REPORT TO SHASTA COUNTY BOARD OF SUPERVISORS

BOARD MEETING DATE:  April  11, 2017
CATEGORY:  Consent - Health and Human Services-7.

SUBJECT:

Agreement with Life Technologies Corporation for Preventative Maintenance Plans for Laboratory Equipment

Supervisorial District No. :  ALL

DEPARTMENT CONTACT:  Terri Fields Hosler, HHSA Branch Director, (530) 245 - 6869

STAFF REPORT APPROVED BY:  Terri Fields Hosler, MPH, RD, HHSA Branch Director, HHSA – Public Health

RECOMMENDATION

Approve and authorize the Chairman to sign a retroactive renewal agreement with Life Technologies Corporation in an amount not to exceed $56,654.50 to provide equipment preventative maintenance services for the period November 19, 2016 through November 18, 2017, with two automatic one-year renewals.

SUMMARY

Approval of the agreement will allow the Health and Human Services Agency’s (HHSA) Public Health Branch to continue to acquire preventative maintenance plans for two sets of laboratory equipment essential to continued performance and compliance with public health lab requirements.

DISCUSSION

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has designated the Shasta County HHSA’s Public Health Laboratory as the regional laboratory for Shasta, Glenn, Lassen, Modoc, Siskiyou, Tehama, and Trinity counties, helping them protect their residents from agents of bioterrorism and other emerging pathogens, including influenza. This equipment, purchased with Public Health Emergency Preparedness (PHEP) grant funds, is a requirement for laboratories that participate as a reference laboratory in the Laboratory Response Network (LRN). The HHSA’s public health laboratory has been a participant in the LRN since April, 2004. The maintenance of this equipment is provided by the manufacturer and is a required proprietary service. The software and computers are also proprietary, and the only allowable platform for equipment operation. This is the only CDC-approved platform for the testing of influenza panels provided by the CDC. All LRN reference labs nationally are required to have and maintain this testing platform per the Public Health Emergency Preparedness (PHEP) grant.

ALTERNATIVES

Alternatives include not approving the agreement or amending the terms of the agreement.  Not maintaining the service contracts on the equipment would result in not being able to do testing that is required of a reference laboratory in the LRN, and thereby in the loss of laboratory funding from the PHEP grant. 

OTHER AGENCY INVOLVEMENT

County Counsel has approved the agreement as to form. Risk Management has approved the agreement. The recommendation has been reviewed by the County Administrative Office.

FINANCING

The Preventative Maintenance Plans are a standard budgeted item and are required in the laboratory portion of the PHEP grant. There is no County share of cost. The HHSA-Public Health FY 2016-17 Adjusted Budget (BU411) includes sufficient appropriation authority for the activities described in this agreement. There are no additional County General Funds requested.