Mayor asks private prison firm to pay for scabies care

Friday, June 23, 2017, Vol. 41, No. 25

NASHVILLE (AP) — Nashville Mayor Megan Barry is asking a private prison company to cover out-of-pocket costs for city employees affected by a scabies outbreak at a jail.

The Tennessean reports that Barry's letter to CoreCivic CEO Damon Hininger also asks the company for corrective plans.

CoreCivic, previously known as Corrections Corporation of America, operates the Metro-Davidson County Detention Facility, where at least 52 inmates received treatment for scabies symptoms and at least 16 court workers contracted it.

CoreCivic spokesman Jonathan Burns says the Nashville-based company is open to Barry's request.

Barry has said a review is ongoing over whether the outbreak breaches the company's five-year, $100 million contract.

The outbreak has spurred lawsuits, saying officials knew about the outbreak for months but threatened inmates with solitary confinement if they mentioned it.