County Postpones Vote on Inmate Mental Health Services Contract

The county’s process to hire a new health service provider to take over for Corizon Health in December is getting complicated.

Corizon currently provides health services to all jail inmates in El Paso County.

County commissioners want University of Texas Medical (UTM) to take over health services and the locally-based Emergence Health Care (EHN) to provide mental health coverage.

Monday, commissioners learned Emergence will not be ready on time and UTM would have to provide mental health services until Emergence is ready.

The revelation had commissioners questioning why Emergence was still being considered for a portion of the $7.6 million contract.

County Judge Veronica Escobar told ABC-7 it is important to hire a provider that can eventually provide a wider range of services.

“The more innovative range of services we want to purchase will hopefully, in the future, prevent the (county) jail from being a revolving door for mentally ill inmates,” said Escobar. “That’s going to take some additional time for EHN to ramp up and prepare for.”

Commissioners court voted to postpone action on the new contract for a week.