The state of Michigan signed a $42 million contractin July with aCOVID-19 testing companythat is under scrutiny in Texas for returning test results too slowly, and is accused of providingunreliabletest results to a South Dakota native American tribe. Thank you @Parkland @DCHHS @DallasOEM https://t.co/vNfH2ZLXJB, A city spokeswoman clarified Tuesday that the contract has not been canceled, only paused.. The contract with Hanu (sic) is being cancelled, Jenkins wrote. The contract with Hanu is being cancelled. Michigan Antigen Testing Results. COVID-19 test, her result is negative. Parkland Health & Hospital System will take over one of Dallas Countys largest public coronavirus testing sites as the current contractor faces growing scrutiny over delayed test results. Department of Health records show that the US Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General is aware of the investigation into DA Medical Group. A not detected (negative) test result for this test means that SARS- CoV-2 RNA was not present in the specimen above the limit of detection. Program Manager Operations Chief. Covid-19 Testing | Honu MG | United States Providing effective and efficient management services that assist healthcare facilities and organizations by providing cost-effective solutions to both patients and the healthcare system. Thank you @Parkland @DCHHS @DallasOEM https://t.co/vNfH2ZLXJB. In June, Honus laboratory partner in California returned false positives to nursing homes in Dallas County and other parts of Texas, state officials said, setting off a rush to isolate frail residents. Devin Thornton has told us that there was no kickback scheme and that his company was performing legitimate work for these other companies that they work with and it was someone elses wrongdoing, Hacker said. Currently, HONU is located at one location - a State-owned parcel off of Middle Street, near the Nimitz Viaduct. Dallas County COVID-19 cases are on the rise in Dallas County, as are hospitalizations across the state. Embedded Tech For Above Baseline IT Tech Support. Today's top 6 Uvex Group jobs in Frth, Bavaria, Germany. Thornton said when he submitted references to the city, it was Honus intention to provide COVID-19 testing at CareATC sites. endstream endobj startxref People are friendly and accommodating! Only 237 of the reported new cases are from recent testing. Introduction. Sutfin said the state "closely monitors lab turnaround time and will do so in this case as well, as testing with Honu ramps up.". Officials said the COVID-19 variant cases were identified after daily testing of inmates and staff at the facility. We do not make unsubstantiated claims or exaggerations, Thornton said in an email. "This is part of the state's efforts to bring vaccine into communities and to vaccinate as many Michiganders as possible. Even though the Washington State Department of Health has thousands of pages of investigative files on DA Medical Group, and its CEO Devin Thornton, those records have been not been made public as the department investigation stretches beyond three years. Sutfin said the state will "carefully monitorHonus performance, including its timeliness, and take action if problems arise. the Coronavirus crisis. EB#LIUDD"?spvg^^=/um$.`9 JwK=fSwyKl%=)mLZbtrr>@@p!8mlzr}_O!r6 Er;I$QY4atZys`w{dYaPe6? Nic Garcia, Senior writer. The county looked at more than 12,000 test results from Honu sites in the Dallas area over six weeks in July and August. Previously Holly reported for the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, the Ventura County (Calif.) Star and the Antioch (Calif.) Ledger Dispatch. In the rush, some untested companies are winning work in Texas and across the country. Martin said he would provide an update to commissioners next month. In mid-June, Anderson vouched for Honu and told the city the company had tested more than 500 of his workers, according to notes from the citys phone call with Anderson. DALLAS A Washington state-based company is drawing increasing scrutiny as it secures publicly-funded COVID-19 testing contracts across the county. MARQUETTE COVID-19 testing sites at several local sites have been announced. Jenkins told county commissioners at their Tuesday meeting that the hospital would provide up to 250 tests per day, half of Honus volume. Last week, The Big Bend Sentinel reported that the Washington State-based company was taking over testing sites from the National Guard after scoring a contract from the Texas Division of Emergency Management. "We welcome the audits as an opportunity to affirm who we are as a company," he said. ,? eH(D0f(pyuaN'|7>kG~UR)RQ+e+SZ7xz0dJj>&,N7Xi+i)z? By Wednesday, it was 3,052, and 3,246 on Thursday. After relying on the company to run tests, Texas has now put Honu in charge of test sites in rural parts of the state, a job previously handled by the Texas National Guard, and in Dallas and El Paso. Please update to a modern browser such as Chrome, Firefox or Edge to experience all features Michigan.gov has to offer. By clicking Sign Up, I confirmthat I have read and agreeto the Privacy Policy and Terms of Service. To date, the state, through the Texas Division of Emergency Management, has paid Honu $2.4 million for its services, according to payment records posted online. Texas became the fourth state to surpass 10,000 deaths on Monday, joining New Jersey, New York, and California. Indicate the Specimen Type/Source. The number of active COVID cases has also continued to rise. In August, the testing site relocated to Eastfield College in Mesquite. stay healthy! 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X Site Type 6 will be bid out to the awarded contractors on an as needed basis upon determination by the state. of Health and Human Services and HONU . Copyright 2023 NBCUniversal Media, LLC. Honu CEO Devin Thornton could not be reached for comment Tuesday. endstream endobj startxref Nearly 13,000 COVID cases had been reported in St. Clair County, with 275 deaths and 3,936 active . Visit Healthcare, statewide, community mobile sites; seasonal agriculture; and shelters and vulnerable populations - $7,000,000. Holly works on the investigations team after many years covering education for The Dallas Morning News. After the Dallas Morning News articles, the mayor of Dallas called for an audit into how the Honu contract was awarded. In the first three weeks of July, it took about two days from the time patients got tested to when they received their results. It isn't clear how long these effects might last. DALLAS - Dallas County is ending its contract with the company that runs one of the largest COVID-19 testing sites in North Texas. Results . We will get residents fast,accurate results. The companys effectiveness will be critical in stemming the viruss spread because fast and reliable test