Subject:
Title
Expansion of Vaccination Operations in Brevard County
End
Fiscal Impact:
Not to Exceed two million dollars (as previously authorized by the Board)
Dept/Office:
County Manager’s Office
Requested Action:
Recommendation
It is requested the Board of County Commissioners:
- Review the proposed agreements with local hospitals systems
- Review the proposed agreement with Caliburn Company (Comprehensive Health Services)
- Authorize the County Manager to execute all agreements upon review and approval by the County Attorney’s Office, Risk Management and Purchasing Services
End
Summary Explanation and Background:
On January 12, 2021 the Board authorized the County Manager’s Office, Public Safety and Purchasing Services to reach out to known vendors who have the capability to provide vaccination administration and discuss potential agreements to increase the capacity in which the County could distribute the COVID-19 Vaccine as quickly and efficiently as possible.
As the Florida Department of Emergency Management has stated, Counties are encouraged to establish systems to increase vaccination distribution capacity. Based on this and Board approval to find vendors capable of supporting the vaccination effort, County staff have been in discussions with hospital systems located within Brevard County. These discussions have focused on a strategy to administer the COVID-19 vaccine at multiple locations within Brevard County as quickly and efficiently as possible.
Health First, Rockledge Regional Medical Center (Steward Family Hospital), and Parrish Medical Center have all agreed to partner with the County and the Brevard County Health Department to administer the COVID-19 vaccination throughout Brevard County at no cost to the County, recipients, or insurance companies.
The County Attorney’s Office is currently working through agreement language with each hospital that outlines distribution of the vaccine to the hospitals and their vaccination sites for administration.
The Department of Health is currently able to distribute 6,000 vaccines per week. All quantities of vaccines received by the Health Department above an initial 6,000 will be distributed to the hospitals equitably up to the maximum number they are able to administer daily.
- Health First, with two sites located in Central and South Brevard County ;
- Parrish Medical Center with a single site located in North Brevard County;
- Rockledge Regional Medical Center with two sites located in Central and South Brevard County.
Through partnerships with each of these hospitals, Brevard County will have the capability to vaccinate an additional 12,500 individuals weekly. Paired with the Department of Health, Brevard County will be able to vaccinate 18,500 individuals weekly, depending on vaccine supplies from the State. As the previous Agenda item stated, this program will target the same age risk population until guidance from the State changes to expand vaccination eligible populations.
While all three hospitals are willing to provide this service to the community without charging the County, recipients, or insurance companies, they have all asked that the Commission consider a future reimbursement of some of their related expenses, should the County receive any additional Federal Relief Funds.
County Staff have also discussed a mass vaccination site with a contractor, Caliburn. Should the County begin to regularly receive more than 18,500 vaccines on a weekly basis, the County and Contractor are able to (within 5 days) stand up another mass vaccination site in the Central part of the County that would be able to vaccinate an additional 5,000 people per week, with the ability to increase as supply allows. This contract, valued at $1,320,000 would be funded through use of the previously authorized Public Safety Funds approved by the Board on January 12, 2021 (Agenda Item J.1). This contract will contain language that would allow for contract execution upon review by the County Attorney’s Office, Risk Management, and Purchasing Services, but would not be enacted until such a time the County is regularly receiving weekly vaccine distribution from the state over the previously discussed 18,500 vaccines.
Clerk to the Board Instructions:
None