Special Notice / Hearing: None
Vote Required: Majority
To: Honorable Board of Supervisors
From: Colleen Chawla, Chief, San Mateo County Health
Viral Mehta, Director, LEAP Institute
Rich Bailey, Chief Information Officer, San Mateo County Health
Subject: Amendment to Agreement with KaiNexus, Inc for Information System Services
RECOMMENDATION:
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Adopt a resolution authorizing an amendment to the agreement with KaiNexus, Inc. to provide an information system for reporting and tracking problem identification and resolution, while caring for clients with complex needs throughout San Mateo County Health, extending for one additional year through December 9, 2026, and increasing the County’s fiscal liability by $141,495 to an amount not to exceed $822,975.
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BACKGROUND:
Problem-solving and continuous improvement have been foundational elements of San Mateo County Health (SMCH) for many years. The KaiNexus, Inc. (KaiNexus) platform has been in place since 2019 to support SMCH staff in effectively managing all problem-solving activities, including those related to safety, such that all problems are seen and solved to root, and solutions are spread systematically. Currently, 2,302 SMCH users are using this application.
DISCUSSION:
The problem-solving application offered by KaiNexus is unique in its specific focus on identifying and implementing improvement opportunities using the methodology adopted by SMCH. SMCH has been satisfied with the functionality of the application and the support provided by the vendor. Currently, KaiNexus is being utilized in four divisions within SMCH: San Mateo Medical Center (SMMC), Public Health, Policy, and Planning, Aging and Disability Services, and Behavioral Health Recovery Services (BHRS), with SMMC and BHRS using it for mandatory reporting requirements. We recently initiated expansion to three additional divisions (Correctional Health Services, Family Health Services, and Emergency Medical Services), with implementation tentatively planned for Q3 of 2025. Changing the vendor platform at this stage would likely delay that expansion and require retraining of the current users. This is particularly important as SMCH has recently made the implementation of a problem-solving platform a performance goal and will track the percentage of staff that use a problem-solving platform. SMCH is planning to release a Request for Proposals solicitation in January 2026, with implementation of the selected vendor by December 2026.
The amendment and resolution have been reviewed and approved by the County Attorney as to form.
The County’s Procurement Department has approved a waiver request to extend the agreement to seven years.
SMCH requests this Board to waive the Request for Proposals process to allow KaiNexus to continue to provide these services.
The Information Services Department has reviewed and approved the IT component of this agreement.
The resolution contains the County’s standard provisions allowing amendment of the County’s fiscal obligations by a maximum of $25,000 (in aggregate).
It is anticipated that 95% of requests (through KaiNexus) will be acknowledged by the vendor within two days, with clear timeframes for next steps (if any needed) in the response.
PERFORMANCE MEASURE:
|
Measure |
FY 2025-26 Estimated |
FY 2026-27 Projected |
|
Percentage of requests (through KaiNexus) acknowledged by the vendor within two days, with clear timeframes for next steps (if any neeed) in the response |
95% |
95% |
Community Impact:
The improvement work application provides a scalable, user-friendly platform that fosters a culture of continuous improvement and collaborative problem-solving in healthcare environments. Designed to address operational inefficiencies, patient care gaps, and staff engagement challenges, the platform empowers SMCH to identify, analyze, and resolve issues in real time while promoting data-driven decision-making and sustained quality improvement.
FISCAL IMPACT:
The term of this amended agreement is December 10, 2019 through December 9, 2026. The agreement amount is not to exceed $822,975. One hundred percent of this amount will be funded by Mental Health Services Act funds, with no Net County Cost associated with this agreement.