By Barbara Carmen
The Columbus Dispatch
COLUMBUS, Ohio — Hiring a private nursing agency to treat jail inmates would save Franklin County taxpayers $6.5 million over the next five years, according to a study released this week.
But commissioners aren’t rushing to lay off the 37 nurses working as county employees.
“There have been issues around nursing for the jails for a long, long time. So it’s something we need to take a look at,” Commissioner John O’Grady said. “Saving money is one thing, but is this the right administrative fix? We can save money and it not be a good product for the cost savings.”
County nurses have lobbied commissioners since November to save their jobs, noting that things didn’t go so well the last time the county went outside for help.
In the 1990s, inmates complained that different contractors provided poor medical care and sued. The county turned to Ohio State University in 2001 to improve care. But instead of spending the anticipated $11.7 million over three years, the county paid $22.4 million.
This time, the county has found a good agency and crafted a tighter contract, said Sheriff Jim Karnes. His office runs the jails; the three commissioners oversee the budget.
In March, commissioners hired Cincinnati-based Management Partners Inc. for nearly $18,000 to look at the costs, risks and benefits of contracting out nursing services. Commissioners received the Management Partners study Monday.
Karnes had figured privatizing would save the county $2.5 million in three years. The consultants calculated savings of $3.4 million over three years if Franklin County contracts with low-bidder Maxim Health Services. If Maxim supplies all 54 jail nurses for five years, the county would save $6.5 million, the report said.
Commissioners yesterday bought time to review the report, approving $1.1 million to hire temporary nurses to fill 17 openings. Officials say nurses have left in anticipation of Maxim getting the contract.
That new contract, the consultants said, is “fixed-fee” to keep costs down and calls for the sheriff’s office to supervise the nursing care.
But the deal would require layoffs, which commissioners have worked to avoid.
“You’ve got to realize that we are in trying times right now,” Karnes said.
“We’re not actually putting people out of work. The nurses have an opportunity to go to work for the other people.”
Karnes acknowledged that nurses likely wouldn’t get the same benefits or hours.
The county could phase in privatized nursing, but that would reduce projected savings, the consultants wrote.
Lisa Fisher, a nurse at the Downtown jail, said she feels “let down” by the report. She said the nurses work hard and do all they can to keep medical costs down -- for example, by using generic medications when possible.
“I feel like we’ll be there another month or two until the commissioners make the decision,” Fisher said. “But it just makes us a little more uneasy thinking about going to the unemployment line.”
Copyright 2010 The Columbus Dispatch