DATE: June 20, 2017
TO: Board of Supervisors
SUBMITTED BY: David Pomaville, Director, Department of Public Health
SUBJECT: Agreement with Health Career Connection for Health Care Management Internship Program
RECOMMENDED ACTION(S):
TITLE
Approve and authorize the Chairman to execute an Agreement with Health Career Connection, for a health care management internship program, effective July 1, 2017 through June 30, 2019 ($0).
REPORT
Approval of the recommended action will permit Health Center Connection (HCC) college junior and senior year students to acquire practical knowledge of health care management through internship opportunities provided within the Department of Public Health. Participation will be completed without monetary compensation and HCC will ensure students possess the required insurance. Department staff will supervise the interns.
ALTERNATIVE ACTION(S):
Should your Board not approve the recommended action, the Department would be unable to offer HCC college students an internship placement in health care management.
FISCAL IMPACT:
There is no increase in Net County Cost associated with the recommended action or monetary compensation under the recommended agreement. If approved, HCC will ensure the interns obtain general, automobile and professional liability insurance, as necessary.
DISCUSSION:
Since 2009, each summer the Department has hosted one to three HCC students for internships that do not involve direct client care. HCC is a national non-profit organization that recruits, screens, and finds internship placements for college students within health care organizations. Over the past eight years, HCC has contracted with the County, making it possible for students to field-train in health care management. Your Board approved Agreement No. 15-267 with HCC for a term of June 16, 2015 to June 30, 2017, for a health care management student internship program.
By providing internship placement opportunities for students in health care management, the Department encourages the students to pursue a career in the field. This opportunity also serves the Department in recruitment efforts for positions considered hard to fill, in recent years the Department has hired two former HCC interns as Health Educators.
There is no cost associated with the recommended agreement. Upon approval by your Board, the agreement will be effective July 1, 2017 through June 30, 2018, and will automatically renew for one additional 12-month period. The agreement deviates from the County standard of a three-year base contract with two one-year extensions due to HCC’s desire to closely monitor the results of each internship assignment. The interns will receive training in privacy, data security and confidentiality requirements pursuant to the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA), Public Law 104-191.
Under the recommended agreement, HCC does not provide Worker’s Compensation coverage for the interns. County Counsel and Risk Management have reviewed the recommended agreement and find it acceptable, with the provision that students are not considered County employees and are not entitled to any County benefits.
HCC will ensure that interns placed with the County will procure and maintain general, automobile, and professional liability insurance, as necessary, at the student’s sole cost and expense, in amounts reasonably necessary to protect the intern against liability arising from any and all negligent acts or incidents caused by the intern.
REFERENCE MATERIAL:
BAI #60, June 16, 2015
ATTACHMENTS INCLUDED AND/OR ON FILE:
On file with Clerk - Agreement with HCC
CAO ANALYST:
Sonia De La Rosa