TO:
Honorable Mayor and Members of the City Council
THROUGH:
Bruce Moe, City Manager
FROM:
Michael Lang, Fire Chief
Tyler Wade, Division Chief
Sarah Michael, Management Analyst
SUBJECT:Title
Consideration of a Resolution Amending an Agreement with Regents of the University of California for Emergency Medical Technician Continuing Education and Quality Improvement Services (Nurse Educator) for Three Years with Two Automatic Additional One-Year Extensions for $35,302.64 Per Year (Fire Chief Lang).
ADOPT RESOLUTION NO. 23-0048
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Recommended Action
RECOMMENDATION:
Staff recommends that City Council adopt Resolution No. 23-0164 amending the agreement with Regents of the University of California, on behalf of the University of California at Los Angeles Center for Prehospital Care (“UCLA”), to extend the contract term, increase the compensation for services and allow for additional services on an as needed bases.
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:
On July 1, 2018, the City entered into an amended and restated agreement with UCLA to provide Emergency Medical Technician Continuing Education and Quality Improvement Services. The agreement had a three-year term with two one-year extensions and the cost for services was set to a maximum of $30,932.92 for the first year with annual increases of no more than 3% for subsequent years.
Amendment No. 1 will extend the contract term for an additional three years and allow for two supplementary one-year extensions. Furthermore, the proposed amendment under consideration will increase the annual cost to $35,302.64 for Fiscal Year (FY) 2023-2024 with annual increases of no more than 3% for subsequent years. As the total contract amount exceeds the City Manager’s awarding authority per the City’s purchasing policy, City Council approval of Amendment No. 1 is required. Sufficient funding exists for this amendment in the Emergency Medical Services program within the General Fund in the proposed budget for FY 2023-2024. Future years will be budgeted accordingly for this agreement.
BACKGROUND:
The State of California and the County of Los Angeles Department of Health Services (DHS) mandates that all licensed Paramedics and Emergency Medical Technicians (EMTs) receive continuing education to maintain their medical knowledge and proficiency. Since July 2001, the City of Manhattan Beach has contracted with UCLA to provide a Nurse Educator to conduct monthly continuing education to meet these mandates. Continuing Education Programs (CE Programs) are provided to each of the three shifts on a monthly basis. The program is designed so that all EMT-Paramedics receive 36 hours of continuing education annually. All education programs are designed to meet the criteria established by the County of Los Angeles and the State of California.
UCLA also provides Quality Improvement Services (QI) to maintain or enhance the quality of patient care. The Nurse Educator provides on site evaluation of patient care services and may also ride along with our Paramedics to evaluate their performance under field conditions. Based on this evaluation the Nurse Educator creates and designs educational courses that are specific to field based experience and ensures that all emergency medicine is up to date with current County and State mandates.
DISCUSSION:
For over 21 years, UCLA Nurse Educators have worked within the chain of command structure in the fire department and delivered continuing education, performed quality improvement and supported the departments in delivering outstanding patient care for their community. This is done through a collaborative process where the Nurse Educator regularly meets with the Fire Chief or designee to review quality improvement data, discuss short and long-term department plans, and create educational strategies. The Nurse Educator establishes their self as a resource immersed in the culture of the department to earn the trust and support of frontline personnel. This provides the platform for the Nurse Educator to begin providing informal education, formal continuing education sessions, field ride-along evaluation and the tracking of quality indicators.
UCLA Nurse Educators are highly qualified, possessing a multitude of qualifications, including:
• Current licensure as a registered nurse in California
• Certification as a Mobile Intensive Care Nurse
• Certification from the National Association of EMS Educator, Department of Transportation EMS, or UCLA EMS as an instructor
• Current provider and instructor certifications in Basic Life Support, Advance Cardiac Life Support, Pediatric Life Support, and Prehospital Trauma Life Support
• A minimum of 5 years' experience working in the emergency department
• Knowledge of Digital EMS (a software currently being used by the Fire department)
Further, with a 100% record of completing CE and QI audits without action items, UCLA’s education and quality improvement services are well respected and used by over 20 different agencies. Not only can UCLA’s nurse educators provide the traditional CE and QI services, UCLA also has the background and experience to serve or support the Department’s Infection Control Officer (DICO), to meet the skill verifications required for both EMTs and Paramedics, and to design unique pilot programs to ensure the department and their communities receive state-of-the-art emergency care. Most notably during the pandemic, this included the creation of a training program to permit EMTs and Paramedics to administer COVID vaccines and the approval to operate pop-up clinics to meet fire departments’ needs.
The contract with UCLA is due to expire on June 30, 2023. Due to the specialized nature of the training and expertise that UCLA provides, staff recommends that City Council adopt Resolution No. 23-0164 amending the agreement with Regents of University of California.
Professional services such as those provided under this agreement are exempt from bidding under Manhattan Beach Municipal Code section 2.36.130.
PUBLIC OUTREACH:
After analysis, staff determined that public outreach was not required for this issue.
ENVIRONMENTAL REVIEW:
The City has reviewed the proposed activity for compliance with the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) and has determined that the activity is not a “Project” as defined under Section 15378 of the State CEQA Guidelines; therefore, pursuant to Section 15060(c)(3) of the State CEQA Guidelines the activity is not subject to CEQA. Thus, no environmental review is necessary.
LEGAL REVIEW:
The City Attorney has approved the agreement as to form.
ATTACHMENTS:
1. Resolution No. 23-0048
2. Amendment No. 1 - Regents of the University of California
3. Agreement- Regents of the University of California