Special Notice / Hearing: None__
Vote Required: Majority
To: Honorable Board of Supervisors
From: Louise Rogers, Chief, Health System
Chester J. Kunnappilly, MD, Chief Executive Officer, San Mateo Medical Center
Subject: Amendment to the Agreement with Certified Languages International, LLC to Provide Interpreter Services
RECOMMENDATION:
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Adopt a resolution authorizing an amendment to the agreement with Certified Languages International, LLC to provide interpreter services, increasing the amount by $223,000 to an amount not to exceed $2,448,000.
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BACKGROUND:
On February 28, 2017, your Board approved an agreement with Certified Languages International, LLC (CLI) to provide interpreter services for the San Mateo Medical Center (SMMC), Health System Administration (HA), and the Human Services Agency (HSA).
DISCUSSION:
In the Request for Proposal (RFP) that resulted in the agreement with CLI, SMMC estimated that 95% of all of its calls requiring interpretation would be for Spanish language. Recent usage reports indicate that only 67% of all calls require Spanish language interpretation. CLI had formulated its overall rate based on the information in the RFP. Providing a broader array of interpreters in languages other than Spanish is more costly than the 95% Spanish scenario laid out in the RFP. As a result, the vendor has approached SMMC to increase its current interpretation rate of $.73 per minute to $.82 per minute. After reviewing the vendor’s request and consulting with HA, SMMC has agreed to this increase.
The amendment and resolution have been reviewed and approved by County Counsel as to form.
This agreement contributes to the Shared Vision 2025 outcome of a Healthy Community by enabling SMMC, HSA, and HA to provide access to safe, rapid and high quality care for Limited English Proficiency residents of San Mateo County. It is anticipated that 95% of interpretation requests will be fulfilled within three minutes.
PERFORMANCE MEASURE:
|
Measure |
FY 2016-17 Estimated |
FY 2017-18 Projected |
|
Percentage of interpretation requests fulfilled within three minutes |
95% |
95% |
FISCAL IMPACT:
The term of the revised agreement is March 1, 2017 through February 29, 2020. The amount of the agreement is not to exceed $2,448,000. The amendment increases the agreement by $223,000. Funds in the amount of $45,188 are included in the SMMC FY 2017-18 Approved Recommended Budget. Funds in the amount of $7,500 are included in the HA FY 2017-18 Approved Recommended Budget. Funds in the amount of $30,937 are included in the HSA FY 2017-18 Approved Recommended Budget. Similar arrangements will be made for future years.
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 are covered by the County’s General Fund contribution to SMMC, and are within the existing annual appropriation.