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| If we have to pay to do it locally--it is in our best interests to hire multiple outlets to administer the COVID-19 vaccines. It is not in the citizens' best interests for the county to do an exclusive, sole-source procurement with only ONE (1) of several qualified providers locally. That's why tonight we are NOT doing a sole-source deal....... |
We heard the military would start mass-vaccinations nationwide.
Then we heard the state would handle the vaccinations.
But then reality hit.
About two weeks back the Florida Department of Health in Escambia County and Escambia County administration had a tense conversation at which point it was made clear that the local state Health Department did not have the capacity to administer the vaccinations locally.
Escambia County at the local level is going to have to step in and pay hospitals and/or other entities to do it---otherwise citizen outrage will continue to roil to a boiling point and there won't be an orderly rollout.
One of the hospitals has now presented us with this contract. It mirrors contracts this particular Hospital Corporation is using to vaccinate in other markets as well, to include Santa Rosa County.
As I stated in last weeks blog post--why are we paying for this?
But getting past this frustration and the botched state rollout of this vaccination program--why would we ever do what appears to be an exclusive deal with just one of our local hospitals/clinics that can and want to help in the administration of these vaccines?
Answer--we shouldn't do this, we shouldn't do sole-source procurements for these services.
So at tonight's meeting we will bring an updated version of this contract that makes it clear that this $3.5 Million is a total of a currently allocated "pool" of money to be utilized for the express purpose of providing vaccinations to uninsured in the county AND that we are not doing an exclusive deal with ANY one hospital; this is a NON-EXCLUSIVE agreement and the county can and will add other vendors that choose to participate locally into this program allowing them to vaccinate under the same terms, conditions, stipulations and reimbursement rates from this "pool" of money as in this first contract.
For us as Escambia County to do anything else makes no sense.... I mean--why would we want to limit the number of hospitals, clinics, and/or other licensed and qualified county-approved facilities that we will enlist and pay to provide vaccinations--- if we are truly interested in getting the maximum number of vaccinations out to our citizens as quickly as possible?
We should expand the supply channels not narrow them with exclusive, 1-outlet deals.
This is why we won't do an exclusive deal with one provider, and we will fix this contract tonight before it is approved so that multiple providers, if they so choose, can participate and vaccinate and draw down the $3.5 Million for providing the vaccine to the uninsured citizens.
9 comments:
https://www.tampabay.com/news/florida-politics/2021/01/04/what-we-know-about-floridas-covid-19-vaccination-distribution-plans/
https://www.hhs.gov/sites/default/files/ows-vaccine-distribution-process.pdf
For immediate release
https://www.hhs.gov/about/news/2021/01/06/hhs-announces-22-billion-in-funding-to-support-expanded-testing-vaccination-distribution.html
....At this evening's BCC meeting--the item was dropped, not approved by the board as Sacred Heart Hospital sent a representative to explain they wanted to re-look at the revised contract before moving forward. Meanwhile, they did assure the board that they would continue to administer the vaccinations to citizens in Escambia County---- even without this reimbursement request in place.
Thanks for the update. Appreciate your thoughtfulness and your blog.
Watched the agenda review.. Interesting. Public forum. When will those people understand OLF 8 is not their choice. Demands don't accomplish anything.
Tiring... So from what you report, One hospital doesn't get all the money either. It is really not the county gov job to administer the vaccine but you get the calls... This is all new and I think the blame game accomplishes little. I checked the local DOH site it had a little more info. It looks like individual providers and pharmacists need to get with the program.. As well as Publix and Walmart.. Good luck Incompetence is a fact of life to overcome. Mott sound timid. Step up to the plate local DOH..
Thanks for your candor about what a wreck this roll-out has been, Commissioner Bergosh. There have been many elected officials and citizen advocates trying to get to the bottom of what has been going on, and Rick Outzen has been pounding this subject on his blog to trying to get some real, concrete answers. And it was such a relief to see you come in strong against another sole-source contract, especially for something this important.
Nothing. Will. Change. until there is honesty and transparency coming from (1) DeSantis's administration; and (2) Gilley's administration.
Good luck with the first. Many simply cannot understand why you continue to put up with duplicative tactics from the second.
Why on earth was anybody surprised about this particular instance? She has been shilling these contracts out left and right ever since she hit the door. How many times have the media, the public, and the Board busted her on this kind of thing, and yet she is just continued to allow to roll on with it, jamming things through here on the agenda, leaving them off there.
Her new low was her snarky comment about how she didn't even have to bring that 3.5M--conveniently the highest she could go and still sole source it--but thought the BOCC should have the opportunity to discuss it.
No kidding. And yet you guys have afforded her the power that she probably *could* have left it off the agenda, and you wouldn't have known about it until the ink was on the contract--as has happened before. While nobody does a thing to rein in her runaway disaster of self- and mutual-interest that is crippling our county's ability to function properly.
And then on top of it, we learn towards the end of the discussion that Sacred has been making about a hundred bucks a pop off Escambia taxpayers with reimbursements for testing uninsured patients, when we get federal reimbursement for that through Community Health--with Janice's knowledge. Unbelievable.
DOH of course can't do a thing against the governor's strong-arming. But Marie Mott is a big improvement on Lanza. She at least hasn't looked the board in the eye and lied on anything, and has done her best to highlight data such as the 52% positivity rating from last Friday that local governments really didn't want emphasize. In addition, people don't seem to have registered yet that she's an attorney. So while she has no choice but to tow the line when it comes to the governor's office, it seemed clear from the meeting she certainly wasn't going to take any of Janice's crap from her. The commissioners should really get to the bottom of what happened in that conversation, as an example of how impossible it is for local and state agencies and governments to work with the County Administrator, and why a growing number of people just choose to make a wide path around her when it's at all possible.
Great "leadership" paradigm--making yourself almost universally unapproachable.
Gotta hand it to her, though. She certainly seems to have established a firm hand over the Board, the Attorney's Office, and perhaps even the Clerk's office. Somebody needs to step in and stop the bleeding.
--Melissa Pino
Anyone check to see where Doug Underhill really was on the afternoon of Jan. 6?
https://www.oann.com/fla-opens-vaccine-sites-in-partnership-with-churches/
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