Maragos: Correctional Medical Services Plagued with Management & Professional Failures
17 October 2016 - Mineola, NY- An audit of Armor Correctional Medical Services of New York, Inc. (Armor), the provider of medical services at the Nassau County Jail, indicates that the contract for inmate medical care was plagued by mismanagement, noncompliance with basic professional standards and unaccountability for contractual obligations. The County may not have received the “quality and cost effective comprehensive” inmate medical care expected for the $11.8 million annual contract expenditures. Although the County realized savings of approximately $8.5 million annually over the previous medical provider, the County could potentially face greater liabilities due to allegations of inadequate care. The audit began in January 2015 and covered the period from June 2011 to the present.“The County spent considerable taxpayer funds to provide quality medical health services to inmates under its care,” said Comptroller George Maragos. “Clearly, the County did not get what it paid for. It is disturbing that the level of care provided was not monitored, and the Correctional Center appeared to be defending the vendor rather than holding them accountable.”
The audit revealed that the Correctional Center had not inquired as to whether the quality of care being provided met the minimum contractually mandated standards, until June of 2016 when it asked Armor to provide the contract required performance metrics. Armor’s employee turnover rates were abnormally high, especially for nurses (over 60%) and doctors (50%) which should have been a serious concern. Until very recently, there was no appropriate medical supervision at the Jail - there was no Health Contract Administrator nor a Physician appointed to supervise the inmate medical care on behalf of the County as required by the New York State Correction Law and the County Contract with Armor. Neither the Correctional Center nor Armor obtained the contractually required National Commission on Correctional Health Care (NCCHC) accreditation for the facility, nor attempted to obtain it.For a copy of the report, please connect with Nassau County Comptroller Maragos online.http://www.nassaucountyny.gov/2377/AuditsConnect with Nassau County Comptroller Maragos Online:http://www.nassaucountyny.gov/agencies/Comptroller/index.html