May 13, 2025
Agenda Item No. 11
TO:
HONORABLE MAYOR AND MEMBERS OF THE CITY COUNCIL
FROM:
Jeff Boyles, Fire Chief - 949-644-3101, [email protected] PREPARED BY:
Raymund Reyes, Administrative Manager – 949-644-3352, [email protected] TITLE:
Approval of On-Call Health Screening Services Agreements ABSTRACT:
The City of Newport Beach relies on contracted medical providers to conduct various health screening services as required per applicable employment laws, City policies and employment procedures, and Memorandums of Understanding (MOUs) with employee bargaining groups. Following a Request for Proposals (RFP) selection process, the Fire and Human Resources Departments recommend approval of on-call agreements with Hoag Clinic, DBA Hoag Executive Health (Hoag) and The University of California at Irvine, Joe. C. Wen School of Population & Public Health, through its Center for Occupational and Environmental Health (UC Irvine) to provide health screening services.
RECOMMENDATIONS:
a) Determine this action is exempt from the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) pursuant to Sections 15060(c)(2) and 15060(c)(3) of the CEQA Guidelines because this action will not result in a physical change to the environment, directly or indirectly; b) Approve an On-Call Professional Services Agreement with Hoag Clinic, dba Hoag Executive Health, on a form approved by the City Attorney, with a not-to-exceed amount of $925,000 and a five-year term; and c) Approve an On-Call Professional Services Agreement with The Regents of the University of California on behalf of the University of California at Irvine Joe C. Wen School of Population and Public Health, on a form approved by the City Attorney, with a not-to-exceed amount of $500,000 and a five-year term.
DISCUSSION:
Background
The City uses contracted health screening service providers to conduct a range of required medical screening services. Some services are tied to pre-employment requirements and City policies; others are specific to MOUs. The Human Resources Department oversees most health screening services, while the Fire Department oversees the annual physical process for its Fire Operations and Lifeguard Operations personnel. The following sections provide an overview of the services typically conducted.
Pre-Employment Physical Examinations
Pre-employment physical examinations are currently administered at two levels. Class II exams consist of a basic physical, vital sign check, urine drug screening, tuberculosis testing, and vision test, along with a complete medical and health history review by a physician, including a review of the job description. This exam is required for seasonal lifeguard, recreation leader, and maintenance/trade positions. Class III exams include the Class II exam plus comprehensive lab work, stressed and non-stressed electrocardiography (ECG) tests, a hearing exam, and spirometry measurements.
Class III exams are required for all public safety positions.
Fitness for Duty Evaluations
A fitness for duty evaluation is required following an injury and prior to returning to full duty. This involves a complete medical, occupational and relevant history review by a physician, physical examination, recommendations by the examining physician for additional diagnostic studies or consultations, and a physician’s completion of a “Employer Exam Report,” which indicates the employee’s work status.
DOT / DMV Specific Testing
Positions that require a commercial driver’s license undergo California Department of Motor Vehicle (DMW) specific physicals, along with both pre-employment and random drug and alcohol tests. The drug and alcohol tests are Department of Transportation (DOT) compliant and use chain-of-custody protocols per City policy.
Miscellaneous Tests
Various other tests and labs are utilized depending on the City’s needs and requirements for a specific position. These can include specialized labs, hepatitis titers, rabies vaccinations for animal control personnel, respiratory fit testing (used for employees that use respiratory protection equipment, such as firefighters), skin screening services for lifeguards (as mandated under their respective MOUs), and more.
Fire Department Annual Physicals
Annual physicals are more comprehensive than the Class III pre-employment physicals; they consist of a detailed review and evaluation of an employee’s medical history, a complete physical workup, a review of medical systems (including cardiovascular, gastrointestinal, endocrine, neurological systems), fitness assessments, ECG tests, X-rays, vision/hearing tests, urinalysis, and post-screening reviews. Annual physicals assist in maintaining an optimal level of health for Fire and full-time lifeguard personnel, providing reassurance that personnel are fit for duty.
Fire Department Policy incorporates a fitness program that includes an annual physical component. Participation in the program is also outlined within the Newport Beach Firefighters Association, Lifeguard Management Association, and Newport Beach Fire Management Association MOUs. The program and the physicals are intended to support the physical health and overall well-being of public safety personnel and mitigate protentional health impacts related to their duties.
Per the terms of the Key and Management Compensation Plan, employees in the Executive Management classification are also eligible for similar, executive-level annual physicals.
Procurement and Selection Process
Following a 2020 RFP process for health screening services, the City Council approved agreements with the top four ranking providers (from a field of nine proposals) at the December 8, 2020 City Council meeting. Newport Center Medical Group (Newport Center Medical) was selected to provide Fire Department annual physicals; Hoag was selected for executive physicals, lifeguard skin screenings, and Class III examinations; Marque Medical Clinic, Inc. (Marque Medical) would provide DMV physicals, Class II exams, drug and alcohol testing, plus various testing and other services; and Sand Canyon Medical Group (Sand Canyon Medical) would provide Class II and Class III exams and DMV physicals. All agreements were given five-year terms with an expiration date of November 15, 2025; not-to-exceed compensation amounts were adjusted to reflect estimated use.
