April Public Notice Contest Winner

Proposals sought for detention center medical staffing, admin

By Paxson Haws, The Norman Transcript

The Cleveland County Sheriff’s Office is soliciting proposals for medical staffing and medical administration at the F. Dewayne Beggs Detention Center.

According to the request for quotes published in the public notice section of The Transcript last week, each city and county detention facility in the state is required to provide adequate health care to inmates, including medical, dental and mental health services.

The CCSO and the detention center have faced significant over the past two years following the deaths of several inmates. Five inmates died in custody in 2024; Nicole Deann McComb on Aug. 28; Daniel Edward Freeman on Aug. 25; Thomas Sanchez Pesina on May 4; William Kenneth Moore on April 19. In 2025, there has been one death of an inmate in custody, Jacob Shane Dieball, 27.

The detention center’s current medical provider is Turn Key Health, which has provided services to facilities in Oklahoma and Tulsa County as well as Cleveland County. According to a report by The Marshall Project and The Frontier published in July 2024, at least 50 people in Turn Key’s care have died in the past decade.

According to the contract, Turn Key and the CCSO entered into an agreement for medical staffing and administration on July 1, 2024 and ending June 30, 2025 for the fiscal year. Turn Key has been working with the detention center since at least 2017, when The Transcript reported it was legal for Turn Key partners to donated to Joe Lester’s 2016 campaign for Cleveland County Sheriff while Turn Key was providing services to the detention center.

An amendment to the con-tract, filed on July 8, 2024, stated the CCSO pays Turn Key $130,057.55 on a monthly basis for reimbursement of services.

SIMCO Correctional Consulting, LLC began investigating the rise of deaths at the detention center on Sept. 9, 2024, according to an article from The Transcript last fall. In Oct. 2024, the Cleveland County Board of Commissioners accused Sheriff Chris Amason of not cooperating with the investigation.

Last month, a report from the Oklahoma State Department of Health found “violations across safety, sanitation, and inmate care.” The report was based on a surprise inspection Feb. 4 that found the facility failed to conduct and document hourly visual site checks of all cell areas and did not notify the OSDH of serious inmate injury requiring outside medical treatment.

On Jan. 14, an inmate trans-ported for treatment was not reported to the department and records showed no 2025 injury reports from the facility. The report notes that such a failure “jeopardizes account-ability and timely response to emergencies.”

The report also cited “unsanitary conditions pose health risks to inmates and staff,” floors with “debris and buildup,” female inmates being denied feminine hygiene items, fire safety violations, and poor lighting. The report showed that these staff failures are practices at the detention center.

The RFQ for a medical provider at the detention center opened on April 23 and will close on May 30.
According to the scope of services on the RFQ, the medical provider must com-ply with the standards set by the Oklahoma State Jail Standards Department of State Health Services and the National Commission on Correctional Health.

The provider will be required to develop and implement written policies and procedures for medical and health care services in consultation with the CCSO Chief of Detention and will work together to correct any deficiencies.

Adequate levels of staff, according to the RFQ, include 40 hours a week from a Health Service Administrator, 40 hours for an MD, DO, APRN, 144 hours from an LPN, 24 hours from an LPN/CMA/EMT, 56 hours a week from a CMA and 40 hours from a LMHP. The RFQ also lists a psychiatry-telemedicine professional but does not list a required set of hours per week.

The provider will also per-form pre-booking screenings for inmates upon arrival at the detention center. At a mini-mum, this screening would include listing any current ill-nesses and health problems, including medications and “special health requirements,” behavioral observations with mental status and state of consciousness, notation of body deformities and trauma markings, the condition of skin and visual body orifices, and would refer inmates to qualified medical personnel as needed.

Appointments with a psychiatrist, medical doctor, osteopathic physician, physician’s assistant, registered nurse, or other medical professionals are to be offered to inmates within 48 hours of the request unless immediate action is needed. Inmates are to be informed about the procedure to access medical services by the hired provider, which must be reasonably accessible and posted in “conspicuous places” in the detention center.

In terms of medication, the contractor will provide pharmaceutical management services and provide inmates with prescribed medications as directed by a physician or medical authority. The company should also be trained in the impact of withdrawal symptoms. Detention center staff and the provider will also work together to ensure no prescriptions or over-the-counter medications are kept in inmates’ cells. A description of how the medication is stored be administered to inmates was also included in the RFQ.

The provider will arrange for hospitalization, off-site services and specialty care for inmates.

“However, CCSO retains the right to transport inmates as appropriate and in its own discretion,” the RFQ states.

The provider is required to maintain medical records consistent with state regulations and community standards and initiate and maintain health records of inmates, along with a variety of other medical record requirements.

Proposals will be evaluated on a variety of criteria, including the company’s his-tory, services and credentials, cost-effectiveness, proposed fees and bill rates, biographies of staff and client references.

The contract is set to take effect on July 1.