These are exciting (and stressful) times for health centers. It looks like we’re starting to turn a corner on the worldwide pandemic, thankfully. But now the hard work of “getting back to work” begins.
Now, I know all of you and your health center co-workers have been working hard throughout the pandemic. So “getting back to work” is a bit of a mischaracterization. But what we are beginning to see is more of a return to normal. Some of our co-workers are returning to the office or clinic after a long period of remote work. We’re starting to see more of our patients in-person as opposed to telehealth. It’s likely the prolonged pandemic has changed fundamentally some of the ways we operate, but at the end of the day our missions remain: we exist to provide access to safety net health care services.
To that end, all our health centers are currently in the process of planning or implementing various projects that utilize American Recovery Plan Act (ARPA) funding. For many of us, that includes purchasing or procuring various types of equipment, supplies and/or facility services (e.g., construction/remodel, janitorial, etc.). Please know that our partners at NACHC Community Health Ventures and Provista have numerous resources to assist you and your co-workers in developing and issuing RFPs, conducting price comparisons, or simply pointing you in the right direction to access the many available preferred pricing programs maintained by our GPO and manufacturer partners. If you would like a resource to help you through the process and ensure you’re getting the best available pricing for your ARPA procurements, please reach out to Alex Vactor (avactor@nachc.com) or Rod Peredo (rperedo@nachc.com).
In this newsletter I’m excited to announce a new partnership between the Delta Purchasing Alliance (“DPA”) and the Texas Association of Community Health Centers. I’m also pleased to welcome to the DPA two new health center members:
As always, if you have any questions regarding your DPA membership, please reach out to me at don.daniel@pmsnm.org. We have numerous preferred pricing programs available to all of you, and many procurement resources we can connect you with to make your day-to-day jobs just a little easier.
Don Daniel
Executive Director
Community Health Best Practices, LLC