Sponsor: Medical Examiner
Title
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Single Source Agreement with National Medical Services, Inc. for Toxicology Testing Services
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Recommendation
recommendation
1. Approve the selection of and the agreement with the National Medical Services, Inc. 200 Welsh Road, Horsham, PA, 19044 to provide postmortem toxicology testing services for the period of October 6, 2020 through March 31, 2022 with the option to renew for an additional two year period, in accordance with the rates established in the agreement.
2. Authorize the Chair and the Chief Clerk to execute the agreement.
3. Authorize the County Manager to execute amendments to the agreement in accordance with the County’s procurement policies and procedures, provided the amounts are within the limits of available funding.
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Background
background
The Ramsey County Medical Examiner’s Office provides forensic services and support for coroners, medical examiners and law enforcement agencies throughout greater Minnesota and Wisconsin. As part of the forensic services the Medical Examiner’s Office must provide postmortem toxicology testing for those partners the medical examiner’s office supports.
Ramsey County’s current vendors, Regions Hospital, Hennepin County Medical Center and Medtox Laboratory, no longer meet the Ramsey County Medical Examiner requirements. Regions Hospital no longer holds forensic certification or employs a board-certified toxicologist, Hennepin County Medical Center no longer provides testing for designer drugs or many of the prescription drugs needing to be tested by the medical examiner office, and Medtox Laboratory does not have the certification required to maintain the Ramsey County Medical Examiner Certification with the International Association of Coroners and Medical Examiner’s (IACME). Due to these shortfalls the Ramsey County Medical Examiner requested a single vendor that has the appropriate accreditation.
The agreement with National Medical Services (NMS) is rate-setting and approved by procurement to be a single source agreement. National Medical Services is a nationally recognized and certified laboratory with unique qualifications. NMS Labs is one of the leading provider of postmortem toxicology testing services in the nation and is the only lab listed by the American Board of Forensic Toxicology’s as being accredited by both the American Board of Forensic Toxicology and the American National Standards Institute and the National Accreditation Board. NMS has the ability to test for a wide variety of both prescription and illegal drugs and they currently offer over 2,500 tests that are exclusive to NMS labs and are not available at other commercial labs. NMS team of experts are forensically trained and has worked thousands of civil and criminal cases at the local, state, and federal level.
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County Goals (Check those advanced by Action)
☐ Well-being ☐ Prosperity ☐ Opportunity ☒ Accountability
Racial Equity Impact
There is no direct racial equity impact linked with this agreement. This agreement is administrative only and the Ramsey County Medical Examiner involvement serves the entire community.
Community Participation Level and Impact
This action is to inform the community of an administrative change. The County provides information on this action through the County Board documentation at <https://www.ramseycounty.us/your-government/leadership/board-commissioners/board-meetings-information>.
☒ Inform ☐ Consult ☐ Involve ☐ Collaborate ☐ Empower
Fiscal Impact
This is a rate-setting agreement and the National Medical Services rates are specifically customized to meet the needs of the Ramsey County Medical Examiner’s office. The rates will remain fixed for the original term of this agreement. At the end of the original term of the agreement the vendor can increase the rates but not more than five percent of the rates in the original term.
County Manager Comments
County Board approval is required to enter into a Single Source agreement.
Last Previous Action
None.
Attachments
1. Single Source Request
2. Professional Services Agreement