nation.

The company hasn’t be able to properly staff its Cape Cod units, however, according to a news release.

“Wellpath has not been successful in retaining staff on Cape Cod, and in fact, they have never been able to fulfill their staffing commitment to the Barnstable County Correctional Facility,” the release said. Officials said Wellpath is only able to provide 20 percent of their staffing obligation to the BCCF currently.

“Hiring our own staff will allow us to create a healthcare model that meets the specific needs of our organization,” Buckley said. “It will give us more control and oversight because they will be our own people.”

The sheriff’s office operated with its own medical and mental health staff until 2015 when a private vendor, Correctional Psychiatric Services (CPS), was hired to provide mental health services for the first time.

In 2017, CPS was contracted to provide all healthcare to the inmates. In 2020, the sheriff’s office awarded that contract to Wellpath. Officials said Wellpath has been innovative in some areas of inmate healthcare, but a change is necessary to meet Buckley’s ideals of mental and physical healthcare for inmates.

“Our jails have become our de facto addiction treatment and mental health facilities. We must provide an appropriate level of care to keep our communities safe,” Buckley said. By hiring in-house medical staff, there will be additional personnel who are trained and able to assist with the education of inmates in reproductive health, nutrition, contraception and sexually transmitted infection prevention and treatment, officials

Suffice to say, the BCSO will not be renewing its contract with Wellpath when it expires in October and will be using the next few months to transition to an in-house model, officials said.

The sheriff’s human resources department has already begun recruiting.

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