HomeMy WebLinkAboutItem 09 Correspondence from Elizabeth Lyon Regarding Cascade Health Solutions and the Springfield Municipal Jail (with attached response from Police and the City Attorney's office)M E M O R A N D U M City of Springfield, Oregon
To: City Council
From: Rick Lewis, AIC Police Chief, Russ Boring Police Lieutenant Springfield Municipal Jail,
Mary Bridget Smith, City Attorney
Date: September 12, 2016
Subject: Correspondence from Elizabeth Lyon re: Insurance Billing and Tracking Medical Care at
the Springfield Municipal Jail
This purpose of this memo is to respond to the correspondence submitted to the Springfield City Council by Elizabeth Lyon on August 29, 2016. Ms. Lyon’s correspondence focuses on two issues; the City’s
contract with Cascade Health Solutions for jail medical care and implementing HB4110 (ORS 743A.260)
Cascade Health Solutions Contract
Staff from the Springfield Municipal Jail and Cascade Health Solutions met with Ms. Lyon during the
summer to discuss her concerns about medical care at the Springfield Municipal Jail. We discussed the
Springfield Municipal Jail’s approach to medical care in general and more particularly, caring for inmates with mental health issues.
During the meeting we explained how Springfield Municipal Jail and Cascade staff communicate daily about providing medical care, the medical personnel available to assist with inmates. A nurse practitioner
meets with inmates with the assistance of several medics. If the care required is outside of their scope, the inmate is released or other arrangements are made for further medical treatment. A mental health counselor provides 16 hours of service per week. If an inmate has significant mental health issues, the jail
works with the prosecutor, the court and local services like Lane County Behavior Health to either send the person to the state mental hospital or find some local program.
Cascade Health Solutions has partnered with the Springfield Municipal Jail in providing jail medical care since it opened. When the jail first opened, providing medical care to inmates was new for both the City
and Cascade Health Solutions. Over time policies and procedures have been changed and improved as
they have become more familiar and experienced with providing this kind of care. Unfortunately, the jail medical records are not in electronic format, so providing statistical reports is difficult. The contract is on
a standard City of Springfield contract form and at the meeting we acknowledged that we can do a better
job of documenting addendums and general formatting. The contract expires December 31, 2016 and can be renewed for one additional year. After that time the City can contract again with Cascade Health
Solutions (medical services can be sole sourced under the City’s public contracting regulations) or put out a Request for Proposal.
HB 4110
Ms. Lyon brought HB 4110 to our attention during our meeting and we agree with her analysis that it
allows the City to bill private insurers for medical care given to pre-trial inmates. Staff is currently working on implementing this process.