Title
Authorize the Chief Executive Officer for Natividad Medical Center (NMC) or his designee to execute amendment No. 2 to the agreement with Huffmaster Crisis Response, Inc. for nurse and allied professional staffing services in the event of an emergent staffing crisis at NMC, to add $350,000 for a revised total agreement amount not to exceed $901,988, until the conclusion of the staffing need.
Report
RECOMMENDATION:
It is recommended the Board of Supervisors:
Authorize the Chief Executive Officer for Natividad Medical Center (NMC) or his designee to execute amendment No. 2 to the agreement with Huffmaster Crisis Response, Inc. for nurse and allied professional staffing services in the event of an emergent staffing crisis at NMC, to add $350,000 for a revised total agreement amount not to exceed $901,988, until the conclusion of the staffing need.
SUMMARY/DISCUSSION:
Huffmaster is a nationally-recognized healthcare staffing agency, providing emergency staffing and strike staffing solutions to healthcare clients, including hospitals. By providing clinical personnel during an emergent situation, hospitals can continue their vital operations during these situations.
Throughout the pandemic Natividad has experienced extreme census increases, resignations, increased unit sick-outs, difficulty with recruiting experienced specialty staff and a minimum of a two-week compliance requirement for traditional travel staff. All of this threatens Natividad's ability to meet its licensure requirements and nursing and allied professional to patient staff ratios in hospital units. When all regularly assigned staff participate in unit call-in's and fail to report to work, Natividad, committed to patient safety, is put into a position to cancel procedures and plan to divert emergency cases to other hospitals. Amending the existing agreement with Huffmaster to include emergent short-term staffing crisis situations will ensure that by the following day, Natividad is able to...
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