REPORT/RECOMMENDATION TO THE BOARD OF SUPERVISORS
OF THE COUNTY OF SAN BERNARDINO
AND RECORD OF ACTION
June 13, 2023
FROM
JOSHUA DUGAS, Director, Department of Public Health
SUBJECT
Title v
Amendment to Grant Award from the United States Department of Health and Human Services, Health Center Program - American Rescue Plan Act Funding for Health Centers
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RECOMMENDATION(S)
Recommendation
1. Approve Amendment No. 1 to Contract No. 21-308 (Grant Award No. 6 H8FCS40967-01-01) with the United States Department of Health and Human Services, Health Resources and Services Administration for Health Center Program - American Rescue Plan Act Funding for Health Centers for a reallocation of budget line items to reflect actual budget expenditures, with no change to the original award amount of $2,861,750 or period of April 1, 2021 through March 31, 2024.
2. Approve Amendment No. 2 to Contract No. 21-308 (Grant Award No. 4 H8FCS40967-01-02) with the United States Department of Health and Human Services, Health Resources and Services Administration for Health Center Program - American Rescue Plan Act Funding for Health Centers to extend the budget period end date from March 31, 2023 to March 31, 2024, an extension with no change to the original award amount of $2,861,750.
3. Designate the Chair of the Board of Supervisors, Chief Executive Officer, or Director of the Department of Public Health to accept and approve any subsequent non-substantive amendments in relation to the grant awards (Grant Award Nos. 6 H8FCS40967-01-01 and 4 H8FCS40967-01-02), on behalf of the County, subject to review by County Counsel.
4. Direct the Chair of the Board of Supervisors, Chief Executive Officer, or Director of the Department of Public Health to transmit all non-substantive amendments in relation to the grant awards (Grant Award Nos. 6 H8FCS40967-01-01 and 4 H8FCS40967-01-02) to the Clerk of the Board of Supervisors within 30 days of execution.
(Presenter: Joshua Dugas, Director, 387-9146)
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COUNTY AND CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER GOALS & OBJECTIVES
Provide for the Safety, Health and Social Service Needs of County Residents.
Pursue County Goals and Objectives by Working with Other Agencies.
FINANCIAL IMPACT
This item does not impact Discretionary General Funding (Net County Cost). Approval of the grant award notices received from the United States Department of Health and Human Services, Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) for Health Center Program - American Rescue Plan Act for Health Centers (Health Center Program) are for a reallocation of budget between line items to reflect actual expenditures of the previously awarded funds, with no change to the total award amount of $2,861,750, and an extension of the budget period end date by one year. Adequate appropriation and revenue will be included in the Department of Public Health’s (DPH) 2023-24 recommended budget.
BACKGROUND INFORMATION
HRSA provides funding to Local Health Jurisdictions (LHJs) for the delivery of comprehensive primary health care services to defined service areas and patient populations. The Health Center Program grant is one-time funding provided to LHJs to support COVID-19 prevention activities. During the grant award period, the high demand for clinical support staff created challenges in recruiting for both County and agency positions, which delayed initial spend down. Staffing has been identified as a high dollar allocation which supports major components of the targeted grant activities. Subsequent budget reallocation to increase expenditures to support clinical staffing (providers and nurses) have been made.
DPH will continue to use the grant award funds in alignment with the Health Center Program activities that include: 1) Planning, preparing, promoting, distributing, administering, and tracking COVID-19 vaccines; 2) Detecting, diagnosing, tracing, monitoring, and mitigating the spread of COVID-19 infections including purchasing equipment or supplies to meet these objectives; 3) Purchasing COVID-19 vaccination supplies to support administration of updated booster vaccines; 4) Hiring additional staff to support COVID-19 outreach, vaccination, testing and treatment; 5) Expanding enabling services to increase access to care and address social determinants of health and other risk factors that may have been exacerbated by the COVID-19 Pandemic; 6) Assessing needs and developing interventions to support staff well-being related to burnout and recovery, productivity, and professional fulfillment; and 7) Conduct community outreach and education activities related to COVID-19.
On May 4, 2021 (Item No. 43), the Board of Supervisors (Board) approved Grant Award No. 1H8FCS40967-01-00 (County Contract No. 21-308) from HRSA in the amount of $2,861,750, for the Health Center Program grant to support COVID-19 prevention activities, for the period of April 1, 2021 through March 31, 2023.
On July 25, 2022, DPH received an award notice (Grant Award No. 6 H8FCS40967-01-01) from HRSA for a reallocation of budget line items to reflect actual budget expenditures, with no change to original funds awarded.
On April 11, 2023, DPH received an award notice (Grant Award No. 4 H8FCS40967-01-02) from HRSA to extend the budget period end date from March 31, 2023 to March 31, 2024, an extension with no change to original funds awarded.
This item is being presented at this time, as this is the first available date following the required operational, fiscal, and legal reviews. Approval by the Board at this time will not impact DPH’s Health Center Program services or activities.
PROCUREMENT
N/A
REVIEW BY OTHERS
This item has been reviewed by County Counsel (Adam Ebright, Deputy County Counsel, 387-5455) on May 23, 2023; Finance (Paul Garcia, Administrative Analyst, 386-8392) on May 23, 2023; and County Finance and Administration (Cheryl Adams, Deputy Executive Officer, 388-0332) on May 25, 2023.Title EndRecommendationBody