REPORT/RECOMMENDATION TO THE BOARD OF SUPERVISORS
OF SAN BERNARDINO COUNTY
AND RECORD OF ACTION
June 14, 2022
FROM
JOSHUA DUGAS, Director, Department of Public Health
SUBJECT
Title
Amendment to Contract with St. Mary’s Medical Center for COVID-19 Outreach, Education, and Promotion Services
End
RECOMMENDATION(S)
Recommendation
Approve Amendment No. 1 to Contract No. 22-200 with St. Mary’s Medical Center to mitigate impacts associated with the COVID-19 pandemic by reducing COVID-19 related health disparities, revising the scope of work, adding justification for subcontractors, and adding the Business Associate Agreement for the Department of Public Health to engage in agreements which may use/disclose protected health information, with no change to the contract amount of $1,250,000, and no change to the contract period of March 15, 2022 through May 31, 2023.
(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.
FINANCIAL IMPACT
This item does not require Discretionary General Funding (Net County Cost). The total amount of $1,250,000 for countywide COVID-19 outreach, testing and vaccine education, and promotion services is funded by the Department of Health and Human Services Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) COVID-19 Response Through Community Collaboration grant funding. Adequate appropriation and revenue will be included in the 2022-23 recommended budget.
BACKGROUND INFORMATION
On July 13, 2021 (Item No. 33), the Board of Supervisors (Board) accepted the grant award agreement, County Contract No. 21-540, from CDC for COVID-19 Response Through Community Collaboration funding, in the amount of $24,844,268, for the period of June 1, 2021 through May 31, 2023, to support COVID-19 response activities. Under the terms of the grant award agreement, a portion of the funding is to be subcontracted to various community-based organizations for the provision of countywide COVID-19 outreach, education and promotion services, in the amount of $7,100,000. St. Mary’s Medical Center (St. Mary’s) is one of eight agencies subcontracted to provide these services with the awarded grant funds.
Approval of Amendment No. 1 to Contract No. 22-200 will allow DPH to enter into a Business Associate Agreement (BAA) necessary for agreements with St. Mary’s, which may use or disclose protected health information. The BAA in conjunction with the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA), sets forth the terms and conditions pursuant to which protected health information (in any format) is used between DPH, known as Business Associate, and St. Mary’s, known as Covered Entity, and with third parties during the term of any agreements. The revised scope of work and contract term will allow St. Mary’s to expand education and outreach activities via subcontracts and allow St. Mary’s to continue assisting in the service goal/outcome of reducing COVID-19 related health disparities by improving and increasing testing, contact tracing, vaccine access, and vaccination rates among high-risk and underserved populations in San Bernardino County.
PROCUREMENT
On March 15, 2022 (Item No. 40), as the result of a formal procurement, the Board of Supervisors (Board) approved eight contracts in the total combined amount of $7,100,000, including Contract No. 22-200 with St. Mary’s in the amount of $1,250,000, to mitigate impacts associated with the COVID-19 pandemic by reducing COVID-19 related health disparities, for the period of March 15, 2022 through May 31, 2023.
St. Mary’s performance will continue to be monitored by review of monthly reports and an annual site visit to ensure compliance with the administrative, program, and fiscal terms and conditions of the contract. St. Mary will cooperate with the County in the implementation, monitoring and evaluation of these contracts and comply with any and all reporting requirements established by the contracts. St. Mary’s charges must be for services provided to eligible beneficiaries under this funded program. The County reserves the right to request additional program and/or fiscal reports to facilitate this monthly review. The contracts may be terminated without cause by the County with 30 days written notice.
REVIEW BY OTHERS
This item has been reviewed by Human Services Contracts (Patty Steven, Contracts Manager, 388-0241) on May 3, 2022; County Counsel (Adam Ebright, Deputy County Counsel, 387-5455) on May 4, 2022; Finance (Paul Garcia, Administrative Analyst, 386-8392) on May 3, 2022; and County Finance and Administration (Cheryl Adams, Deputy Executive Officer, 388-0238) on May 10, 2022.