JSO cuts ties with jail’s healthcare company; signs new contract

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — The Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office says it terminated its contract with its medical care provider after complaints about the care inmates were receiving and repointing about deaths in Duval County jail.

Sheriff T.K. Waters says he’s been looking into this change since November 2022, but waited until Mayor Donna Deegan was sworn into office. 

The family of Dexter Barry say they are relieved the sheriff’s office cut ties with the company but have concern for the one taking its place. 

“We’re glad that the company responsible for killing my father [are] not in partnership with JSO anymore, and obviously [we’re] not too happy about the new incoming company,” Barry’s daughter, Janelle King said.

In November 2022, days after Barry bonded out of the Duval County jail, he was dead. Barry had a heart transplant years before and took anti-rejection medication every day. But, court records show while in custody, Barry received blood pressure and cholesterol medication and not the drug he needed for his heart. King says the autopsy shows he died from cardiac arrest. Armor Health was the jail’s medical provider at the time. 

“We’re going to be waiting for the next death to happen and obviously, if it does happen, there has to be some type of consequence because I know my dad is not the first and he’s probably not going to be the last person that something like this happens to,” King said. 

According to the Tributary, jail deaths tripled after Armor Health took over as the jail’s health care provider in 2017. The Tributary also says that NaphCare has a reputation for poor treatment of inmates that largely mirrors Armor’s. This includes a lawsuit that ended in a 3-million-dollar settlement for the family of a man who died in a Virginia jail in 2015. 

Waters calls the separation from Armor Health an opportunity to move in a new direction and says starting on Sept. 1, NaphCare will take over health care responsibilities at the jail.

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“We’ve done a lot of deep dive into NaphCare,” Waters said. “Hillsborough County actually uses them to this today, they come very highly recommended by them. You can look at any medical facility in North Florida, throughout the state of Florida, and they all have issues. They’ve all had lawsuits, they’ve all had those things. But at some point, you have to look through it very carefully and make sure that you’re making the right decision that I think we did.” 

Deegan says she supports Waters’ decision. 

“He took a look at everything that was happening, all the issues that have happened and I think he made a decision that he felt was in the best interest of the citizens of Jacksonville,” Deegan said. 

Waters says the new contract signed Monday is $110 million for five years. 

“Our contract has things in it to make sure that we are safeguarded, our community [is] safeguard and our inmates are safeguarded,” Waters said.

Waters says he could not specify the conditions within the contract Tuesday. King says if you have a loved one in custody, stay in contact with them. 

“Ask questions, know what’s going on,” King said. “My dad wasn’t able to call us and let us know that he was in jail until he was out. So, I just, we don’t want this to happen to anyone else.” 

Barry’s daughter and the family’s attorney says they are working on preparing to file a lawsuit against Armor Health. First Coast News reached out to both Armor Health and NaphCare Tuesday but did not hear back.