SR 08-23-2022 5H
City Council
Report
City Council Meeting: August 23, 2022
Agenda Item: 5.H
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To: Mayor and City Council
From: David White, City Manager, City Manager's Office
Subject: Authorize the City Manager to negotiate and execute an agreement with
Keystone Medical Resources, Inc for Citywide Employee COVID-19 Contact
Tracing and Internal Healthcare Advisement
Recommended Action
Staff recommends that the City Council authorize the City Manager to negotiate and
execute an agreement with Keystone Medical Resources, Inc for city-wide, employee
COVID-19 contact tracing and internal healthcare advisement. This recommended
award is made as an exception to the competitive bidding process pursuant to Section
2.24.250 (i) and is for a total amount not to exceed $150,000 with future year funding
contingent on Council budget approval.
Summary
Starting in November 2021 with the COVID-19 Omicron variant outbreak, the Santa
Monica Emergency Operations Center, with the administrative direction from the Office
of Emergency Management, transitioned COVID-19 contact tracing activities away from
City personnel to an existing City vendor, Keystone Medical Resources, due to the
specific skills and healthcare training necessary to determine “close contacts”,
quarantine, and isolation protocols for City staff as related to COVID-19. The City has
approximately 2,000 employees who have access to this emergency service.
Contact tracing was mandated for employees required to work on-site and potentially
exposed to COVID-19. The City sought the services of Keystone Medical Resources,
Inc to provide professional services related to COVID-19 contact tracing and medical
advisement from a registered nurse after business hours, over the weekend, and
throughout the work week, as required. Keystone Medical Resources, Inc was a vetted
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vendor through the City’s Risk Division and had previously shown to provide the needed
medical support for services requested of the Finance Department.
Staff now seeks authority to enter a professional services contract with Keystone
Medical Resources, Inc to provide these ongoing contact tracing services for an amount
not to exceed $150,000 through the end of the COVID-19 emergency order. Staff will
seek reimbursement from the Federal Emergency Management Administration (FEMA)
for all qualifying costs associated with this service.
Discussion
In preparation for a winter 2021 COVID-19 surge, the City’s Emergency Operations
Center sought professional services for the implementation of COVID-19 contact tracing
and medical advisement services. Under the emergency response model utilized from
March 2020 through November 2021, the City utilized as-needed and full-time staff to
support contact tracing activities; however, the complexity of the medical care requested
required services from trained medical professionals during and outside of normal
business hours.
In anticipation of higher call volume and complex contact tracing cases, the City on-
boarded a temporary vendor to support three months of contact tracing. Under the initial
agreement, the staff expected cost to remain under the approved procurement
threshold of $25,000; due to the spread of the omicron variant, cases increased and did
not return to manageable levels which could be supported by staff internally. In
response to this surge, the City instituted enhanced contact tracing to ensure
operational continuity of vital City services as well as enhance public trust that
accessing such services will be safe.
Due to an expedited timeline, and in alignment with the emergency powers and
provisions of the Santa Monica Municipal Code, staff were unable to seek formal
proposals; however, staff did negotiate a reasonable cost with the selected vendor for
an hourly rate of $95 per hour with a guaranteed minimum of 35 hours of service per
month. Staff referenced existing agreements and fee schedules with the selected
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vendor to determine reasonable cost for the professional services. The Risk
Management Division conducted an informal evaluation and found the quote provided
by the vendor for nursing services was consistent with similar services provided to the
City in the area of medical advisement and worker’s compensation. The City provides
this emergency contact tracing service solely to City staff and will discontinue this
service once the emergency order has been lifted or COVID-19 infections reduce to a
level where professional medical services are no longer required.
The cost for these services from November 1, 2021, to date is approximately $55,000
and within the approval authority of the City Manager. Staff anticipates the $150,000
authority will provide contact tracing services through the end of FY 2022-23. The City
remains eligible for reimbursement for qualifying expenses from the Federal Emergency
Management Administration (FEMA) associated with the COVID-19 emergency. FEMA
is currently reimbursing 100 percent of eligible costs through June 30, 2022, and 90
percent for cost incurred on or after July 1, 2022.
Staff will seek reimbursement from FEMA for all qualifying COVID expenditures for as
long as permissible. All reimbursements received from the FEMA will be allocated to the
City’s General Fund. Timelines associated with receiving reimbursement may be
extended and will depend on requests for information and grant operations being
conducted by FEMA. The Financial Operations Division with the support of the Office of
Emergency Management will immediately track all cost allocated to this project. Upon
completion of the project, Staff will submit a project (application) to FEMA with the full
cost associated with this project.
Financial Impacts and Budget Actions
Staff seeks authority to approve funding from the General Fund to award a contract with
Keystone Medical Resources, Inc. for COVID-19 contact tracing and related services for
City employees. Future year funding is contingent on Council budget approval. The City
anticipates to recover ninety and one-hundred percent of the cost associated with this
contract, as these services are eligible for reimbursement through FEMA under the
COVID-19 Presidential Declaration.
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Contract Request
FY 2021-22 FY 2022-23 Department Account # Total Contract Amount
$55,000 $95,000 01200014.553150 $150,000
Prepared By: Steven Torrence, Emergency Services Administrator
Approved
Forwarded to Council
Attachments:
A. 20202 Keystone Oaks Form
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5.H.a
Packet Pg. 99 Attachment: 20202 Keystone Oaks Form [Revision 1] (5264 : Agreement with Keystone for COVID Contact Tracing)