Partnership Successes

Our successes come from strong partnerships

Wexford Health was organized in 1992 for the sole purpose of providing health care services to correctional institutions.  We are one of the most well-established and longstanding companies in correctional health care.

The narratives below describe examples of our successful partnerships with other correctional systems across the US.

First-time and ongoing accreditation: For a major statewide prison system in the Midwest, Wexford Health teamed with the client to successfully administer a pilot program in which eight of the Department’s institutions obtained independent, third-party medical and mental health certification from the National Commission on Correctional Health Care’s team of clinical experts.  We have an excellent record of helping our clients successfully achieve (and maintain) industry accreditation.  To attest to the quality of care we provide, many current Wexford Health facilities carry certifications from both the NCCHC and the ACA; as well as positive audits from a variety of state and local quality assessment organizations.

Increasing correctional patient’s access to onsite clinical care: For a statewide prison contract in the southwestern US, Wexford Health was able to successfully bring vital medical services onsite. Our decision to make mobile mammography and ultrasound services available within the prison facilities removed barriers to care (52% increase in availability of services), increased the timeliness of services, saved money for our client, and protected neighborhood safety by reducing the need for incarcerated individuals to visit community-based health care facilities—by 56% for mammography and by 22% for ultrasound.  Additionally, rather than outsourcing IV therapy to an expensive home infusion company as previous prison health care vendors did, Wexford Health trained our nursing staff to prepare and provide IV medications onsite at the state prisons.  This further reduced the need for incarcerated individuals to visit community-based health care facilities.

Successful strategic partnerships: For the same southwestern prison client, Wexford Health has entered into multiple strategic partnerships that enhance the quality of our correctional health service.

• In partnership with our client and the state university system’s Project ECHO, we have increased the number of patients receiving treatment for Hepatitis C by 200%, successfully treating more than 1,800 justice involved individuals who will now return to their communities free from this deadly virus.
• By partnering with one of the state’s major health systems to operate HIV/AIDS clinics inside the prisons, Wexford Health provides quality in-person and telehealth care for justice-involved HIV/AIDS patients. At the same time, our clinics save taxpayer dollars, by providing medications at a significant savings, through a federal discount program.
• Through an arrangement with the state’s leading academic medical center, Wexford Health and the Milagro Program provide specialized pre-natal care for justice-involved moms with substance use disorders and their innocent unborn babies. Health care staff from the Milagro program visit the prison facilities to provide care, resulting in less offsite transport of incarcerated individuals, savings for our client, and increased public safety for communities.
• Our ongoing partnership with the state Department of Health provides incarcerated individuals with standard vaccines, including those for COVID and influenza. The program not only provides cost savings for the State and enhanced safety/quality of care for patents, but also supports public health, as justice-involved individuals return to their New Mexico communities vaccinated and less likely to carry communicable diseases.

Special mental health treatment unit: At a 4,000-ADP Gulf Coast prison complex, Wexford Health established and staffed a Special Treatment Unit for incarcerated females. The unit focused on providing a well-rounded regimen that helped the women maintain a balanced lifestyle when upon their return to the community.  Over six years, Wexford Health achieved an average recidivism rate of 3% for Special Treatment Unit graduates—significantly below the national rate of 40%.

340B drug discount programs: For a major southern prison system, Wexford Health established a partnership with the State’s primary academic medical center to administer a federal 340B drug discount program for the client. The University’s specialists saw infectious disease patients via telehealth, with Wexford Health’s nurses providing the “hands on” portion of the exam within the secure institutional walls.  Our 340B program generated more than $1.5 million in pharmacy savings/credits for the client in its first 18 months

Medicaid enrollment and reimbursement programs: Prior to the passing of the Affordable Care Act, Wexford Health held discussions with a major East Coast prison system client and that state’s Department of Health and Human Resources regarding prisoners’ eligibility. At that time, we designed and implemented a Medicaid enrollment and claiming program for incarcerated patients who were pregnant, disabled, or older than 64.  As the Affordable Care Act moved forward, we expanded our initial Medicaid claiming program to include all incarcerated patients with an inpatient stay in a community hospital.  These programs have resulted in millions of dollars in federal funding/reimbursement for the prison system.

Opening of new facilities and units: Wexford Health helped a rural Sheriff’s Office in the Southwest US to open an additional 150-bed detention facility. After analyzing the Jail’s coverage needs, we established an updated staffing model for the new facility and began recruitment efforts.  We were able to attain 100% health care staffing for the new facility prior to its opening.

Cost savings and revenue generation for clients: Wexford Health partnered with a mid-sized detention agency in the Southwest to implement a jail-based Restoration to Competency (RTC) program aimed at defendants who, due to mental illness or cognitive or developmental defects, do not understand what is happening to them and therefore cannot stand trial. In its first 12 months of operation, the program generated a savings of more than $400,000 for the County over what it would have spent to treat the same number of defendants through a similar State-operated program.  Within the program’s first 18 months, we offered access to other counties in the state.  Utilizing our jail-based RTC program helped these counties to save approximately $300,000 in program costs, in addition to providing revenue for our client Sheriff’s Office.

Enhanced programming for the treatment of substance use disorders: Upon being awarded a major statewide prison contract in the Midwest, Wexford Health overhauled the client’s programming for addiction recovery services. We successfully created, implemented, and operated a comprehensive model that focused on caring for patients from intake to discharge.  We also expanded the client’s MOUD (Medications for Opioid Use Disorder) program, including improving connections with the community providers who are crucial to an incarcerated individual’s re-entry.

Fast, responsive service: Wexford Health received a call from a large Gulf Coast detention agency explaining that it was in emergent need of a health care contractor, as the agency and its incumbent vendor were parting ways with no notice. Over the next three days, Wexford Health worked (literally) around the clock with the detention agency to agree to a contract, make all necessary arrangements with ancillary vendors and local hospitals, and retain the 43 incumbent health care staff.  By midnight on the third day, we had taken over health care operations at both of the agency’s detention facilities, ensuring that no patients experienced any interruptions in their care.  Both Wexford Health and the client are very pleased with the new partnership, as we have been able to hold the agency’s invoiced medical costs at the same level as the previous contract, while providing enhanced responsiveness, administrative oversight, and other services.

Staffing expertise and efficiency: In a western state where we have several successful long-term contracts, Wexford Health was approached by a rural county detention agency who was dissatisfied with the service it was receiving from its incumbent health care vendor.  Based on our reputation in the state, the county asked us to take over its correctional health care contract on short notice.  We agreed to assist the county, inheriting a contract that had not a single one of its 12.10 budgeted FTEs filled.  Wexford Health not only worked to quickly fill 100% of the positions at the jail, but was also able to eliminate the use of agency services.

Cutting-edge telehealth program: Utilizing cloud-based technology, Wexford Health designed and implemented a technologically advanced telehealth program that saved a major Mid-Atlantic prison system more than $1.8 million in transportation and security costs in its first two years.