HORRY COUNTY, SC (WMBF) - Medical services for inmates at the J. Reuben Long Detention Center cost Horry County $2.5 million in 2018.
The county contracted with Mediko, a private health care company, to provide everything from doctors’ visits to medications to coordinating outside specialty services and clinics.
The company provides 18 medical staff members as well as a 24-hour nurse at the center.
Johnson explained the center would have to pay the company additional fees if the inmate population exceeds 800.
Horry County paid Mediko $209,000 each month this year, according to its check registry.
Mediko began its contract in 2017. Prior to Mediko, Horry County paid around $154,000 a month to Southern Health Partners for similar services, according to the county’s check registry.
Johnson explained the center selected Mediko from submitted proposals based on the staffing it was willing to provide for the cost proposal.
Years ago, county staff members provided medical services.
The center is required by state law to provide and fund these services.
“We don’t want anything to happen to the inmates in our facility and if it was my child in this facility, I would want them to receive the necessary medical care to keep them safe as I would hope anyone would. So it’s not just a requirement; it’s what we need to do,” Johnson said.
He added if you spread the $2.5 million across the 1,600 inmates booked annually, services for each inmate equate to $150 a year.
The funds for medical services are drawn from the detention center’s annual budget, which Johnson said is funded by property taxes.
Mediko’s contract accounted for nearly 10 percent of the center’s $24 million budget in 2018.
The center’s budget is estimated to rise by nearly $2 million for the 2019 fiscal year.
The county also anticipates around 1,500 more inmates will be evaluated by doctors and nurses.