REPORT/RECOMMENDATION TO THE BOARD OF SUPERVISORS
OF SAN BERNARDINO COUNTY
AND RECORD OF ACTION
August 22, 2023
FROM
WILLIAM L. GILBERT, Director, Arrowhead Regional Medical Center
SUBJECT
Title
Master Employment Agreements for the Arrowhead Regional Medical Center Office of Research and Grants
End
RECOMMENDATION(S)
Recommendation
1. Approve Master Employment Agreement for the position of Research Coordinator to support the Arrowhead Regional Medical Center, Office of Research and Grants, effective September 1, 2023 through August 31, 2025, with the option to extend the term for a maximum of three successive one-year periods.
2. Approve Master Employment Agreement for the position of Staff Analyst to support the Arrowhead Regional Medical Center, Office of Research and Grants, effective September 1, 2023 through August 31, 2025, with the option to extend the term for a maximum of three successive one-year periods.
3. Authorize the Director of Arrowhead Regional Medical Center to execute the Research Coordinator and Staff Analyst Employment Agreements with individual employees, effective upon the date of execution through August 31, 2025, on behalf of the County, subject to County Counsel review.
4. Authorize the Director of Arrowhead Regional Medical Center to execute amendments to the individual Research Coordinator and Staff Analyst Employment Agreements, with individual employees, to extend the term for a maximum of three successive one-year periods, on behalf of the County, subject to County Counsel review.
(Presenter: William L. Gilbert, Director, 580-6150)
Body
COUNTY AND CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER GOALS & OBJECTIVES
Operate in a Fiscally-Responsible and Business-Like Manner.
Provide for the Safety, Health and Social Service Needs of County Residents.
FINANCIAL IMPACT
Approval of this item will not result in the use of Discretionary General Funding (Net County Cost). The starting hourly rate of $47.27 for the Research Coordinator position, and the starting hourly rate of $36.95 for the Staff Analyst position, are funded by State Medi-Cal, Federal Medicare, private insurances, and other departmental revenue. Funding sources may change in the future pending any legislative activity related to the repeal and/or replacement of the Affordable Care Act. Adequate appropriation and revenue have been included in the Arrowhead Regional Medical Center’s (ARMC) 2023-24 budget and will be included in future recommended budgets.
BACKGROUND INFORMATION
The recommended Master Employment Agreements will allow ARMC to hire a Research Coordinator and a Staff Analyst for ARMC’s Office of Research and Grants. The Office of Research and Grants oversees the research and grant administration for ARMC, and consists of the following five positions: Institutional Review Board Coordinator, Contract Research Program Coordinator, Contract Staff Analyst I, Contract Grant Writer, and Contract Fiscal Specialist. ARMC uses contract positions rather than regular positions as these positions are based on funding from grants, which is variable year to year.
The effective administration of research and grants is critical to ARMC’s operations as a teaching institution. Scholarly activity is a part of the Accreditation Council of Graduate Medical Education (ACGME) requirements for all Graduate Medical Education (GME) programs. An effective Office of Research and Grants ensures resident physicians and faculty have the support necessary need to meet ACGME requirements for ARMC programs.
Recommendation No. 1 will ensure adequate staffing resources to provide proper oversight of the research process and research activities taking place at ARMC by both physicians and resident physicians. Moreover, the position will help ARMC more efficiently manage this growing aspect of the GME Department. The Research Coordinator’s duties include, but are not limited to, developing and maintaining research databases for ongoing and future research, providing education to residents and faculty members on research data extraction and the Institutional Review Board (IRB) approval process for research, and providing technical support for research projects.
Recommendation No. 2 will enable ARMC to manage the millions of dollars in local, state and federal grants that have and will be received by the County on behalf of ARMC, for various areas of operation. ARMC is currently managing more than $30 million dollars in grants and most of the funds are for ARMC’s GME Department or ARMC as a whole, and are not specifically for research. The Staff Analyst’s duties include, but are not limited to, performing monthly audits of grant expenses to ensure compliance with grant agreement stipulations, preparing monthly reports of grant activities by program for the ARMC managers and administrators, preparing grant items presented to the Board of Supervisors, maintaining invoice and grant logs, and monitoring grant documents for accuracy and compliance with federal, state and local policies and practices.
Although Recommendation Nos. 1 and 2 are each for one position, approval of Master Employment Agreements are requested so that future vacancies can be quickly filled to ensure minimal to no disruption in the critical oversight services these positions provide to ARMC.
ARMC recommends approval of these Master Employment Agreements to enable ARMC to operate in a fiscally-responsible and business-like manner through the provision of grant management and procurement support for ARMC’s Office of Research and Grants.
PROCUREMENT
Not applicable.
REVIEW BY OTHERS
This item has been reviewed by County Counsel (Cynthia O’Neill, Principal Assistant County Counsel, 387-5455) on August 11, 2023; Human Resources (Gina King, Assistant Director, 386-8623) on August 8, 2023; ARMC Finance (Chen Wu, Finance and Budget Officer, 580-3165) on August 14, 2023; Finance (Jenny Yang, Administrative Analyst, 387-4884) on August 14, 2023; and County Finance and Administration (Valerie Clay, Deputy Executive Officer, 387-5423) on August 14, 2023.