Oklahoma County officials are reviewing a contract with jail health care provider Turn Key Health Clinics after delaying a vote on a new deal with the company worth more than $7.4 million a year.
The Oklahoma County Criminal Justice Authority’s contract with Turn Key expired at the end of June, but the company has continued to provide medical care to jail detainees on a month-to-month basis.
The Oklahoma County jail trust tabled a vote on a new contract with Turn Key at its last meeting in August with little discussion.
Jail trust board members are now reviewing the Turn Key contract, which is expected to come up again at the next meeting on Sept. 9, said Mark Opgrande, a spokesperson for the jail.
“Trust leadership believes a thorough review of all contractual relationships is warranted and appropriate when taxpayer funds are involved,” Opgrande said in an email. “Provision of medical care is a requirement and, pending approval by the trust, there is likely to be both short- (and) long-term solutions explored in the months ahead.”
The jail trust would pay Turn Key a base rate of $7.4 million a year if it approves the contract proposed in August. This would be a $19,000 discount from what the trust paid the previous year, Chris Sherman, the jail’s chief financial officer, said at the last board meeting
The Frontier and The Marshall Project published an investigation in July examining Turn Key policies and practices that have endangered people in jail. The investigation found that Turn Key employees didn’t send people to the hospital in dozens of cases when they were in crisis, catatonic or refusing to eat or drink. The company staffed mental health and other medical positions with low-level nursing assistants trained to perform basic tasks like taking vital signs, but not to diagnose or assess medical conditions.
Turn Key has been the medical contractor at the Oklahoma County jail since 2018. The company would like to continue at the jail, a representative for the company said in a statement.
“Turn Key’s contract with the Oklahoma County Criminal Justice Authority expired June 30 of this year. However, in the best interest of the patients, Turn Key decided to continue providing services until the next Criminal Justice Authority meeting where the contract can be voted on by the Authority,” Austin Young, general counsel for Turn Key said in an email. “If the Authority chooses to enter into a new contract with Turn Key, Turn Key would be proud to continue providing services for its patients.”
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