To: Board of Supervisors
From: Anna Roth, Health Services Director
Report Title: Contract #23-494-4 with John Muir Health (dba John Muir Medical Center - Concord Campus)
☒Recommendation of the County Administrator ☐ Recommendation of Board Committee
RECOMMENDATIONS:
APPROVE and AUTHORIZE the Health Services Director, or designee, to execute on behalf of the County Contract #23-494-4 with John Muir Health (dba John Muir Medical Center - Concord Campus), a non-profit corporation, including mutual indemnification, to act as a designated Primary Stroke Center (PSC) to assist patients who have been assessed by ambulance personnel as suffering from a suspected stroke, for the period from January 1, 2024 through December 31, 2026.
FISCAL IMPACT:
No General Fund impact. Emergency Medical Services (EMS) staff costs to be covered under County Service Area EM-1 and charges to participating hospitals.
BACKGROUND:
In collaboration with hospitals, fire first-responders and emergency ambulance services, Contra Costa Emergency Medical Care Committee, Contra Costa Stroke Advisory Committee, and Contra Costa EMS has been working towards implementation of a program that will provide quicker access to definitive care for patients with symptoms of acute stroke. Strokes occur when blood flow to the brain has been disrupted due to a blockage in a vessel (ischemic stroke) or bleeding in the brain (hemorrhagic stroke). Research has shown significant reduction in mortality and morbidity when stroke patients are identified in the field and transported, with advance notification, to a hospital staffed and equipped to provide rapid stoke care. A nationally-recognized goal is to provide PSC intervention within three to four and one half hours of onset of symptoms. Identification of a suspected stroke patient begins in the field and requires rapid identification and subsequent triage to a PSC. All ambulance and fire first responder paramedics in the county have been trained in the rapid recognition of stroke patients using the Cincinnati Stroke Scale.
On January 19, 2021, the Board of Supervisors approved Contract #23-494-3 with John Muir Health (dba John Muir Medical Center-Concord Campus), to act as a designated PSC to assist patients who have been assessed by ambulance personnel with a suspected stroke, for the period from January 1, 2021 through December 31, 2023.
Approval of Contract #23-494-4 will allow John Muir Medical Center - Concord Campus to continue as a designated PSC through December 31, 2026. This contract includes mutual indemnification to hold harmless both parties for any claims arising out of the performance of this contract.
CONSEQUENCE OF NEGATIVE ACTION:
If this contract is not approved, designation of this facility as a PSC will impede the implementation of a coordinated stroke system in Contra Costa County.