REPORT/RECOMMENDATION TO THE BOARD OF SUPERVISORS
OF SAN BERNARDINO COUNTY
AND RECORD OF ACTION
March 29, 2022
FROM
JOSHUA DUGAS, Director, Department of Public Health
SUBJECT
Title
Grant Award Agreement from Heluna Health for Epidemiology and Laboratory Capacity Public Health Laboratory Preparedness Supplemental Funding
End
RECOMMENDATION(S)
Recommendation
1. Accept and approve grant award agreement (Grant Agreement No. 0187.3408) from Public Health Foundation Enterprises, Inc. dba Heluna Health for Epidemiology and Laboratory Capacity Public Health Laboratory Preparedness supplemental funding in the amount of $211,312, to support the Department of Public Health’s laboratory staff training and participation in the COVID-19 testing Continuity of Operations Plan, for the period of July 1, 2021 through July 31, 2022.
2. Designate the Chairman of the Board of Supervisors, Chief Executive Officer, or Director of the Department of Public Health to accept any subsequent non-substantive amendments to the grant award agreement, on behalf of the County, subject to review by County Counsel.
3. Direct the Chairman of the Board of Supervisors, Chief Executive Officer, or Director of the Department of Public Health to transmit all documents in relation to this grant award agreement to the Clerk of the Board of Supervisors within 30 days of execution.
(Presenter: Joshua Dugas, Director, 387-9146)
Body
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 and Stakeholders.
FINANCIAL IMPACT
This item does not impact Discretionary General Funding (Net County Cost). The grant award agreement in the amount of $211,312 from Public Health Foundation Enterprises, Inc. dba Heluna Health (Heluna Health) for the Epidemiology and Laboratory Capacity (ELC) Public Health Laboratory (PHL) Preparedness supplemental funding does not require a local match. Adequate appropriation and revenue have been included in the Department of Public Health’s (DPH) 2021-22 budget and will be included in the 2022-23 recommended budget.
BACKGROUND INFORMATION
The goal of Heluna Health’s ELC PHL Preparedness grant award is to provide supplemental funds to local health jurisdictions in order to support DPH Laboratory staff training and participation in the COVID-19 testing Continuity of Operations Plan (COOP). DPH will utilize the funding to monitor the indicators associated with these activities that are intended to assist State, local, and territorial governments in making data-driven policy decisions regarding testing, mitigation, and prevention efforts. This award supports DPH’s continuous efforts to ensure that not only the laboratory but the laboratory personnel have the capability and adequate training to continue essential functions and services in response to potential emergencies, such as the COVID-19 pandemic.
The ELC PHL Preparedness supplemental funding will allow the DPH Laboratory to:
• Provide Public Health Microbiology (PHM) training to include all of the modules recommended by the California Department of Public Health (CDPH) to prepare for state certification exams for two DPH trainees. Trainees will be approved for PHM training by CDPH Laboratory Field Services (LFS) and vetted by the California Association of Public Health Laboratory Directors (CAPHLD) Training Committee. The DPH Laboratory will then be approved by LFS as a PHL Training Laboratory.
• Provide LabAspire PHL Director Training Fellowship to prepare one County employee Fellow for national board certification exams.
• Participate in CDPH’s COOP to include planning meetings, capacity data, mapping to state collection sites, and agreements for COVID emergency testing, verification of state collection site COVID transport media, and completion of one or more COOP exercise(s) to test the capacity to receive, test, and report state COVID specimens.
On January 19, 2022, the County Administrative Office authorized the submission of a grant application to CDPH via Heluna Health for ELC PHL Preparedness supplemental funding, in the amount of $220,000, for the period of July 1, 2021 through June 30, 2022. Heluna Health was allocated this funding from CDPH to provide local health jurisdiction’s ELC PHL Preparedness supplemental funds in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
On February 24, 2022, DPH received the grant award agreement (Grant Agreement No. 0187.3408) from Heluna Health for the ELC PHL Preparedness supplemental funding, in the amount of $211,312, for the period of July 1, 2021 through July 31, 2022. The amount awarded is less than the proposed application budget with the final budget reflecting overall adjustments to personnel, training, and indirect costs and does not affect the scope of work for this supplemental funding.
This item is being presented at this time, as this is the first available date following the receipt of the grant award agreement and the required operational, fiscal, and legal reviews, completed in March 2022. Approval at this time will not impact DPH 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 March 8, 2022; Finance (Paul Garcia, Administrative Analyst, 386-8392) on March 7, 2022; and County Finance and Administration (Cheryl Adams, Deputy Executive Officer, 388-0238) on March 15, 2022.