Los Angeles County Supervisors Extend Navigant Contract at King/Drew Medical Center
The Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors on Tuesday voted 3-2 to extend by six months the county's current contract with Navigant Consulting to implement reforms at county-owned Martin Luther King Jr./Drew Medical Center, the Los Angeles Times reports.
In voting to award the six-month, $5.7 million contract extension to Navigant, the board rejected a competing bid by FTI Cambio Health Solutions. Cambio had proposed a $4.2 million contract with a $2 million bonus for meeting certain improvement goals.
Board members who voted in favor of extending the Navigant contract said changing consulting firms would be detrimental to the reform process at King/Drew.
However, Supervisor Mike Antonovich -- who opposed the contract extension -- said Navigant has not made sufficient progress at King/Drew under its current contract.
Supervisors said Antionette Smith Epps, who was named King/Drew CEO last week, will take over management of the Navigant contract, the Times reports. The contract was previously managed by the county Department of Health Services.
Smith Epps said she supported the contract extension because Navigant had agreed to provide as many as 31 senior and mid-level managers over the next six months. Smith Epps added that she has hired a chief nursing officer and a chief operating officer and would continue to hire additional staff to replace Navigant consultants.
The board on Tuesday also voted to suspend a hospital advisory panel it had established earlier to consult supervisors on decisions related to King/Drew. Navigant had recommended the advisory panel as part of its reform plan.
However, supervisors voted 4-1 to suspend the advisory panel, saying county DHS and the board were spending more time debating the panel's bylaws and membership than discussing reforms at King/Drew (Ornstein, Los Angeles Times, 10/26).