In summer 2023, Newport Center Medical announced that its practice would be transitioning to a personalized, concierge-style medical practice and would no longer be available for use by the Fire Department. In 2024, the Fire Department continued the department’s fitness program with a temporary pause on annual physicals and began discussions with the Human Resources Department on a new procurement process. It was agreed that a procurement could be started in advance of the November 2025 termination dates of the remaining contracts. A new RFP for on-call health screening services was posted via the City’s public bidding portal (PlanetBids) in November 2024. 194 medical service providers were notified through PlanetBids; 23 prospective bidders viewed or downloaded the RFP, and seven proposers submitted a response by the January 28, 2025 deadline.
One of the firms, Rancho Santiago Community College District (Santa Ana College), submitted a response for the provision of health and wellness courses and not medical screening services. Santa Ana College was contacted and informed that they would be considered non-responsive; Fire Department staff already enroll in course offerings from Santa Ana College as part of the department’s fitness program.
Due to the medical professional nature of the service, the procurement was conducted as a qualifications-based RFP in accordance with the City’s Administrative Policies and Procedures. Proposal evaluations were rated solely on qualifications, experience, method of approach, familiarity with the services requested, understanding of employment-related medical testing, and expertise in various health and medical regulations. Following a technical review and evaluation of all proposals by a combination of Human Resources and Fire Department personnel, Hoag and UC Irvine were ranked as the two highest scoring proposers.
Firm Name:
Total Weighted Score
Rank:
Hoag Executive Health
3765
1 University of California Irvine
3680
2 On Duty Health, PC
2800
3 Pinnacle Training Systems
2780
4 UCI Health
2075
5 Arogya Med Care
575
6 Both Hoag and UC Irvine submitted proposals detailing premier medical facilities, experienced staff, organized procedures, and high-quality medical services. Hoag is well-versed in providing comprehensive annual physicals. It operates two of the largest and most successful specialty clinical exam programs in the western United States; the Hoag First Responder Program and the Hoag Executive Health Program. UC Irvine’s Center for Occupational and Environmental Health (COEH), under the Joe C. Wen School of Population and Public Health, is the only university-based occupational medicine practice in Orange County. UC Irvine boasts extensive experience in occupational medicine and previously provided the City with health screening services from approximately 2001 to 2019; it currently provides medical screening services for the Orange County Fire Authority.
Staff is requesting City Council approval of agreements with Hoag and UC Irvine for on-call health screening services. Hoag would primarily be used for the Fire Department’s annual physicals while UC Irvine would provide pre-employment exams and other City health screening needs. However, given the capabilities of both providers, the Human Resources and Fire Departments would have the operational flexibility of using either contract to ensure the best use of available resources and funding, depending on the need.
FISCAL IMPACT:
Although this was a qualifications-based RFP process in which costs were not considered as part of the evaluation/scoring process, staff did review each of the top three ranked firms’ cost proposals to confirm if pricing was within a reasonable range of one another. Staff also looked at the 2020 agreement rates, considered the inflationary and market trends that have been prevalent over the last several years, and the use of outside laboratories for lab testing by most clinics. Standard pre-employment physicals saw typical increases from 2020 agreement rates; lab tests varied but most changes were minor.
The rate offered by Hoag is $1,250 for fire department annual physicals, while UC Irvine’s costs are $1,194. Hoag and UC Irvine rates for executive and fire department physicals were within reason of one another. The third-ranked firm (On Duty Health) was approximately $700 higher than either provider due to its service delivery model being completely mobile. There are approximately 146 employees that are eligible for annual physical services. This includes firefighters, firefighter-paramedics, engineers, captains, and other positions designated in the Newport Beach Fire Association MOU; permanent lifeguard staff consisting of officers, captains, lifeguard battalion chiefs; and sworn management and executive positions including the fire chief, assistant chiefs, and battalion chiefs.
The department currently budgets $92,458 towards annual physicals, lab work, and related as-needed medical/health screening services. Assuming a 90-100% participation rate for eligible Fire Department employees, plus any as-needed lab work or tests, it is estimated that annual costs with Hoag could approach up to $185,000 annually. A five-year on-call agreement with a not-to-exceed compensation amount of $925,000 is proposed. Additional funding of $91,000 is requested. If approved, the Fire Department Physicals Account, 01040401-811016, will be increased from $92,458 to $183,458 as part of the Fiscal Year (FY) 2025-26 budget.
Citywide pre-employment physicals, fit-for-duty exams, and other related exams and tests are funded through the Human Resources Department. Services are paid out of the Human Resources Physicals Account, 01025005-811016. The proposed General Fund Budget for FY 2025-26 already includes a $25,000 increase to this account. A five-year agreement with UC Irvine, with a not-to-exceed compensation amount of $500,000, is proposed.
ENVIRONMENTAL REVIEW:
Staff recommends the City Council find this action is not subject to the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) pursuant to Sections 15060(c)(2) (the activity will not result in a direct or reasonably foreseeable indirect physical change in the environment) and 15060(c)(3) (the activity is not a project as defined in Section 15378) of the CEQA Guidelines, California Code of Regulations, Title 14, Chapter 3, because it has no potential for resulting in physical change to the environment, directly or indirectly.
NOTICING:
The agenda item has been noticed according to the Brown Act (72 hours in advance of the meeting at which the City Council considers the item).
ATTACHMENTS:
Attachment A – Scope of Services
Attachment B – Hoag Rate Sheet
Attachment C – UC Irvine Rate Sheet
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Approval of On-Call Health Screening Services Agreements May 13, 2025
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