Health care for inmates questioned
By From staff reports
Published in News on November 14, 2016 10:01 AM
Wayne County is looking to remove itself from having to pay for health care that inmates in the county jail receive at Wayne Memorial Hospital.
Indigent care has been sticking point for commissioners in their dealings with the hospital in recent years after the county was billed for care an inmate received at the hospital.
That contentious issue has played a role in the commissioners' deliberations concerning reduced funding for the hospital's WATCH program.
A 1985 contract transferred all of the assets of what had been a county-owned hospital to the nonprofit organization that now owns and operates the facility.
The contract stipulates that the hospital is responsible for providing indigent care as defined by county commissioners.
The clause does not specifically mention jail inmates.
However, when commissioners meet Tuesday morning they will consider an amendment to the 1985 contract to define that indigent includes "all detainees of the Wayne County Detention Center or detainees of Wayne County in other detention centers except those that are state or federal detainees for which the state or federal government is responsible for their healthcare."
During an earlier board meeting, Chairman Joe Daughtery argued that a person who is in jail, and does not have health insurance or the means to pay for the services, "undoubtedly that is the definition of indigent."
The meeting will get under way with an 8 a.m. agenda briefing followed by the formal session at 9 a.m. in the commissioners' meeting room on the fourth floor of the Wayne County Courthouse Annex.
The hospital is the only one to benefit financially from WATCH since it was created by the hospital to keep patients out of the more costly emergency department, he said.
While there has been no public discussion on the issue, commissioners on several occasions have mentioned during their meetings that negotiations were ongoing with the hospital on the question of indigent care.
In other business, before the board Tuesday is a 9:30 a.m. public hearing on rezoning.
Braswell Ventures, Inc. has asked the county to rezone 13.07 acres at the end of Eagle Place from light industry to residential 15.
The company wants to build an 18-lot single-family residential subdivision.
Also, commissioners will be asked to approve two subdivision plats.
The first is a preliminary plat for Spring Forest, a 148-lot subdivision on Dollard Town Road. The owner/developer is Sasser Home Builders.
The second is a final plat for the first 45 lots in phase one for the Spring Forest subdivision.
The board will consider motions to award bids for:
* Debris clearing and removal services for Hurricane Matthew related construction and reconstruction.
* Disaster management and recovery monitoring services for Hurricane Matthew related construction and reconstruction debris removal.
* Waste removal services at Wayne County facilities.
* Direct digital control system that will allow staff to remotely control HVAC at five county buildings.
Also on the agenda are motions to approve:
* Designating exempt and non-exempt county employees effective Dec. 1. The U.S. Department of Labor administrative regulations will change Dec. 1 regarding the income threshold criteria in the determination of whether an employee can be classified as exempt from the overtime provisions of the Fair Labor Standards Act.
* Subcontracts for the Maxwell Regional Agricultural Center.
Consent agenda items are: Applications for Disabled Veteran Property Tax Exclusion, Elderly or Disabled Property Tax Exclusion and Property Tax Present Use Value; establishing a public hearing for 9:30 a.m. Tuesday, Dec. 5, on the county's proposed Special Events Ordinance; scheduling a meeting of the Wayne County Board of Adjustment at 9:30 a.m. Tuesday, Dec. 5, for public comments on a special use permit request for Hood Solar Farm, LLC, 1185 Mark Edwards Road, Goldsboro; resolution designation of applicant's agent to execute and file applications for federal and/or state assistance; permission to use a state law for the emergency purchase of two chiller units at the courthouse/jail and the appropriate budget amendment; and budget amendments.
The public comments portion of the meeting will start at 9:15 a.m. Speakers will have four minutes to comment on their topic of choice.