REPORT/RECOMMENDATION TO THE BOARD OF SUPERVISORS
OF SAN BERNARDINO COUNTY
AND RECORD OF ACTION
February 8, 2022
FROM
WILLIAM L. GILBERT, Director, Arrowhead Regional Medical Center
SUBJECT
Title
Agreement with Cyracom, LLC For Medically Qualified Interpretation Services
End
RECOMMENDATION(S)
Recommendation
Approve Agreement with Cyracom, LLC for the provision of medically qualified interpretation services in the amount not to exceed $3,500,000 for the five-year period of February 8, 2022 through February 7, 2027.
(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 total not to exceed amount of $3,500,000 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 and will be included in future recommended budgets.
BACKGROUND INFORMATION
ARMC utilizes contract agencies to provide mandated interpretive and translation services to patients who have limited English proficiency and those who are deaf or hard of hearing. Cyracom, LLC (Cyracom) will provide translation and interpretation service to ARMC patients in need of healthcare and social service needs. Additionally, Cyracom will provide patients and companions with timely access to medically qualified translators through the following means: telephonic interpretation, in-person interpretation, video remote interpretation, and translation and localization of documents. The cost for the interpretation services is calculated by a combination of factors: length of time for the interpretation service, language type, whether the interpretation service is in-person, by phone, or on video. The cost for translation services is calculated by the language type and length of the document.
Under California Health and Safety Code Section 1259, when a language or communication barrier exists between patients and medical staff, arrangements shall be made for interpreters or bilingual professionals to ensure adequate and competent communication between patients and staff. Additionally, hospitals are required to provide interpreters for the deaf and hard of hearing population of patients in accordance with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA).
It is critical to ensure that medically qualified interpreters are available to patients and families. Use of individuals who are not trained interpreters with understanding of medical terminology can lead to medication errors, wrong procedures, avoidable readmissions and other adverse events. ARMC recommends approval of the contract with Cyracom to ensure that County residents served at the hospital continue to have medically qualified interpreters.
PROCUREMENT
On January 6, 2021, Request for Proposal No. ARMC121-ARMC-3979 for Medically Qualified Interpretation services was released through San Bernardino County’s Electronic Procurement (ePro) network. Fifteen (15) proposals were received by the submittal deadline from the following vendors:
|
Agency |
Location |
|
Cyracom LLC. |
Tucson, AZ |
|
Excel Interpreting |
Sacramento, CA |
|
Focus Interpreting |
Victorville, CA |
|
Hanna Interpreting Services LLC. |
Spring Valley, CA |
|
Hola Doctor |
Roswell, GA |
|
Language Line Services, Inc. |
Monterey, CA |
|
Lionbridge Technologies, Inc. |
Waltham, MA |
|
Language Services Associates |
Horsham, PA |
|
Natural Languages LLC. |
Bellflower, CA |
|
Purple Communications |
Riverside, CA |
|
Rise Interpreting Inc. |
Riverside, CA |
|
Sign Language USA |
McLean, VA |
|
Stratus Video |
Dallas, TX |
|
Syncroz Language Solutions |
Ashland, VA |
|
Telelanguage Inc. |
Portland, OR |
An evaluation panel, including representatives from ARMC Compliance, ARMC Nursing Administration, ARMC Medical Staff, ARMC Patient Registration, ARMC Medical Records, and ARMC Information Management, evaluated the proposals based on qualifications and experience, technical criteria, reference, presentation, and cost. Based on the evaluation conducted, the evaluation panel recommended Cyracom be awarded the contract.
On April 15, 2021, the notice of intent to award was sent to Cyracom and the non-selected proposers were notified in writing regarding their status. The non-selected proposers were informed of their right to protest the recommended award by submitting a formal protest letter to County Purchasing. The Purchasing Agent received one protest from Focus Interpreting. After careful review and consideration by the Purchasing Agent, the protest was denied, and the contract award process was continued.
REVIEW BY OTHERS
This item has been reviewed by County Counsel (Charles Phan, Deputy County Counsel, 387-5455) on January 4, 2022; Purchasing Department (Ariel Gill, Buyer, 777-0722) on January 10, 2022; ARMC Finance (Chen Wu, Finance and Budget Officer, 580-3165) on January 10, 2022; and County Finance and Administration (Diana Atkeson, Deputy Executive Officer, 387-5423) on January 18, 2022.