REPORT/RECOMMENDATION TO THE BOARD OF SUPERVISORS
OF SAN BERNARDINO COUNTY
AND RECORD OF ACTION
April 23, 2024
FROM
WILLIAM L. GILBERT, Director, Arrowhead Regional Medical Center
SUBJECT
Title
Amendment to Contract with Next Gen Neuro, LLC for Remote Electroencephalography Monitoring and Related Services
End
RECOMMENDATION(S)
Recommendation
Approve Amendment No. 2 to Contract No. 23-148 with Next Gen Neuro, LLC for electroencephalography monitoring and related services, extending the term of the contract for an additional six months, for a total contract term of February 28, 2023 through October 26, 2024 with no change to the not-to-exceed contract amount of $611,520.
(Presenter: William L. Gilbert, Director, 580-6150)
Body
COUNTY AND CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER GOALS & OBJECTIVES
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 cost of $611,520 is 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 (ARMC) 2023-24 budget and will be included in the 2024-25 recommended budget.
BACKGROUND INFORMATION
This Amendment will extend the contract term of Contract No. 23-148 with Next Gen Neuro, LLC (Next Gen) for an additional six months to give ARMC additional time to complete a competitive solicitation process. The Amendment will allow ARMC to continue to receive real time remote electroencephalography monitoring and related services during the six months.
Electroencephalography monitoring services are needed to prevent the transfer of patients to other facilities, which delays critical patient care, when the continuum of care requires continuous brain monitoring. These services also include interpreting seizure activity or potential seizure risks without the need for the ARMC care team to be stationed continuously at the bedside.
On February 28, 2023 (Item No.15), the Board of Supervisors (Board) approved Contract No. 23-148 with Next Gen, for the provision of remote real-time continuous electroencephalography monitoring and related services for critically ill patients, in the total not-to-exceed amount of $611,520, for the period of February 28, 2023 through April 27, 2024.
On November 14, 2023 (Item No. 14), the Board approved Amendment No. 1 to Contract No. 23-148 with Next Gen to update the payment terms to Net 30 days with no other changes.
PROCUREMENT
On February 28, 2023 (Item No.15), the Board approved a non-competitive procurement due to time constraints, as the hospital needed to implement crucial services as soon as possible. ARMC solicited 3 quotes from Next Gen, Corticare, and IntraNerve Neuroscience, and determined that Next Gen best supported the needs of the hospital.
On November 5, 2023, Request for Proposal (RFP) No. ARMC124-ARMC-5166 was released in the County’s Electronic Procurement (ePro) to request bids for electroencephalography monitoring and related services, which was then closed on January 31, 2024, with no proposals received. On February 2, 2024, RFP No. ARMC124-ARMC-5278 was released, and two proposals were received by the February 22, 2024 closing date. ARMC needs the additional time to complete evaluation of the competitive procurement proposals.
The Purchasing Department continues to support this non-competitive procurement due to timing constraints. The Amendment with Next Gen will satisfy the hospital’s immediate need for these services while a formal RFP is conducted. ARMC anticipates returning to the Board in October 2024 with the RFP results and contract for execution.
REVIEW BY OTHERS
This item has been reviewed by County Counsel (Charles Phan, Supervising Deputy County Counsel, 387-5455) on March 29, 2024; Purchasing (Veronica Pedace, Buyer III, 387-2464) on April 10, 2024; ARMC Finance (Chen Wu, Finance Budget Officer, 580-3165) on April 1, 2024; Finance (Jenny Yang, Administrative Analyst, 387-4884) on April 1, 2024; and County Finance and Administration (Valerie Clay, Deputy Executive Officer, 387-5423) on April 2, 2024.