WellPath works with over 350 detention centers

Photo by Tom Hintgen
The Otter Tail County jail is located next to the county courthouse just south of downtown Fergus Falls.

By Tom Hintgen

Otter Tail County Correspondent

The county board of commissioners, on Aug. 12, renewed an agreement with WellPath as its medical provider to the county jail (detention center) in Fergus Falls. The contract with WellPath was first approved in 2024 after a recommendation from County Sheriff Barry Fitzgibbons.

The goals of WellPath, on behalf of local detention clients, are to improve patient care and clinical quality, reduce cost, mitigate risk of malpractice and litigation and increase operational efficiencies in county jails and other local facilities.

“With our dedicated doctors, nurses, mental health providers and other clinical staff, we work in more than 350 detention facilities around the country,” said a WellPath spokesperson. “We provide our local government partners with a staffed managed care model that implements comprehensive and accredited medical and behavioral healthcare.” 

County board members were informed on Aug. 12 that a nurse works at the county jail all day on Fridays. Mental health care was needed at the county jail following the closure of the Regional Treatment Center in Fergus Falls.