DATE: February 11, 2025
TO: Board of Supervisors
SUBMITTED BY: Edward Hill, Chief Operating Officer/Interim Director of Internal Services/Chief Information Officer
David Luchini, RN, PHN, Director, Department of Public Health
SUBJECT: Agreement with ElanTech, Inc.
RECOMMENDED ACTION(S):
TITLE
1. Under Administrative Policy No. 34 for competitive bids or requests for proposals (AP 34), determine that an exception to the competitive bidding requirements under AP 34 is satisfied and a suspension of competition is warranted due to unusual or extraordinary circumstances, and that the best interests of the County would be served by entering into an Agreement with ElanTech, Inc. as they are the only vendor that can provide all necessary maintenance, support, and software hosting services for StatusNet911, a hospital status reporting and communication system; and
2. Approve and authorize the Chairman to execute an Agreement with ElanTech, Inc. for maintenance, support, and software hosting services for StatusNet911, a hospital status reporting and communications system, effective February 24, 2025, not to exceed five consecutive years, which includes a three-year base term and two optional one-year extensions, total not to exceed $211,232.
REPORT
There is no additional Net County Cost associated with the recommended actions, which will provide the Department of Public Health - Emergency Medical Services Division (DPH-EMS) with continued maintenance, support, and software hosting services for StatusNet911, a web-based hospital-to-hospital communication system, through vendor ElanTech, Inc. (ElanTech). This item is countywide.
ALTERNATIVE ACTION(S):
Should your Board not approve the recommended actions, DPH-EMS would not have a viable communication method to coordinate hospital resources and facilitate hospital-to-hospital status reporting for day-to-day operations in conjunction with StatusNet911 and the surrounding counties that utilize this software.
SUSPENSION OF COMPETITION/SOLE SOURCE CONTRACT:
It is requested that the County find under AP 34 that an exception to the competitive bidding requirement is satisfied, and a suspension of competition is warranted due to unusual or extraordinary circumstances, as ElanTech, the proprietor of the software, is the only vendor that provides maintenance, support, and hosting for StatusNet911. While alternative software solutions were researched, StatusNet911 remains the most effective software solution as it meets all of the County’s key requirements. Additionally, transitioning to new software would result in increased costs and potential delays in service due to the time and manpower it would take to transition, implement, train staff and convert data between StatusNet911 and a new software solution. As a result, a software transition could negatively impact emergency services throughout the County. The Internal Services Department - Purchasing Division concurs with the Department’s assessment that this satisfies the exception to the competitive bidding process under AP 34.
FISCAL IMPACT:
There is no increase in Net County Cost associated with the recommended actions. The recommended Agreement includes an annual maintenance and support fee of $31,856 for the first year. The vendor may increase annual fees, not more than once per year and upon 30 days’ written notice, which will not exceed the previous year’s fees by the lesser of 5% or the cumulative percentage increase in the Federal Consumer Price Index during the previous year. The maximum compensation for the recommended Agreement is $211,232. Sufficient appropriations and estimated revenues are included in the Department of Public Health’s Org 5620 FY 2024-25 Adopted Budget and will be included in future budget requests for the duration of the recommended Agreement term.
DISCUSSION:
The County has been utilizing StatusNet911 for over 20 years. On February 4, 2020, the Board approved Agreement No. A-20-059 with ElanTech for maintenance, support, and software hosting services for StatusNet 911, which is set to expire on February 23, 2025.
The StatusNet911 system is a real-time status reporting and communications system that is used by hospitals and Emergency Medical Services (EMS) dispatch centers throughout Fresno, Kings, Madera, and Tulare counties. Communication between hospitals is critical during day-to-day operations and multi-casualty events. StatusNet911 is used to alert hospitals of incidents, assign patients to the various hospitals, maintain current status and bed availability at each hospital, advise other hospitals of changes in hospital status, and to issue emergency alerts.
Approval of the recommended action will allow continued maintenance and support of StatusNet911 through ElanTech.
REFERENCE MATERIAL:
BAI #34, February 4, 2020
ATTACHMENTS INCLUDED AND/OR ON FILE:
Suspension of Competition Acquisition Request
On file with Clerk - Agreement with ElanTech
CAO ANALYST:
Amy Ryals