JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – This week, the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office announced it is terminating a $98 million contract with inmate healthcare provider Armor Health less than a year into the five-year contract. The termination letter obtained by News4JAX details the reasons why.
In the termination letter signed Monday, Undersheriff Shawn Coarsey said Armor breached its contract because it failed to maintain accreditation with the National Commission on Correctional Health Care, failed to meet reporting requirements, failed to comply with Florida’s Public Records Act and failed to disclose its criminal conviction.
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Sheriff T.K. Waters said he learned the company had been found guilty in connection to a Wisconsin inmate’s death from the I-TEAM’s reporting.
This comes after a flurry of controversy following the death of Dexter Barry. He was a 54-year-old heart transplant recipient taken to jail on a misdemeanor in November. Armor then failed for days to provide medication to prevent his body from rejecting his heart. He died soon after he left the jail.
Armor has disputed that the lack of medication led to Barry’s death. It said they ordered the meds but they didn’t arrive by the time he was released.
The termination letter also says the given reasons aren’t a comprehensive list of Armor’s shortcomings.
Armor will continue to provide healthcare at the jail until Sept. 1, when new contractor NaphCare will take over.