REPORT/RECOMMENDATION TO THE BOARD OF SUPERVISORS
OF SAN BERNARDINO COUNTY
AND RECORD OF ACTION
October 26, 2021
FROM
WILLIAM L. GILBERT, Director, Arrowhead Regional Medical Center
SUBJECT
Title
Amendment to Agreement with Language Services Associates for Interpretive Services
End
RECOMMENDATION(S)
Recommendation
Approve Amendment No. 4 to Agreement No. 20-184 with Language Services Associates for interpretive services, increasing the not-to-exceed contract amount by $600,000, from $2,250,000 to $2,850,000, and extending the agreement from October 31, 2021 to April 30, 2022, for a total period of June 2, 2015 through April 30, 2022, with no other changes to the terms and conditions.
(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 the recommended amendment with Language Services Associates (LSA) will not result in the use of Discretionary General Funding (Net County Cost). The additional cost of $600,000 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) 2021-22 budget.
BACKGROUND INFORMATION
Approval of Amendment No. 4 will increase the not-to-exceed contract amount by $600,000, from $2,250,000 to $2,850,000, to cover anticipated costs for interpretive services at the hospital through April 30, 2022. Interpretive services are vital within ARMC due to the diversity of patients speaking different languages and the importance of explaining medical labs, conditions, diagnosis, and recommendations to them in their native language. Extending this agreement will allow time for contract negotiations and award with the new vendor that was selected to provide these services and to ensure a smooth transition of services for patients.
On June 2, 2015 (Item No. 13), the Board of Supervisors (Board) authorized Purchasing to issue a Master Blanket Purchase Order with LSA, for the provision of telephonic translation and video relay interpretation services, in the amount of $125,000, for the period of June 2, 2015 through April 30, 2017.
On June 11, 2015, Purchasing executed a Client Agreement Letter (LSA Agreement) with LSA to obtain LSA’s services under the County’s Group Purchasing Organizational Agreement with Vizient.
On March 1, 2016 (Item No. 9), the Board authorized Purchasing to increase the Master Blanket Purchase Order with LSA by $105,000, from $125,000 to $230,000, with no change to the expiration date of April 30, 2017.
On May 24, 2016 (Item No. 12), the Board authorized Purchasing to increase the Master Blanket Purchase Order with LSA by $470,000, from $230,000 to $700,000, with no change to the expiration date of April 30, 2017.
On April 4, 2017 (Item No. 5), the Board authorized Purchasing to increase the Master Blanket Purchase Order with LSA by $1,200,000, from $700,000 to $1,900,000, and extend the expiration date of April 30, 2017 to April 30, 2020, for the provision of telephonic translation, video relay interpretation services and face-to-face interpretation services. On May 1, 2017, Purchasing executed Amendment No. 1 to the LSA Agreement, which extended the term of the LSA Agreement, from April 30, 2017 to April 30, 2020.
On April 7, 2020 (Item No. 9), the Board approved Amendment No. 2 to the LSA Agreement, extending the term through April 30, 2021, and increasing the total contract amount by $350,000, from $1,900,000 to $2,250,000, to allow time for ARMC to initiate the Request for Proposal process. A Request for Proposal was released on November 30, 2020 with proposals due on January 6, 2021. Evaluation of these proposals were completed in April 2021.
On April 6, 2021 (Item No. 9), the Board approved Amendment No. 3 to the LSA Agreement, to extend the termination date from April 30, 2021 to October 31, 2021, with no change to the total contract amount of $2,250,000, to align with the Request for Proposal anticipated award timeframe. Protests were received after the Request for Proposal process was completed and the awarded vendor was finalized June 2021, with contract negotiations starting in July 2021. This amendment extends the term by six months to allow for contract negotiations to complete, a new contract to be awarded, and to allow for the transition of services from LSA to a new vendor.
PROCUREMENT
This continues to be a competitive procurement based on the existing Vizient Supplier Services Agreement SV0920-2014 with LSA, with the agreement term effective through April 30, 2022.
REVIEW BY OTHERS
This item has been reviewed by County Counsel (Charles Phan, Deputy County Counsel, 387-5455) on September 8, 2021; Purchasing Department (Ariel Gill, Buyer III, 777-2070) on September 23, 2021; ARMC Finance (Chen Wu, Budget and Finance Officer, 580-3165) on September 13, 2021; Finance (Yael Verduzco, Administrative Analyst, 387-5285) on September 20, 2021; and County Finance and Administration (Matthew Erickson, County Chief Financial Officer, 387-5423) on September 20, 2021.