PORTLAND – Faculty and students from the University of New England will provide health care to York County Jail inmates under an arrangement that officials say is ideal for both institutions.

The university’s $313,000 bid was accepted Wednesday night by county commissioners in a competitive bidding process. For the past three years, health services at the jail have been provided by Allied Resources for Correctional Health.

Under the university’s proposal, students and faculty members from the College of Health Professions will provide primary medical care to inmates. Other caregivers, such as dental hygienists and substance abuse counselors, also will be available to inmates.

A physician will be on call at all times and will visit the jail at least once a month, said Lt. Col. Michael Vitiello, York County jail superintendent.

“Here is a wonderful … university, with extensive medical programs, right in our back yard,” Vitiello said. “We’re delighted with the opportunity to draw upon their experience.”

Vernon Moore, dean of the College of Health Professions, said that working at the jail will give his students the opportunity to provide a public service and to work with a population of patients they would not ordinarily be able to work with.

All of the faculty and students who will work at the jail will be trained on safety and procedure, he said.

Moore said the university would bring its collaborative approach to practicing medicine to the jail, where different health care services work together in teams to give patients as comprehensive care as possible.

“This is tied into the educational model we use at the college,” he said. “I’m very excited. It’s a good thing for us and for the inmates.”