In the first comprehensive arrangement of its kind in the state, health care services for inmates at the St. Martin Correctional Center will soon be contracted to St. Martin Hospital.
At the May 7 St. Martin Parish Council meeting, President Chester Cedars unveiled the plan, saying that the deal will save parish taxpayers as much as $200,000 annually.
Hospital CEO Karen Wyble, board chairman Burton Dupuis, architect Rick Lipscomb and other representatives of Hospital District 2 attended the meeting to present preliminary plans for the upcoming expansion project. Wyble took the opportunity to comment on the pending jail services contract as well.
The state mandates that parishes are responsible for the health care needs of prisoners. Currently, satisfying that unfunded mandate represents a total cost of about $600,000 per year to St. Martin Parish.
“It’s very exciting to be able to make this happen,” Cedars said, “We are good at a lot of things, but we’re not so good at delivering medical services.” He added that inmates will be better served at an expected cost savings of between $150,000 and $200,000 per year.
Wyble explained that there will be an increased focus on behavioral issues and addictive disorders, both during and after incarceration, which, she believes, can help reduce recidivism. Advances such as electronic record-keeping, telemedicine, 24/7 nursing services and social worker access will bring a higher standard of care to the facility, Wyble predicted.
