DATE: May 3, 2022
TO: Board of Supervisors
SUBMITTED BY: David Luchini, RN, PHN, Director, Department of Public Health
SUBJECT: Agreements for the Advancing Health Literacy Intervention Program
RECOMMENDED ACTION(S):
TITLE
1. Approve and authorize the Chairman to execute an Agreement with Avenal Community Health Center dba, Aria Community Health Center, to promote community health support and to provide health intervention activities for implementation of Fresno County’s Advancing Health Literacy Intervention Program, effective May 3, 2022 through June 30, 2023, total not to exceed $500,198.
2. Approve and authorize the Chairman to execute an Agreement with Reedley Community Hospital dba, Adventist Health Reedley, to promote community health support and to provide health intervention activities for implementation of Fresno County’s Advancing Health Literacy Intervention Program, effective May 3, 2022 through June 30, 2023, total not to exceed $500,000.
REPORT
There is no additional Net County Cost associated with the recommended actions, both of which will help address the health literacy needs of residents on the west side of the County of Fresno through a variety of outreach and education intervention strategies. These contracted services are part of the newly formed Fresno County Advancing Health Literacy Intervention Program. Funding for this program comes from the Advancing Health Literacy to Enhance Equitable Community Responses to COVID-19 grant received from the United States Department of Health and Human Services, Office of the Assistant Secretary for Health. This pertains to Districts 1 and 4.
ALTERNATIVE ACTION(S):
If the recommended actions are not approved, the County may have to issue another Request for Proposal (RFP), which would result in a delay in implementing Fresno County’s Advancing Health Literacy Intervention Program to provide health support services and health intervention activities to residents of rural communities in west Fresno County.
FISCAL IMPACT:
There is no increase in Net County Cost associated with the recommended actions. The recommended agreements are fully funded with the Advancing Health Literacy to Enhance Equitable Community Responses to COVID-19 federal grant. The total cost for the first recommended agreement with Avenal Community Health Center dba, Aria Community Health Center (Aria) is $109,942 for FY 2021-22 and $390,256 for FY 2022-23; $500,198 for the term. The total cost for the second recommended agreement with Reedley Community Hospital dba, Adventist Health Reedley (Adventist) is $56,175 for FY 2021-22 and $443,825 for FY 2022-23; $500,000 for the term.
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 July 13, 2021, your Board approved the Advancing Health Literacy to Enhance Equitable Community Responses to COVID-19 grant from the Office of the Assistant Secretary for Health from the United States Department of Health and Human Services. The goal of the grant is to improve health literacy of the community using intervention activities which include recruiting, training, and deploying community health workers (CHW) to provide outreach and education to residents of rural communities in west Fresno County regarding COVID-19 testing, vaccination, chronic conditions, communicable diseases, as well as other social determinants of health. The target population includes Latino/a residents living in rural communities in west Fresno County with some emphasis on those employed in the agricultural industry. Implementation of the Advancing Health Literacy scope of work activities will enable the County to achieve these four overarching goals:
1. Identify, modify, or create health education materials that are culturally relevant and at the appropriate reading level for the target population. Materials will be related to COVID-19, other chronic diseases and social determinants of health.
2. Identify trusted messengers to work in the target communities to deliver health messages and materials, and to refer members of the target population to appropriate services to remove barriers to health literacy.
3. Improve the health literacy of residents of rural communities in west Fresno County.
4. Address risk factors for COVID-19 related health disparities.
On November 8, 2021, the Department released RFP #22-025 for qualified vendors to provide health intervention activities for implementation of Fresno County’s Advancing Health Literacy Intervention Program, which includes recruiting, training, and deploying community health workers to achieve the goals listed above. Noted in the RFP, at least one of the vendors was required to be a federally qualified health center (FQHC) or Rural Health Center (RHC). The response period closed on December 3, 2021 with proposals received from two community-based organizations, neither were FQHCs or RHCs. The Department obtained permission from the Fresno County Internal Services Department Purchasing Division to approach both rural and federally qualified health centers to fulfill the grant’s partnership requirements. To increase the program’s reach, the Department chose to pursue more than one health center operating in the targeted area.
Subsequently, both Aria and Adventist were selected as clinical partners to provide health literacy services to residents. As a part of the agreement, Aria and Adventist will both recruit and train CHWs to work with patients in the clinical setting to identify barriers relating to health literacy. Once identified, barriers will be addressed through outreach activities, education, and coordination with healthcare providers to increase patient and provider communication.
Approval of the recommended agreements will allow the Department to partner with Aria and Adventist to improve the health literacy of residents of rural communities in west Fresno County, with an emphasis on agricultural workers.
REFERENCE MATERIAL:
BAI #43, July 13, 2021
ATTACHMENTS INCLUDED AND/OR ON FILE:
On file with Clerk - Agreement with Aria
On file with Clerk - Agreement with Adventist
CAO ANALYST:
Ron Alexander