RFP 25-603 Award Recommendation Letter

AID 1737836 · View on Simbli

Agenda Item

b. RFP 25-603 Nursing Services for Medically Fragile Students with Disabilities Contract~ School Health and School Nursing Services for more than $50,000 Per Vendor (Not to exceed $3,000,000) ~ Updated 2.5.2025

Summary: Presented by: Dr. Norman C. Sauce III, Chief of Student Services, Division of Student Services, 678-676-1077
Request: It is requested that the Board of Education approve the award for RFP 25-603 for Nursing services for Medically Fragile Students with Disabilities to AHS Staffing, LLC; Pediatric Services of America, LLC dba Aveanna Healthcare; Delta T Group Georgia, Inc.; EDU Healthcare, LLC; SHC Services, Inc. dba Supplemental Health Care; Tandym Group, LLC; Technostaff LLC dba HonorVet Technologies; and the Stepping Stones Group LLC., 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 nurse 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. These services are required, according to the IDEA and Section 504 guidelines and physician’s orders, 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 one (1) nurse supporting 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 21, 2024. The approved DCSD RFP process was followed. Eight (8) of the thirty (30) vendors who responded were selected based on the following criteria: ability to provide needed staff, hourly rates, and experience with the school-based settings. The eight (8) selected vendors are AHS Staffing, LLC; Pediatric Services of America, LLC dba Aveanna Healthcare; DeltaT Group Georgia, Inc.; EDU Healthcare, LLC; SHC Services, Inc. dba Supplemental Health Care; Tandym Group, LLC; Technostaff LLC dba HonorVet Technologies; and The Stepping Stones Group LLC.

No single company has been able to provide a sufficient number of substitutes and/or one-to-one nurses to cover the District’s needs. For this reason, it is requested that the top eight (8) vendors selected through the RFP process be approved.
Financial impact: The total contract amount will not exceed $3,000,000.
The contract amount from the general budget will be $1,500,000 (G/L Account: 100.2100.530000.00011.7340.2021.8010.094.0000), $500,000 (G/L Account: 100.2100.530000.22711.7320.9990.8010.094.0000),
and $1,000,000 from IDEA federal dollars (G/L Account: 404.2100.530000.05021.7340.2824.8010.094.2025).

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 $65 - $96 per hour and LPNs $55 - $64 per hour. The total contracted amount will not exceed $3,000,000.
Contact: Dr. Norman C. Sauce III, Chief of Student Services, Division of Student Services, 678-676-1077
Mrs. Kiana King, Executive Director, Exceptional Education, Division of Student Services, 678-676-1885
Effective: March 2025-February 2026
Status: Attorney Approval Not Required
January 6, 2025                                                                           Page 1 of 2

RE: Award Recommendation Letter – RFP 25-603 Nursing Services for Students with Disabilities

Dr. Erin Broyard-Baptiste,

RFP 25-603 Nursing Services for Students with Disabilities was formally processed through the Purchasing
Department at your request. Response(s) to the solicitation were received in the Purchasing Department
on December 19, 2024.

Thirty (30) proposals were reviewed and thirty (30) deemed responsive to the requirements of the
solicitation. Please find attached the responsive proposals and the Abstract Sheet, which is the record of
the public opening/acknowledgement.

Please take the following course of action:

 1) Convene the evaluation team. Remember that each individual serving as an evaluator must have a
    completed and signed Solicitation Evaluator Agreement on file in the Purchasing Department. Your
    team will work together to review and evaluate elements of each response in comparison to the
    solicitation requirements.

 2) Using this form, please advise the Purchasing Department as soon as possible of your award
    recommendation(s) and the date you anticipate presenting your recommendation of award to the
    Board of Education for approval.

     REMINDER: Include the entire bid/rfp number and bid/rfp name in your Board of Education item
     documentation so that we can later match the resulting Superintendent’s award directive to your
     solicitation and produce an award letter.

 3) If your Recommended Award Vendor is not the lowest priced offering, you must provide the
    Purchasing Department your rationale for not awarding to the lowest responsive respondent. Use
    an additional sheet to provide your rationale.

 4) If there is only one line item on the solicitation or if there are multiple line items recommended for
    award and to a single Award Vendor, simply fill in the information below for Recommended Award
    Vendor #1.

 5) If there are multiple line items to be awarded and/or if you recommend splitting the award to
    multiple Award Vendors, you will need to fill in the name for each Recommended Award Vendor on
    the lines below and attach the Tabulation indicating which items are to be awarded to each
    Recommended Award Vendor.




Robert R. Freeman Administrative Complex
1701 Mountain Industrial Blvd | Stone Mountain, GA 30083
678.676.0110 | www.dekalbschoolsga.org
                                                                                            Page 2 of 2

 6) Upon receipt of your award recommendation(s), the Purchasing Department will notify the Risk
    Department of your award recommendation and contact the vendor(s) to request final and fully
    compliant insurance certificates prior to issuance of the award letter and prior to commencement
    or delivery of services under this solicitation.

Please email to Ms. Sierra McGhee-Adams at sierra_mcghee-adams@dekalbschoolsga.org

                                                               DeltaT Group Georgia, Inc.
                                                       _______________________________
                                                           Recommended Award Vendor #1
      February 10, 2025
________________________________
Anticipated BOE Presentation Date
                                                                   AHS Staffing, LLC
                                                       _______________________________
                                                           Recommended Award Vendor #2
                      1/6/2025
________________________________
Your Signature      / Today’s Date
                                                             The Stepping Stones Group LLC
                                                       _______________________________
                                                           Recommended Award Vendor #3

     Tandym Group, LLC
                                                            Technostaff LLC dba HonorVet
     Recommended Award Vendor #6
                                                           Technologies
                                                       _______________________________
     EDU Healthcare, LLC
     Recommended Award Vendor #7                           Recommended Award Vendor #4
     Pediatric Services of America, LLC dba
     Avenna Healthcare                                     SHC Services, Inc. dba Supplemental
     Recommended Award Vendor #8                           Health Care
                                                       _______________________________
                                                           Recommended Award Vendor #5

Please feel free to reach out to me at 678 676-0120 with any questions or concerns. Your prompt response
is appreciated. Thank you.

Regards,
Carla L. Smith
Carla L. Smith
Executive Director, Vendor Services
CLS\smg

c: Dr. Norman Sauce
   Ms. Kiana King
   Mr. Fred Christopher




Robert R. Freeman Administrative Complex
1701 Mountain Industrial Blvd | Stone Mountain, GA 30083
678.676.0110 | www.dekalbschoolsga.org