LAWRENCE COUNTY Jail must keep health care provider for now

A termination letter will be sent to the Pennsylvania company in a few weeks.
By LAURE CIOFFI
VINDICATOR NEW CASTLE BUREAU
NEW CASTLE, Pa. -- Lawrence County commissioners won't be changing medical care providers at the county jail anytime soon.
Commissioners had voted earlier this month to hire Southern Health Partners of Chattanooga, Tenn., but a judge has declared that contract null and void.
The county apparently didn't give its current jail medical provider, Prime Care of Harrisburg, proper termination notice.
Prime Care got an injunction in Lawrence County Common Pleas Court on Tuesday morning.
Contract provision
Court papers said the county did not follow the property termination notice outlined in Prime Care's contract. A letter sent to the company in May by Warden Mark Fellows did not contain the proper termination notice but only outlined problems with the care. Prime Care contends its satisfied all of Fellows' concerns.
The contract with Prime Care runs through April 13, 2005.
County Solicitor John Hodge said the county will draft a new termination letter and send it out in the next few weeks. The county is allowed to terminate the contract without reason if a 180-day notice is given.
New board
Hodge said he is unsure if Southern Life will be hired once the Prime Care contract ends. A new board of commissioners will be sworn into office in January -- well before the 180 days are up.
Hodge said a Southern Life representative told him they would still offer the same terms to the county in three months.
County commissioners have said that Southern Life would cost about $30,000 less per year if the same number of inmates are treated.
cioffi@vindy.com