City Council Agenda Report
Meeting Date: July 16, 2024
From: Freddie Agyin, Director of Health and Environmental Control Department: Health and Environmental Control
Submitted by: Veronica Petrosyan, Deputy Director of Health and Environmental Control
Subject
Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) Grant Program Agreement with AltaMed Health Services for On-the-Streets Portable Clinical Care Program with Integrated Behavioral Health and HIV Care.
Recommendation
Approve and authorize the City Administrator to execute the SAMHSA Grant Program Agreement with AltaMed Health Services, in substantially the same form as submitted, for On-the-Streets Portable Clinical Care Program with Integrated Behavioral Health and HIV Care for a total amount not-to-exceed $1,499,175, for a two-and-a-half-year term.
Background
On October 24, 2022, the City executed a services agreement with the Wellness Equity Alliance (WEA) for Health Officer services and a Community Health Needs Assessment (CHNA). The CHNA identified the need to expand the capacity of the Department of Health and Environmental Control to include public health services. As a result, the City Council approved funding to pilot public health services during fiscal year 2023-2024. Accordingly, the following public health services were piloted as part of the first phase of capacity building:
• Clinical services offered directly to the Vernon community at the Vernon Health + Wellness Center (VH+WC) located at City Hall.
• Clinical service offerings via mobile health vans on-site at Vernon business locations and outside City limits.
• Intervention service offerings with integrated behavioral health services.
In September 2023, the City received a grant award of $1,998,900 for three (3) years from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) for “On-The-Streets Portable Clinical Care with Integrated Behavioral Health and HIV Care”. The grant award was to pilot an approach to comprehensive healthcare for racial and ethnic medically underserved people experiencing unsheltered homelessness through the provision of portable clinical care delivered outside that is focused on the integration of behavioral health and HIV treatment and prevention services.
The On-The-Streets Portable Clinical Care with Integrated Behavioral Health and HIV Care Pilot Project is designed to support the City’s health department and the Vernon Health + Wellness Center (VH+WC) to provide behavioral healthcare, infectious disease services, and primary care directly to unsheltered individuals within the city and the surrounding Southeast Los Angeles (SELA) community.
Pursuant to Vernon Municipal Code (VMC) Section 3.32.080 and the pending termination of the City’s health services agreement with WEA, the department issued a request for proposals (RFP) on May 20, 2024, to solicit proposals from qualified medical services providers to continue the Pilot Project. The RFP was posted on the PlanetBids online platform and outlined the program’s objectives, eligibility, and evaluation criteria. Only one proposal was received by the RFP deadline.
After careful evaluation of the proposal submitted, staff deemed the proposal as responsive to the RFP and recommends awarding the contract to AltaMed Health Services. This provider demonstrated a strong commitment to serving unsheltered populations and has the necessary expertise in behavioral health and HIV care.
The proposed agreement has been reviewed and approved as to form by the City Attorney’s office.
Fiscal Impact
The fiscal impact is not-to-exceed $1,499,175 for the term of the agreement. Sufficient funds are available in General Fund, Health Department, Grant Funded Expense Federal Account No. 011-595-200-523025 for the current fiscal year and will be budgeted in subsequent years.
The SAMSHA Grant covers 100% of the costs related with the AltaMed Health Services agreement.
Attachments
1. SAMHSA City Grant Agreement with AltaMed Health Services
2. AltaMed Health Services RFP Response