The North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services (NCDHHS) selected 26 businesses to form its initial pool of qualified vendors to support the state’s response to COVID-19. North Carolina is responding to the pandemic on multiples fronts, including building the state’s testing and contact tracing infrastructure, while surging assets in communities and populations that have been hardest hit by COVID-19.
“Given how contagious and potentially dangerous this virus is for some, it is essential that we can surge resources where they are needed most. We now have vendors at the ready that the state can put on the ground in local hot spots to support our communities,” said NCDHHS Secretary Mandy Cohen, MD.
The selected vendors are pre-qualified to work with the department. The first areas of work will focus on testing all residents and staff of nursing homes and significantly increasing testing for African American/Black, LatinX/Hispanic, Native American, and refugee populations in ZIP codes that lack access to testing sites. Historically marginalized populations are being disproportionately impacted by COVID-19 due to long standing health inequities that NCDHHS is addressing proactively as it responds to this pandemic.
The department is prioritizing working with minority-owned business vendors or vendors who retain a diverse workforce. Of the 26 that were qualified, 14 were minority owned. NCDHHS will continue to work with the Office for Historically Underutilized Businesses and partners to encourage prioritized vendors to apply. To support vendors in the next round of the application process, NCDHHS is hosting a webinar on June 26, 2020 from 3-4 p.m. Vendors may register at https://attendee.gotowebinar.com/register/5812452079685894415.
Vendors applied to be qualified for individual or multiple components to support the state’s strategy:
- Testing and Lab Capacity. Knowing who has COVID-19 is critical to slowing the spread of COVID-19. New guidance recommends clinicians test anyone suspected of having COVID-19, as well as people who are at higher risk of exposure, higher risk for serious illness or disproportionately impacted by COVID-19 regardless of symptoms. Among the areas of focus are supporting historically marginalized populations, testing in congregate living facilities, testing in areas with outbreaks, addressing low-tested counties or communities and supporting businesses and their workforce.
- Contact Tracing. Contact Tracing is a proven, effective way to help slow the spread of diseases like COVID-19. Contact tracing identifies people who have recently been in close contact with someone who has tested positive for COVID-19. This helps North Carolina more rapidly identify those who may have been exposed and quickly get them the necessary supports and resources that can help protect them and their loved ones. To meet the scale needed to respond to COVID-19, NCDHHS is seeking vendors who represent the communities and people impacted by COVID-19 to build on the work of local health departments through vendors.
This is a rolling qualification process and vendors will be able to submit a response by the first of every month through December. The Request for Qualifications (RFQ) for Round 2 is now posted, and the deadline for response is July 1. In addition, the department anticipates issuing future RFQs for other functions beyond testing, lab capacity and contact tracing.
Qualified vendors for testing and laboratory reserve capacity include:
- CW Williams Community Health Care Center
- EGL Genetic Diagnostics
- Laboratory Corporation of America Holding
- Omnicare a CVS Health Company
- Orig3n, Inc
- United Providers of Health LLC
- University Health System of East Carolina
Qualified vendors for contact tracing include:
- 22nd Century Technologies
- Arbor/Res-care
- Atrium Staffing
- Automated Health Systems
- BizTechPeople LLC
- CW Williams Community Health Care Center
- Global Contact Services
- Grace Federal Solutions LLC
- Intellect Resources
- K4 Solutions Inc
- Keystone Peer Review
- Maximus Health Services
- Medical Edge Recruitment LLC
- PRC
- Public Consulting Group Inc
- ResponsePoint
- SouthEastern Healthcare of NC
- Spanish Speaking LLC
- SWC Group LLP dba Healthcare Solutions
- WellSky
For more information on testing and contact tracing, please see the frequently asked questions about testing and frequently asked questions about contact tracing.
For the latest information on COVID-19, visit nc.gov/covid19. For more data and information about North Carolina’s testing strategy, visit the North Carolina COVID-19 Dashboard: covid19.ncdhhs.gov/dashboard.