Wellpath, the healthcare company contracted to provide medical assistance within Shelby County's jails and corrections center, said it would permanently end operations in Memphis.
The company filed a WARN notice with the Tennessee Department of Labor and Workforce Development on Aug. 4. The notice said 119 employees would be affected by the closures.
According to the notice, Wellpath said it was "notifying the agency of a permanent closure" that takes effect Sept. 30 this year.
It said the Shelby County Division of Corrections (located at 1045 Mullins Station Rd.), the women's jail at Jail East (located at 6201 Haley Rd.), the Shelby County Youth Justice and Education Center (located at 3420 Old Getwell Rd.), and the main jail at 201 Poplar Ave.
would be affected by the closure.
The Shelby County Sheriff's Office, which oversees both 201 Poplar and Jail East, declined to comment on the departure, saying the medical contract is overseen by Shelby County Mayor Lee Harris' office.
A spokesperson for Harris' office told The Commercial Appeal Wellpath "chose not to renew its contract with the county. It has agreed to stay on for a transition to a new vendor." The spokesperson also said the administration expects a new medical provider will be working with the county by the end of September.
Changes to come amid county government shifts
Wellpath's departure from Shelby County will come less than a month after a swath of turnover within Shelby County government. The Shelby County Commission is slated to elect some new members; there will be a new sheriff and, perhaps most notably, a new mayor will be overseeing the county.
Wellpath has been a target of constant criticism within Shelby County's penal system. Members of the Shelby County Commission have said the company provides inadequate care, and the company has been named in multiple lawsuits after inmates have died within the jail.
As Harris and outgoing Sheriff Floyd Bonner Jr. traded barbs over the deteriorating conditions inside 201 Poplar, Bonner criticized Harris for renewing Wellpath's contract with the county.
Most recently, a lawsuit filed in federal court sued a number of jail medical staffers and named Wellpath as a defendant, alleging jail security and medical staff violated Rockez McDaniel's civil rights. McDaniel became unresponsive at the jail after allegedly being pepper-sprayed multiple times and strapped to a chair in July 2025.
According to the lawsuit, jail staff did not remove McDaniel's restraints to provide medical aid before paramedics arrived at the jail.
Wellpath is the largest for-profit provider of medical care to governments around the United States.
Lucas Finton covers crime, policing, jails, the courts and criminal justice policy for The Commercial Appeal. He can be reached by phone or email: (901)208-3922 and Lucas.Finton@commercialappeal.com, and followed on X @LucasFinton.
This article originally appeared on Memphis Commercial Appeal: Shelby County Jail's medical provider to stop serving Memphis
