Case Study #3

Case Study #3

Abstract

Staffing arrangements are a must to meet the needs of the women’s facility in a timely and humane manner. Individual accommodations are required to be made in many cases due to the care that is not provided in the house.  Due to the nature of the faculty only housing women, a high percentage that are pregnant or need more in-depth dental work accommodations must be made for offsite care facilities.  With this, we, the Tennessee Facility, need a plan to help reduce the number of offsite appointments and ensure we are meeting the needs of in-house meetings.

Memorandum

1. What staff arrangements are available to meet the needs of out of the facility appointments?

The correctional facility needs a well-adjustedstaff that will be able to meet the requirements as well as the demands outside the facility. This is because some clients may not be in a position to reach the facility or other pertinent reasons.  The facility has, therefore, made staff arrangements that will ensure that there is the provision of outpatient services. This will further be facilitated by the rule of flexible working hours for the staff members, which will enable them to undertake multiple shifts, thus providing the required workforce from within the facility employees..

The above out of facility appointments will also be provided at a relatively steeper cost as compared to the regular services within the facility.  This is because the services delivered will include extensive traveling as well as specialized care provision outside the facility. Staff arrangements on how staff members providing these services will be compensated substantially to ensure that there is staff motivation to provide the required services for patients outside the facility.

2. What staff arrangements are needed to:-accommodate the out of the facility appointments(show the calculations);

Among the staff arrangements required include the facilitation of extra pay to cater to the out of facility services provided to the clients. As a result, there will be a necessity to draft a new staff budget that will enable the facility to provide the service providers with an incentive for better service delivery.  The extra pay will entail a small wage above the regular payment.

-meet the needs of in-house appointments (show the calculations);

In-house selection is other critical aspects that the correctional facility will have to address in the service delivery prospectus. Depending on the severity of the identified case, there will be a necessity to ensure that the uncured costs are met adequately.

-reduce the number of out of the facility appointments (justify);

It will be necessary for the facility to reduce the amount of out of facility appointments because this has been identified to be a significant challenge concerning the facility staff as well asthe incurrence of extra service delivery costs. Some of the measures that could be undertaken to reduce the need for out of facility services include the provision of discounted prices on the services provided within the facility. This could, in turn, help to ensure that there is a reduced number of patients in need of out of facility treatment.

Organization plan

TENNESSEE, FEMALE CORRECTIONAL FACILITY

To: Tennessee, Female Correctional Facility Administrator

From, Intern, and Case Coordinator

Date: July 26, 2019

Subject: Strategic Organizing and Staffing Planning Process

Dear Administrator,

At this current moment, staff armaments to meet the needs of the out of facility appointments need to be addressed to ensure proper care is being fulfilled.  I propose that the current facilities that we have contracts to make these arrangements with us. A staff meeting will need to help to straighten out the accommodations and lessen the off-site appointment need.

The current process is that we have 300+ offsite appointments each month.  It would be at a cheaper cost and more efficient if we had secured rates for off-site meetings and a more extensive network to choose from.  Also, medical facilities that are willing to offer cheaper rates.

Current off-site appointments and cost:

300+ per month= approximately 3,600 appointments per year (300×12)

Annual per inmate, approximate cost=$4,780

1 inmate x approximate $4,780 x 3,600 approximate appointments per year = 17,208,000

Proposal: This program gives the sheriffs and the county access to a nationwide network of medical providers. While the average savings are 35-40%, this network has provided up to 60% in savings for offsite medical services (Florida Sheriffs Association, n.d.).  This is a Florida program, however, with showing the percentages that were saved, we as a facility can show this to our currently off-site providers and make a negotiation on the best practice for accommodating our prisoners in a humane, inexpensive, time saving and money-saving manner.

This program can work in two ways. One being the prisoners still go off-site to the appointments but can use the savings card method.  The second way being that aftercare has been rendered, we enter into an agreement for the program, called Prime health, and scrub them to reduce and secure a savings rate. The Medical Cost

Another proposal would be for staffing arrangements for in house appointments.  Ensure we have enough staff that is fully qualified in the areas of medical we offer and can decipher which are needed and which are not.  If there are approximately 75 sick slips per day, we, as a facility, need to learn how to accommodate these appointments on an elevated level.  Meaning, a treatment that meets requirements for an appointment in house and doing so with knowledge and medical experience to know when medical attention is required, also saving cost here as well.

75 Approximate sick slips per day x average daily cost to house an inmate at $53.92 x approximate sick slip $100 = $153.92 per 1 inmate x 75 = 11,544 per day.  Tennessee state-appropriated funds can set a reimbursement amount for these costs and should be held accountable for them to lower the cost for sick slips and daily housing, which adds up.

The amount appropriated for reimbursement to counties in the fiscal year 2015 is $37 per inmate per day (County jails shoulder cost of housing state inmates, 2016).  The daily rate paid to counties is based on the County Correctional Incentives Act (TCA 41-8-106), which states “according to the general appropriations act and according to rules and regulations for determining reasonable and allowable costs as promulgated by the department in consultation with the Comptroller of the Treasury ” (County jails shoulder cost of housing state inmates, 2016).

The organizational plan would be to use a framework that works for our facility.  Go with the proposed plans and ask the state for more funding to add the medical gaps we need to save money.  Although taxpayers did pay $50 million to construct this facility, the country needs to step in and have adequate medical for cost-saving and the ability to accommodate scheduled, emergency, and preventive appointments as required.  We need to look at the Florida plan and how they work well, receiving the average savings of 35-40%.

To conclude, we have a beautiful facility with excellent staff.  With the proposals addressed, we can give the most adequate and accommodating lifesaving care possible when we work together.  If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact me.

Care Coordinator

Reference

Florida Sheriffs Association. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://www.flsheriffs.org/law-enforcement-programs/purchasing/inmate-medical-cost-management

County jails shoulder the cost of housing state inmates. (2016, February 4). Retrieved from https://www.tennessean.com/story/opinion/2016/02/04/county-jails-shoulder-cost-housing-state-inmates/79709958/