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CLEVELAND, Ohio — Cuyahoga County Council is expected to extend the MetroHealth System’s contract to provide medical care in the jail another five months, giving the county time to finish its search for a potential new vendor and giving MetroHealth more money to increase staffing in the facility. MetroHealth’s current contract expires at the end of the month. But a “yes” vote on the proposed extension – valued at up to $12 million – would keep healthcare in place through March 2026, while officials negotiate a new contract for future years. Council will vote on the extension during Tuesday’s meeting. Vice President Yvonne Conwell previously voted against the extension in committee, citing a lack of details regarding staffing concerns after Greg Huth with the county’s law department told members the extension includes added money to help the hospital hire more medical staff. He indicated the jail facility was currently understaffed. “They haven’t really been staffing at the levels I think we all know should be there, so this would be sure there is enough funding available so they’re able to ramp up that staffing,” Huth said during the meeting. The county has been paying MetroHealth an average of $1.3 million each month for medical services in the jail, records provided by the county show. The five-month extension would increase the amount to $2.5 million per month. The county and MetroHealth have not yet explained where staffing levels are today or where they should be, however. Emailed statements from both entities only note that staffing levels are based on the number of people in the jail, per the contract. Still, the county indicated MetroHealth isn’t meeting their obligation. “We believe increasing on-site medical staffing would better serve residents,” a statement from county spokeswoman Jennifer Ciaccia read, though she also said medical services have not been impacted. Even with the extra funding, Huth has said he does not expect MetroHealth will be able to hire enough clinicians in the short term to spend the full amount. The health system has struggled to keep key positions filled this year. The hospital, for example, was previously asked to hire an overnight doctor in the jail to assess more patients in-house and reduce the number of inmates being transferred to area hospitals for care, which increases county costs. The person was in place only a few weeks, however. MetroHealth said it is currently interviewing candidates for the position, though. “Additional clinical opportunities we are recruiting for include RN, LPN, and Paramedic,” the health system said. A new contract – and provider – in the works? MetroHealth System has been the jail’s medical provider since 2019, when it took over the contract amid a crisis over inmate deaths and poor medical oversight. But the system has since faced its own scrutiny, including wrongful-death lawsuits and concerns over jail services. Several councilmembers have voiced frustration with MetroHealth’s performance and oversight, questioning staffing levels, patient-privacy practices and training. “How do we know that they’re doing a good job?” Councilwoman Meredith Turner asked before MetroHealth’s last extension in January. County officials signaled then that they were open to selecting a new provider in the next contract and noted there were five other entities vying for the business. Officials have since scored those providers and are in the final stages of negotiating a new contract with one of them, which Huth said he hopes to present to council sometime in the new year, before the extension ends. He strongly suggested that those negotiations were happening with MetroHealth, but officials have not confirmed whether the county will ultimately recommend its safety-net hospital to keep the job. MetroHealth referred questions about the contract back to the county. Ciaccia said the RFP process is confidential. “The county will negotiate with the vendor with the best score,” Ciaccia said. “If we are unable to reach agreement, the county can move to the next-highest scoring vendor.”
