DATE: August 9, 2016
TO: Board of Supervisors
SUBMITTED BY: David Pomaville, Director, Department of Public Health
SUBJECT: Amendment to Agreement with Health Monitoring Systems, Inc.
RECOMMENDED ACTION:
TITLE
Approve and authorize the Chairman to execute Amendment II to Agreement No. 11-006 with Health Monitoring Systems, Inc., a two-year extension and an increase of $20,500, for participation in a real-time public health surveillance system, effective August 18, 2016 through August 17, 2018 ($77,200).
REPORT
Approval of the recommended action will enable the Department of Public Health to continue monitoring potential disease outbreaks in the Community Medical Centers, St. Agnes, Adventist Medical Centers and Fresno Kaiser Permanente Hospital network of emergency rooms (Healthcare Systems) through the Health Monitoring Systems, Inc. (HMS) EpiCenter bio-surveillance system. The proposed Amendment will allow County epidemiologists to continue syndromic surveillance pursuant to the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA), Public Law 111-148, Section 3003. The two-year extension, funded with Public Health Emergency Preparedness funds, will also allow continued use of the EpiCenter bio-surveillance system while a new no cost syndromic surveillance system is tested and evaluated. This new system will result in no increase in Net County Cost.
ALTERNATIVE ACTION(S):
Should your Board not approve the recommended action, the County epidemiologists would not have access to important emergency room data which currently allows them to target certain disease syndromes that are of interest to public health, including neurological, flu-like and rash-like symptoms. The surveillance allows epidemiologists to combine emergency room data with data retrieved through other sources in the detection of new disease syndromes and their potential impact to County residents. Additionally, without the recommended Amendment, the County would not be compliant with the ...
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