DATE: December 14, 2021
TO: Board of Supervisors
SUBMITTED BY: David Luchini, RN, LVN, Director, Department of Public Health
SUBJECT: Agreements for the Collaborating for Wellness Program
RECOMMENDED ACTION(S):
TITLE
1. Make a finding that it is in the best interest of the County to suspend the competitive bidding process consistent with Administrative Policy No. 34 for unusual or extraordinary circumstances as Omni Family Health is one of the two recipients of the 2021 Supplemental Funding for Hypertension award through the Department of Health and Human Services Health Resources and Services Administration located in California, with clinic sites in the County that have an existing hypertension program in place; and
2. Approve and authorize the Chairman to execute an Agreement with Omni Family Health for improving prevention and management of heart disease and stroke, effective upon execution through September 29, 2023, which includes one optional one-year extension, total not to exceed $350,000; and
3. Make a finding that is in the best interest of the County to suspend the competitive bidding process consistent with Administrative Policy No. 34 for unusual or extraordinary circumstances as Aria Community Health Center is one of the two recipients of the 2021 Supplemental Funding for Hypertension award through the Department of Health and Human Services Health Resources and Services Administration located in California, with clinic sites in the County that have an existing hypertension program in place; and
4. Approve and authorize the Chairman to execute an Agreement with Aria Community Health Center for improving prevention and management of heart disease and stroke, effective upon execution through September 29, 2023, which includes one optional one-year extension, total not to exceed $375,762.
REPORT
There is no Net County Cost associated with the recommended actions which will allow Omni Family Health (Omni) and Aria Community Health Center (Aria) to begin services that improve the prevention and management of heart disease and stroke immediately. Services will be funded with the Department of Public Health’s (Department) existing Collaborating for Wellness Grant provided through the Department of Health and Human Services, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Notice of Funding Opportunity DP18-1817. This item is countywide.
ALTERNATIVE ACTION(S):
If your Board does not approve the recommended actions, the Department will be required to identify another eligible use for the funds before grant deadlines, which will delay critical services to improve the prevention and management of heart disease and stroke.
SUSPENSION OF COMPETITION/SOLE SOURCE CONTRACT:
The Department’s request to suspend the competitive bidding process is consistent with Administrative Policy No. 34 as both Omni and Aria are uniquely qualified to provide the services to improve the health of County residents at high risk for heart disease. Both centers are local, federally qualified health care (FQHC) centers, with on-going hypertension programs started, that are federally funded through the Department of Health and Human Services, Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA). The recommended Collaborating for Wellness hypertension program will compliment, not duplicate, the current blood pressure improvement programs each FQHC has in place. Based on this information, letters of interest were not necessary. The Internal Services Department - Purchasing Division concurs with the Department’s request to suspend the competitive bidding process for both vendors.
FISCAL IMPACT:
There is no increase in Net County Cost associated with the recommended actions. The total cost for the recommended agreement with Omni is $190,000 for FY 2021-22; $350,000 for the term. The total cost for the recommended agreement with Aria is $188,886 for FY 2021-22; $375,762 for the term. The services will be funded with an existing Collaborating for Wellness grant provided through the CDC NOFO no. DP18-1817, entitled Innovative State and Local Public Health Strategies to Prevent and Manage Diabetes and Heart Disease and Stroke. Sufficient appropriations and estimated revenues are included in the Department’s Org 5620 FY 2021-22 Adopted Budget and will be included in subsequent budget requests.
DISCUSSION:
On February 26, 2019, your Board approved the five-year Cooperative Agreement Award with the CDC for Disease Control and Prevention’s Innovative State and Local Public Health Strategies to Prevent and Manage Diabetes and Heart Disease and Stroke to improve prevention and management of heart disease and stroke through implementation of six clinic-based strategies and promoting opportunities for community clinical linkages in high-burden populations.
Omni and Aria have on-going hypertension programs funded through HRSA to engage patients who have uncontrolled hypertension to use self-measured blood pressure devices to collect blood pressure readings. The Collaborating for Wellness hypertension program will compliment, not duplicate, the current blood pressure improvement programs each FQHC has in place now. To ensure the program succeeds in its goal of providing services and building systems to improve the health of County residents at high risk for heart disease, both Omni and Aria will:
• Identify and implement protocols to better identify patients that are currently undiagnosed or who have uncontrolled hypertension using electronic health records.
• Engage non-physician team members, including pharmacists and patient navigators/CHWs and other clinical staff, in hypertension and cholesterol management for target population by promoting self-management programs, promoting medication therapy management, referring to cardiac rehabilitation and referring to community interventions that improve blood pressure control.
• Track de-identified patient data through a set of performance measures to ensure overall improvements in blood pressure control are recorded and that patient successes are documented to build the case for sustainability in hypertension control measures across clinic sites for both health systems.
Upon approval by your Board, the programs will be effective through September 29, 2023. The recommended agreements can be terminated without cause by County, Contractor or Department Director, or designee, upon 30-days advance written notice of an intention to terminate the agreement.
REFERENCE MATERIAL:
BAI #48, February 26, 2019
ATTACHMENTS INCLUDED AND/OR ON FILE:
Suspension of Competition Form E-PD-048 - Omni and Aria
On file with Clerk - Agreement with Omni
On file with Clerk - Agreement with Aria
CAO ANALYST:
Ron Alexander