Alameda County supervisor says he doesn't want Wellpath to continue serving Santa Rita Jail

OAKLAND, Calif. - A community group presented an idea to some Alameda County supervisors on Thursday to end a contract with a private healthcare company that provides service to Santa Rita Jail and provide that service through Alameda County instead. 

Micky Duxbury, a facilitator with the newly formed Stop Deaths and Harm Group, an offshoot of the Interfaith Coalition for Justice in Our Jails, told the Public Protection Committee about how Santa Clara, Contra Costa, Marin and San Francisco counties provide healthcare in their jails, and urged the supervisors to do the same, instead of using Wellpath, a private equity company based on Tennessee. 

Wellpath has a $250 million, five-year contract with Alameda County that ends in 2027 and Duxbury's group wants the supervisors to start planning now. 

"We want to change the medical provider in our county jail," she said. " We would like the county to pick it up. We don't know who, but we know it needs to change."

Supervisor Nate Miley said that he doesn't think that Wellpath's contract should continue after 2027. 

"I don't want to see an extension," he said. "I really don't."

Miley said he's spoken with county health officials about having Alameda Health Services – the county – come in to manage health care at the jail.

"In the conversations I've had with them, they are more interested and in a better place to entertain that," he said.

Maurice Monk lies half naked in his cell at Santa Rita Jail. He was found dead on Nov. 15, 2021. Photo: Body cam video via Adante Pointer/Lawyers for the People

Alameda County Sheriff Yesenia Sanchez told the committee that she is open to opening the contract up to other providers in two years, but she also said Wellpath should be given a chance to improve.

"I think they have an understanding of what the expectations are now, and we'll see how they perform," she said. 

Wellpath did not respond to a request for comment.

 Supervisor Elisa Marquez suggested hosting a joint meeting between the Public Protection and Health committees in the next four to five weeks to have a thorough review of healthcare services at Santa Rita Jail. That review should include information from the sheriff regarding corrective actions, staffing analysis and data integration. 

The impetus for this change of providers came after KTVU reported a story about Maurice Monk, who was found languishing in his jail cell for three days before deputies and Wellpath staff found him dead on Nov. 15, 2021.

Deputies and Wellpath staff did not perform meaningful checks on Monk in his bunk, and were seen throwing in food and medicine through the slat in his door. 

As a result of Monk's death, nine sheriff's deputies, a behavioral health clinician and a Wellpath nurse have been criminally charged in Monk's death.

All 11 defendants have pleaded not guilty.