A major jail-health contractor based in Miami has lost its contract with Pinellas County Sheriff’s Office based on concerns about delays in inmates' access to care.
On Tuesday, Sheriff Bob Gualtieri explained that there were concerns between jail management and the staff of Armor Correctional Health Services, which has staffed the jail since November, according to the Tampa Bay Times.
Armor had had problems in Tampa Bay area jails in the past. In May 2012, Allen Daniel Hicks Sr. was arrested in Hillsborough County and booked into the Orient Road jail without a medical screening. Doctors at Tampa General Hospital later concluded Hicks had suffered a stroke just prior to his arrest. He died three months later. The Hillsborough Sheriff’s Office and Armor agreed to pay Hicks’ family in wrongful-death settlements.