To: Board of Supervisors
From: Dr. Ori Tzvieli, Interim Health Services Director
Report Title: Contract #26-583-37 with Specialty Laboratories, Inc. (dba Quest Diagnostics Nichols Institute of Valencia)
☒Recommendation of the County Administrator ☐ Recommendation of Board Committee
RECOMMENDATIONS:
APPROVE and AUTHORIZE the Interim Health Services Director, or designee, to execute on behalf of the County Contract #26-583-37 with Specialty Laboratories, Inc. (dba Quest Diagnostics Nichols Institute of Valencia), a corporation, in an amount not to exceed $5,000,000, to provide outside clinical laboratory testing services for Contra Costa Regional Medical Center (CCRMC) and Contra Costa Health Centers for the period January 1, 2025 through December 31, 2027.
FISCAL IMPACT:
Approval of this Contract will result in budgeted contractual expenditures up to $5,000,000 over a 3-year period and is funded 100% by Hospital Enterprise Fund I.
BACKGROUND:
CCRMC and Contra Costa Health Centers have an obligation to provide laboratory testing services to patients. On occasion, County contracts with outside laboratory testing services in order to provide testing that requires special equipment not available at County facilities. Contractor has been providing outside clinical laboratory testing services for CCRMC since January 2007.
This Contract is entered into under and subject to the following legal authorities: California Government Code Section 26227 and 31000; Health and Safety Code § 1451. This Contract was approved by Health Services Personnel to ensure there is no conflict with labor relations. CCRMC’s Quality Management, Utilization Management and Contract Monitor Staff meet on a regular basis to ensure monitoring and performance measures in the Contract are upheld. Contractor is a member of the Vizient Group Purchasing Organization (GPO) and per Administrative Bulletin 600.3, GPO members are exempt from solicitation requirements.
On February 28, 2023, the Board of Supervisors approved Contract #26-583-33 with Specialty Laboratories, Inc. (dba Quest Diagnostic Nichols Institute), in an amount not to exceed $5,000,000, for the provision of outside clinical laboratory services for CCRMC and Contra Costa Health Centers, for the period January 1, 2023 through December 31, 2024.
On July 11, 2023, the Board of Supervisors approved Contract Amendment Agreement #26-583-35, effective July 1, 2023, to provide additional outside clinical laboratory services, with no change in the payment limit of $5,000,000 or term.
Approval of Contract #26-583-37 will allow the Contractor to continue providing outside clinical laboratory services for CCRMC and Contra Costa Health Centers through December 31, 2027. The delay of this Contract was due to ongoing negotiations between the Department and the Contractor, including the Contractor needing to update their registration with the California Secretary of State.
CONSEQUENCE OF NEGATIVE ACTION:
If this Contract is not approved, specialized outside clinical laboratory services will not be made available by this Contractor, which may result in longer wait times for patients.