BY ANDREW FAISON/CONTRIBUTING WRITER
andrew.faison@tidewaternews.com

CAPRON—Corizon Health will be providing health care services to Deerfield Correctional Center, said Virginia Department of Corrections Director of Communications Lisa Kinney.

“Deerfield is not being sold or privatized,” Kinney explained. “We’ve been providing health care services to offenders through private contracts at several of our facilities.”

Corizon will hopefully hire staff already working at the correction facilities.

“In other states where Corizon assumed health care responsibilities, approximately 97-99 percent of the positions were filled by eligible employees currently working in the system,” said Corizon spokesperson Courtney Eller.

In an effort to control health care costs, VDOC will be using Corizon at other facilities to deliver comprehensive medical, mental health, pharmacy and support services to approximately 15,000 inmates across Virginia.

“Our staff on the ground provided outstanding service when we last worked with the Virginia DOC from 2006 to 2011, and that went a long way in allowing us this new opportunity,” said Stuart Campbell, President & Chief Operating Officer of Corizon. “We look forward to working again with the DOC to deliver quality health care in Virginia.”

Corizon was awarded the new two-year health care contract with the Virginia Department of Corrections following a competitive bid process. Set to begin May 1, the contract also includes five optional one-year extensions.

“Our employees at Corizon are committed every day to providing outstanding service to our patients and clients,” said Rich Hallworth, Corizon’s Chief Executive Officer. “I am proud that we continue to deliver exceptional results in this demanding marketplace, and we look forward to doing so again in Virginia.”

With its corporate headquarters in Brentwood, Tenn., and the operational headquarters in St. Louis, Mo., Corizon currently serves more than 305,100 inmates at 338 correctional facilities in 29 states, with focuses on managing both acute and chronic conditions.