Associated Press
TULLAHOMA, Tenn. — Medical costs for a jail in south-central Tennessee are projected to overrun the budget by $300,000 by the end of June.
Coffee County Purchasing Officer Andy Farrar told The Tullahoma News that the jail’s budget had been set at $400,000, but is projected to jump to $700,000 by the end of the fiscal year.
Farrar says pharmaceutical bills seem to have gone down slightly since new jail doctor David Florence took over in January. Farrar says most of the overage is coming from unforeseen “major medical” incidents such as fights, overdoses and other issues requiring hospitalization and airlift transportation to Nashville at a cost of $30,000 per trip.
Farrar says this fiscal year has seen four airlifts so far, compared to only one per year in previous years.
Information from: The Tullahoma News, http://www.tullahomanews.com