Agenda Item
b. RFP 20-476 Nursing Services for Medically Fragile Students with Disabilities Contract Extension (Year 4 of 4) – School Health and School Nursing Services for more than $50,000.00 Per Vendor (Total contracted not to exceed $3,000,000)
Summary: Presented by: Ms. Stacy E. Stepney, Chief Academic Officer, Division of Curriculum & Instruction
Request: It is requested that the Board of Education approve the contract extensions with Pediatric Services of America, Inc. dba Aveanna Healthcare; Cobb Pediatric/The Stepping Stones Group; Delta T Group; and Maxim Healthcare as the most responsive and responsible bidders to provide school health and school nursing services for more than $50,000 per vendor, but not to exceed a total contracted amount of $3,000,000.
Why: Under the individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), school health services and school nursing services are defined as related services. Section 504 works together with IDEA to protect children and adults with disabilities from exclusion and unequal treatment in schools, jobs, and the community. Per IDEA and Section 504 guidelines and physician’s orders, these services are required for students with significant medical needs to access their education.
Currently, there are 24 special education nurses that are district employees. The District is currently contracting with fifteen (15) nurses for one-to-one services for students with significant medical needs who are eligible for special education services and two (2) nurses to support students with significant medical needs who are eligible for Section 504 services. Additional resources are needed to address the school-based nursing requirements and to provide IDEA and Section 504 mandated services to students with disabilities. Therefore, the DeKalb County School District (DCSD) has contracted with nursing vendors to provide registered nurses (RNs) and licensed practical nurses (LPNs) with specialized knowledge when the District is unable to hire them directly.
Details: The Request for Proposals (RFP) was issued on November 14, 2019, and approved February 10, 2020. The approved DCSD RFP process was followed. Five (5) of the twelve (12) vendors who responded were selected based on the following criteria: ability to provide needed staff, hourly rates, and experience with school-based settings. The five (5) selected vendors were Pediatric Services of America, Inc. dba Aveanna Healthcare, ATC Healthcare, Cobb Pediatric, Delta T Group, and Maxim Healthcare.
Financial impact: The total contract amount will not exceed $3,000,000.
The general budget charge codes are as follows:
$1,500,000 (G/L Account:100.2100.530000.00011.7340.2021.8010.035.0000)
$500,000 (G/L Account: 100.2100.530000.22711.7320.9990.8010.035.0000)
The IDEA federal budget charge code is:
$1,000,000 (G/L Account: 404.2100.530000.05021.7340.2824.8010.035.2024).
The financial impact is contingent upon the number of registered nurses (RNs) and licensed practical nurses (LPNs) provided through contracted services. The rates for these services are as follows: RNs $39.00 - $60.00 per hour and LPNs $32.00 - $55.00 per hour. The total contracted amount will not exceed $3,000,000.00.
Contact: Ms. Stacy E. Stepney, Chief Academic Officer, Division of Curriculum & Instruction, 678-676-0731
Mrs. Kiana King, Director, Special Education, Division of Curriculum & Instruction, 678-676-1885
Effective: February 13, 2024 - February 11, 2025
Status: Attorney approval not required
RFP 20-476 Nursing Services for Medically Fragile Students
Date:1/9/2020
ATC Healthcare Services LLC Healthcare Staffing Professionals
Aveanna Healthcare Apex Therapeutic Services Myka Health Systems
Centra Healthcare Access Therapies Inc Delt-T Group GA Inc EDU Healthcare Soliant Health Inc
Cobb Pediatric Maxim Inc
Points for Total Points
Indiviudal for 4
Evaluation Criteria Breakdown Evaluator Evaluators
A. Scope of Services 35 Points 140
Established company with experience in providing Registered Nurses (RN) 0-4
to school districts 16 4 11 1 8 14 16 10 0 0 13 14
Established company with experience in providing Licensed Practical 0-4
Nurses (LPN) to school districts 16 4 11 1 8 14 16 10 0 0 15 16
Vendor has defined recruiting and hiring process 0-3 12 6 9 4 0 12 12 9 0 1 12 12
Vendor will provide a liaison to work with District Administrators to 0-3
resolve issues and concerns 8 10 12 0 1 12 9 3 0 0 12 12
Vendor will provide orientation, training and/or retraining as well as 0-3
supervision of agency nurses 12 0 5 1 0 11 9 6 0 0 12 11
0-3
Vendor will provide access to training resources for specialized healthcare
procedures, treatments or medications to which they are unfamiliar. 12 0 9 0 0 10 8 5 0 0 3 11
Vendor has a methodology for scheduling nurses to cover morning and 0-3
afternoon bus rides with students 12 0 9 0 0 9 12 0 0 1 10 12
Vendor will identify and provide appropriate supervisory personnel to 0-2
attend selected Special Education Nurses' orientation and department
meetings. 4 0 8 0 0 1 5 2 0 0 0 8
Vendor will provide the resume of the supervising RN for the project 0-2 8 0 8 0 0 8 0 0 0 0 0 8
Vendor will ensure assigned staff follow DCSD policies, procedures and 0-2
practices as covered in orientation 6 0 8 1 0 5 5 1 0 1 6 8
0-2
Vendor will provide substitute nursing coverage for contract employee
absence and provide at least a 2 hour notice prior to absence 8 1 4 0 0 8 3 0 0 1 1 8
Vendor will ensure that all RNs and LPNs have current CPR and First Aid 0-2
training 8 0 6 4 0 8 3 6 0 0 0 8
Vendor has staff evaluation and monitoring process in place 0-2 7 0 8 3 0 5 8 3 0 0 8 8
B. Cost of Services 30 Points 120
Registered Nurse Hourly Rate 0-10 40 35 36 15 32 31 39 37 26 40 25 17
Licensed Practical Nurse Hourly Rate 0-10 40 39 34 15 29 31 39 37 35 38 22 17
Vendor agrees to submit monthly invoices accompanied by service logs 0-10
and nursing notes for applicable days 40 0 40 0 0 0 30 0 0 0 0 40
C. Quality and Experience 25 Points 100
0-4
Vendor has demonstrated establishment and experience in metro areas 15 1 14 2 5 13 16 13 10 4 14 16
0-4
Vendor has sufficient size and employees to serve a large metro district 15 4 12 2 3 13 16 5 7 0 14 16
Vendor demonstrates financial stability 0-4 14 1 16 11 11 13 14 13 13 9 16 15
Vendor submitted brochures, catalogs, manuals, websites or literature 0-4
that supports their submission (section J) 15 0 10 0 1 13 12 1 9 0 4 8
Vendor has mission statement in line with that of DCSD 0-3 10 3 8 0 2 4 10 4 0 0 8 8
Vendor has previously provided nursing staff to the District 0-3 9 3 0 0 0 0 12 0 0 0 0 10
Vendor has local office in metro Atlanta 0-3 12 3 12 0 0 11 12 0 0 12 12 12
D. Variety of Additional Services 5 Points 20
Other added value services addressed in Section K 0-5 19 0 20 0 0 0 7 0 0 1 14 0
E. References 5 Points 20
Strength and relevance of references per RFP submittal requirements 0-5 18 8 17 1 6 13 13 8 3 3 12 16
TOTAL 100 Points 400 376 122 327 61 100 259 326 173 103 111 233 311