Title
Termination of Agreement between the Kansas Department Of Health And Environment (KDHE) and the Sedgwick County Public Health Emergency Preparedness Program.
Body
Recommended Action: Approve the agreement to terminate and authorize the Chairman to sign.
Background: On May 20, 2015, the Sedgwick County Board of County Commission approved acceptance of a Kansas Department of Health and Environment grant in the amount of $146,895 to support local public health preparedness planning and operations readiness.
Due to changes in grant guidance, the Health Department, as well as Sedgwick County Emergency Management, is recommending termination of the grant. The initial intent of this funding was to supply personal protective equipment (PPE) to be used by first responders in the event of a highly infectious disease outbreak like Ebola.
On July 28, 2015 during the monthly state-wide preparedness call we were notified that PPE purchased with these grant funds would only be allowed to be used for Public Health staff. EMS, Fire, and Law Enforcement would not be eligible to use PPE purchased with this funding. Written confirmation was sent July 31, 2015 during the weekly preparedness update email.
This creates an ethical situation. In the event of a highly infectious disease outbreak, our first responders would need access to this type of specialized PPE. When their own caches run low, the Health Department would have equipment that could potentially save lives, yet would potentially be committing grant fraud if it allowed our first response partners to utilize it.
Given these new restrictions, the grant funding no longer makes sense for Sedgwick County. We recommend termination of the contract.
Financial Considerations: No funds have been exchanged and no actions have been taken on this grant. The initial agreement was for $146,895 for the period beginning on April 1, 2015 and ended on September 30, 2016.
Policy considerations: None
Legal c...
Click here for full text