State lines up psychiatrists for prisoners
Source: BY CHARLIE FRAGO, Arkansas Democrat & Gazette, Tuesday, July 25, 2006
Providing psychiatric care to prison inmates will no longer be a state job after the Board of Corrections decided Monday to hire a private medical contractor to staff the position. The move came after two psychiatrists gave notice of their resignation recently, leaving the Department of Correction with just three part-time practitioners for about 13, 500 inmates. ....... Monday’s unanimous vote authorizes an expansion of the department’s $ 43 million contract with Correctional Medical Services Inc. by $ 1, 385, 000. The St. Louis-based company is in the third year of a 10-year contract with the Correction Department to provide medical services to inmates.