Special Notice / Hearing: None__
Vote Required: Majority
To: Honorable Board of Supervisors
From: Colleen Chawla, Chief, San Mateo County Health
Chester J. Kunnappilly, MD, Chief Executive Officer, San Mateo Medical Center
Subject: Amendment to the Agreement with Marta Banh, OD to provide Optometry Services
RECOMMENDATION:
title
Adopt a resolution authorizing an amendment to the agreement with Marta Banh, OD to provide optometry services, for the term of October 1, 2022 through October 31, 2025, to an amount not to exceed $492,205.
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BACKGROUND:
San Mateo County is responsible for providing necessary medical care to its medically indigent population. Since 2013, Marta Banh, OD has provided optometry services to County patients at San Mateo Medical Center’s (SMMC’s) optometry clinics. On October 1, 2022, the County entered into an agreement with Dr. Banh to cover a minimum of 264 Optometry clinics and to provide Medical Director services for Optometry for SMMC in an amount not to exceed $427,205.
DISCUSSION:
Effective April 1, 2024, the SMMC and Dr. Banh amended the agreement to clarify compensation terms, increase Dr. Banh’s Medical Director hours, and adjust the “not to exceed” amount by $25,000 to $452,205. For this amendment, SMMC and Dr. Banh are interested in providing expanded clinic coverage covered by the terms set forth in Exhibit B, Section V., subsections a. and b., permitting Dr. Banh to provide extra services at SMMC’s request to meet patient need. The cost to cover the expanded services is estimated to be $40,000, which accounts for a one-month extension of the term of Dr. Banh’s agreement through October 31, 2025.
The County Attorney has reviewed and approved the resolution and agreement as to form.
The resolution contains the County’s standard provisions allowing amendment of the County fiscal obligations by a maximum of $25,000 (in aggregate).
It is anticipated that Dr. Banh will review referrals for urgent cases within one business day and routine referrals within three business days 100% of the time.
PERFORMANCE MEASURE:
|
Measure |
FY 2024-25 Actual |
FY 2025-26 Estimated |
|
Percentage of urgent and routine referrals reviewed by Dr. Banh within timeframes (urgent: within one business day and routine: within three business days |
100% |
100% |
COMMUNITY IMPACT:
Dr. Banh’s continued optometry coverage positively impacts health outcomes because delivery of optometry services at SMMC, a public safety net hospital, addresses community need. SMMC’s patients span a wide spectrum of races, ethnicities, gender, and gender-identities. Within the past 18 months the largest cohorts of specialty care patients at SMMC were female (52%), Hispanic or Latino (63%), and primarily Spanish-speaking (55%). SMMC strives to eliminate bias in the medical profession by providing training to its physicians and by following up with patients to ensure that they continue to have access to specialized care. SMMC specifically tracks physician satisfaction survey results and requires Dr. Banh to meet with SMMC and discuss patient feedback to improve patient satisfaction and remove potential barriers to care.
FISCAL IMPACT:
The term of the amended agreement would be October 1, 2022 through October 31, 2025, due to a one-month extension. The amount of the amended agreement is not to exceed $492,205 for the three-year and one-month term. Funds in the amount of $40,000 to account for the extension and increase in clinic coverage are included in the SMMC FY 2025-26 Adopted Budget.
Expenses at SMMC are covered by fees for services or third-party payors whenever possible. The portion of expenses for services provided to the medically indigent or to those covered by programs that do not meet the full costs of care is covered by the County’s General Fund contribution to SMMC and is within the existing annual appropriation.