PHS WILL take over Wyoming

Specialties Correctional

Published

Hello--CMS has been the medical and mental health care provider in the Wyoming DOC for the last several years. I joined CMS in Wyoming in 2003.

Recently, following a request for proposals by the Wyoming DOC, PHS proved to be the sucessful bidder, purportedly for millions of dollars less than CMS proposed. The time table is, as I am told, that PHS will finalize its contract with DOC on May 18, and that CMS's last day under contract will be June 30.

As you might expect, there is a huge amount of apprehension among health care staff at WDOC. The rumor mill gives PHS mixed reviews. Internet research refelcts some bad press for both PHS and PMS. No one on staff knows quite what to expect. I have read the post and replies under PMS HAS TAKEN OVER OUR PRISON, and have found those notes to be quite helpful as to what to expect in benefits.

What I would live to know is what happens next. We are told that once PHS finalizes its contract with WDOC, it will tour each facility interviewing existing CMS employees. What should we expect? Will they attempt to downsize staff? Will they pressure employees in closed door sessions to accept a reduction in wages or salaries? What will be their stategy in approaching employees, move by move?

If there is anyone out there who has been through the process of a changeover to PHS, I would be grateful if you would share your experience.

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I have no idea how PHS will affect Wyoming. I use to work at the pen when Wexford was in charge. All I can say is "Good Luck." and wish you all the best. :)

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C'mon folks. Someone must be working for PHS. Please give your opinion and your experiences with PHS. Thanks :chuckle

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I have no idea how PHS will affect Wyoming. I use to work at the pen when Wexford was in charge. All I can say is "Good Luck." and wish you all the best. :)

I worked for Wexford from 1999 to 2003, how would you compare them to other vendors you have worked for?

I am considering a traveling position in corrections only, has anyone done this and if so how was it.

I have heard bad things about PHS in IL, they and CMS were kicked out for underbidding........sound familiar?

Just curious about other folks experiences.

Thanks,

Graybar

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I worked for Wexford from 1999 to 2003, how would you compare them to other vendors you have worked for?

I am considering a traveling position in corrections only, has anyone done this and if so how was it.

I have heard bad things about PHS in IL, they and CMS were kicked out for underbidding........sound familiar?

Just curious about other folks experiences.

Thanks,

Graybar

I've only worked for Wexford and Prime Care. I thought Wexford was OK. I didn't like Prime Care. Everytime I would call the main Prime Care office to ask questions they always said they would return my calls and never did. I thought they were very rude and I would not work for Prime Care again.

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So did PHS finalize the contract on the 18th?

Just wondering...

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It didn/t happen on the 18th, but it did happen yesterday. They are not here today, but we expect them to appear next week. None of us know what else to expect.

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Specializes in LTC, Psych, M/S.

Just out of curiosity, how is the nurse staffing in that (prison) facility? I am originally from wyoming and I remember the huge 'help wanted' ads in all the newspapers of the surrounding towns put there by the prison in their quest to recruit nurses. It looked like they were pretty desperate! Maybe things have gotten better. Hope everything turns out okay for you.

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i too am from wyoming. i had friends who worked at wsp through nurses usa. they said the work was okay...but then again they were not employees of cms. when i left wy last year, they were still desperate for help. i was being unsuccessfully recruited at the time of my departure....:mad: i currently am employed with csc, working in az. we are now going through administrative changes. i am not familiar with phs.

just out of curiosity, how is the nurse staffing in that (prison) facility? i am originally from wyoming and i remember the huge 'help wanted' ads in all the newspapers of the surrounding towns put there by the prison in their quest to recruit nurses. it looked like they were pretty desperate! maybe things have gotten better. hope everything turns out okay for you.
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I worked at the pen when Wexford was in charge. They were always desperate for help. The last I heard about the pen was that most of the nurses were traveler nurses. I heard that no one wanted to stay at the pen because of the hostile work environment. :o

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Wyocowboy. Please update us on the situation at the pen. Thanks :)

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Wyocowboy. Please update us on the situation at the pen. Thanks :)

Thank you for your interest. PHS personnel have been of site on two occasions. The first one was sometime in the 4th week of May, when, upon 15 minutes notice, late in the day, a delegation of 3 went over their company benefits and left application packets for us to fill out. About two weeks later, a VP came in to interview each of us. I liked him and my interview went well, but I am still suspicious about the company. There were promisies of offers to be mailed to each of us, which are now overdue. It makes me wonder if they intend to put bad news in the offer letters, wait to deliver them until the last minute before the end of the CMS contract (June 30), and be prepared to bring in visitors to work temporarily if we all leave. Things do seem to be stable with nursing staff for the moment, but that could change quickly with the large percentage of contract nurses we have. However, the mental health staff is very unstable as far as continuing employemt with PHS. The mental health director, a psychologist, has already taken a postiion with CMS in another part of the county. A senior LCSW and one of the psych nurses are probably going to do likewise. Three mental health counselors and another LCSW are, I think, looking for other jobs. The atmosphere is volitile; there have been some ugly fights between workers of various types. To make things worse, there seems to be instability among DOC security officers. They are grossly understaffed, the inmates seem tense, and I worry about whether I am working in a safe place. If you look at the timing of this post, you will get an idea of what my sleep pattern is like.

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