Cutting ties; what led to the change in healthcare service providers at Duval County Jail

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — A termination letter obtained by Action News Jax shows what the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office said to Armor Healthcare -- who provided health care services for the Duval County Jail.

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In the letter, the undersheriff says the company didn’t meet contract obligations and failed to meet governing standards. This included maintaining accreditation and disclosing criminal convictions.

Armor is accused of failing to properly care for inmates. The move to terminate the contract came after the Tributary reported a major spike in deaths at the jail since taking over in 2017. Sheriff T.K. Waters said in a Tuesday news conference they’ve been looking at how to handle this since November.

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“The time came where I had to wait until we got our mayor in office, I wanted to make sure they understood what was going on so I talked with our mayor, discussed some things with our mayor and the time was right to be able to do this, and we need to work through some other processes to make sure we can get this done and get this done as quickly and efficiently as possible the right way,” he said.

Action News Jax also obtained the new contract with NaphCare, the company taking over in September. It’s over 100 pages and shows it’s a 3-year contract with a two-year renewal option, so in total could be 5 years, worth over $110 million.

The contract says if it fails to comply with agreed performance requirements it could result in financial penalties. One says NaphCare will be fined $500 for every time medications aren’t administered “in any housing area consistent with the provider’s orders, unless JSO is responsible” saying if there’s any barriers, it need to promptly contact the facilities assistant chief.

“We’re moving on from Armor, our contract has things in it we are safeguarded, our community is safeguarded and inmates are safeguarded,” Waters said on Tuesday.

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NaphCare has been linked to the death of inmate in Fulton County, Georgia where an inmate died in part to “extensive and severe body insect infestation.” When we asked Waters about any concerns, he said he wouldn’t have switched providers if he had any.  He also mentioned in the news conference the company was highly recommended from the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office.

“You can look at any medical facility in North Florida, throughout the state of Florida, they all have issues. They’ve all had lawsuits, they’ve all had those things,” Waters said on Tuesday. “At some point you have to look through it very carefully and make sure you’re making the right decision and I think we did.”

Watch Action News Jax at 10 p.m. for what else was included in the termination letter and what concerns have been raised about the new healthcare service provider.

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