REPORT/RECOMMENDATION TO THE BOARD OF SUPERVISORS
OF SAN BERNARDINO COUNTY
AND RECORD OF ACTION
August 10, 2021
FROM
ANDREW GOLDFRACH, Interim Director, Department of Public Health
SUBJECT
Title
Amendment to Contract with El Sol Neighborhood Educational Center for COVID-19 Health Promotion and Outreach Campaign Services
End
RECOMMENDATION(S)
Recommendation
Approve Amendment No. 2, effective August 10, 2021, to Contract No. 20-1099 with El Sol Neighborhood Educational Center for continued provision of COVID-19 related health promotion and outreach campaign services, increasing the total contract by $1,181,791, from $685,438 to $1,867,229, with no change to the contract period of November 17, 2020 through May 16, 2022.
(Presenter: Andrew Goldfrach, Interim 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 impact Discretionary General Funding (Net County Cost). The increase to the contract in the amount of $1,181,791 is eligible for reimbursement through the Federal Paycheck Protection Program and Health Care Enhancement Act of 2021 (ELC Enhancing Detection). Adequate appropriation and revenue have been included in the Department of Public Health’s (DPH) 2021-22 budget.
BACKGROUND INFORMATION
El Sol Neighborhood Educational Center (El Sol) provides a culturally and linguistically appropriate community-specific health promotion and outreach campaign for COVID-19 through health education, distribution of educational material, door-to-door health education, emotional and social support, and test site referrals utilizing their established Community Health Worker/Promotores de Salud model. The contract with El Sol funds promotions, expenses, and activities directly related to COVID-19 education, social support, and community outreach.
The contract with El Sol provides a partnership with DPH to support community-specific health promotions that are culturally sensitive to the vulnerable and underserved communities. In order to establish and implement tailored preparedness strategies that reflect their unique needs and challenges, El Sol has developed educational material, supplied COVID Kits, perform community outreach campaigns, and connect community members to resources needed to reduce COVID-19 positivity rates.
The recommended amendment will increase the contract amount, with no change to the contract period, in order for El Sol to implement a COVID-19 spectrum of prevention strategies that will include the following additional components: strategic outreach and education, referrals and linkages, vaccination maximization through reminders and coordination support, promotion of vaccination sites, and community wellness events. With the increase in contract amount, El Sol will expand its outreach efforts to engage an additional 60,000 San Bernardino County residents in low health equity areas. El Sol will also design and deploy new community-specific outreach campaigns to engage hard to reach populations, including a robust community wellness campaign. As of July 30, 2021, El Sol has successfully reached over 75,000 San Bernardino County residents and has linked over 9,000 households to community resources. Due to the current climate of COVID-19, including the variants, the need to reach the County’s most vulnerable communities to curtail the pandemic have also increased.
The program will continue to concentrate on the underserved populations, particularly those in San Bernardino County’s high-priority areas who are disproportionately impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic based on the California Healthy Places Index.
PROCUREMENT
On November 17, 2020 (Item No. 57), the Board of Supervisors (Board) approved non-competitive Contract No. 20-1099 with El Sol for COVID-19 health promotion and outreach campaign services, in the amount of $685,438, for the period of November 17, 2020 through May 16, 2021, with two one-year options to extend by mutual agreement of the parties. The Purchasing Department concurred with the non-competitive contract with El Sol due to the COVID-19 pandemic and resulting local health emergency.
On May 4, 2021 (Item No. 45) the Board approved Amendment No. 1, effective May 4, 2021, to Contract No. 20-1099 with El Sol for the continued provision of COVID-19 related health promotion and outreach campaign services, exercising the first one-year option to extend, with no change to contract amount of $685,438, for the total contract period of November 17, 2020 through May 16, 2022.
DPH will continue to monitor contractor performance via monthly progress and expenditure reports, including a description of administrative oversight activities, as well as bi-weekly meetings to ensure contract deliverables, responsibilities, and compliance standards are met.
REVIEW BY OTHERS
This item has been reviewed by Human Services Contracts (Becky Giroux, Contracts Manager, 388-0241) on July 1, 2021; County Counsel (Adam Ebright, Deputy County Counsel, 387-5455) on July 15, 2021; Finance (Paul Garcia, Administrative Analyst, 386-8392) on July 19, 2021; County Finance and Administration (Tanya Bratton, Deputy Executive Officer, 388-0332) on July 20, 2021.