results are key to isolating sick people and tracking down others who may have been infected. Finally, the Honu Management Group, conducts COVID testing and provides weekly access to COVID-19 vaccines and booster shots. In Dallas, Texas officials "paused" a $14 million testing contract with Honu Management, of Spokane Valley, after the company failed to meet its contract requirement to turn around test. For more help with the HONU results, email Covid19Help@honumg.com or call 844-778-2455. This was in partnership with the National Guard, HONU Management Group, and the city of Detroit. A general rise in COVID-19 cases, as well as the spread of the B.1.1.7 variant in Livingston County, is prompting a drive-thru testing event this weekend. We want to get those results. By COVID-19 Bulletin: 08/19/20 Jencie Tomasek. Experts say that current death counts are bound to be an undercount because of insufficient testing at the beginning of the pandemic. A statement from the mayors office Tuesday reads, We went ahead with the switch to a private vendor from the federal government because it would be father, so longer wait times are obviously not acceptable.. Follow her on Twitter @kristenshamus. 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Both the city and county of Dallas have ended their contract with embattled Honu Management Group, which ran the largest public COVID-19 testing site, The Dallas Morning News reports. Would you like to proceed to legacy Twitter? That ensures the city is aware of any past problems and can talk through them with the vendor before making a decision. At Eastfield, it took four or more days for 97% of the samples to be collected and analyzed, and then for results to be reported, county data show. In most cases, lab test results delivery times should not exceed two weeks. We are trying to expand testing as schools start back up to anyone who wants it, he said. With one of them, at the American Airlines Center, set to close at the end of June, local officials said they needed a contractor who could take over the massive operation, from staffing the site and swabbing patients to testing the specimens and notifying people of their results. Effective August 28th, @Parkland will take over the site @eastfield_dc currently run by Hanu. We didnt go through the normal soliciting for an open bid, Hacker told KING 5 about Dallass hasty decision hire Honu. When youre in a crisis, this is a time when you go with only the most reliable companies and the companies you know are going to deliver.. Copyright 2023, D Magazine Partners, Inc. We use cookies to ensure that we give you the best experience on our website. Vaz, the city emergency director, said no such disclosure was made during the reference-checking process, and only came to light after The News asked about it. 247 0 obj <>stream The Allegan County Health Department is teaming up with Allegan County Transportation and HONU Management Group to have free drive-thru COVID-19 testing events in Allegan County. Rock Island, IL. The effects also could lead to the development of new conditions, such as diabetes or a heart or nervous . The second omicron variant comes into focus. They will be phased in as needed as the National Guard is still providing testing assistance. City and county officials did not immediately respond to questions from The News on Tuesday about contract details. "All state contracts include clauses that allow for separation for cause or convenience," she said, "and MDHHS will carefully monitor Honus performance, including its timeliness, and take action if problems arise.". If yes, provide the date, the entity, and details about the situation. Im not saying that a company that fails on a contract should be avoided and basically blackballed from ever getting contracts again, but you have to be very careful, Moulton said. Honu also would be "responsible for rapid response when outbreaks occur.". The city of Dallas has paid Honu $1 million, according to the citys public check register. When Honu Management Group pitched itself to run a major coronavirus testing site for the city and county of Dallas, the company listed impressive experience. When she did get her results 10 days later, they were rejected, meaning the test was unable to determine whether she had coronavirus. Honu partnered with one in the Austin area. FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Full COVID-19 vaccination is an essential job function of this role. Ive always run the company kind of as a charity, Thornton said. 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I think its all a money grab, regardless of the interest of the general public, said Vanessa Izquierdo of Dallas. It took a steep $1.4 billion loss over the first three months of the year as the omicron variant of COVID-19 kept travel demand low. (Dallas) said, Hey, look, this was an emergency situation because it was a pandemic. The Indian Health Service then retested the same 61 people and all results were negative, he said. Since the first report of a cluster of cases of acute respiratory illness in China, the current coronavirus outbreak (COVID-19) has spread globally exacting a huge toll on individuals, families, communities, and societies across the world, resulting in a World Health Organization (WHO) declaration of a pandemic 1, 2.The COVID-19 response has highlighted the need for a . He said the pharmacy that DA Medical worked with was billing patients through another pharmacy and that arrangement was not disclosed to him. Is Dallas becoming unaffordable due to rising housing costs, inflation and stagnating pay? Peterson points out that DA Medical and Devin Thornton are not the targets of the Department of Health's investigation, since the agency is only authorized to investigate licensed, medical professionals. English Espaol Burmese Hakha Chin. Were just looking for someone to get the job done, he said last week. Given the states prior issues with NovaDX, the city and county of Dallas asked Honu to work with a different lab. FORT BEND COUNTY. ACCESS, Region 10, homebound; community mobile sites; shelters and vulnerable populations - $1,100,000. The city and county of Dallas will end their joint agreement with a Washington-based company that was hired to run a publiccoronavirustesting site after the turnaround time for results was taking nearly twice as long as before, Dallas County Judge Clay Jenkinssaid late Monday. However, that information can be found on the DSHS website at the following link: https://dshs.texas.gov/coronavirus/AdditionalData.aspx Audio Visual Fabrication Engineer. Honu set up its first testing site July 1 at the University of Dallas in Irving. We were in need of a vendor to continue our testing and Honu was the only vendor to respond completely to meet our needs, Rocky Vaz, director of the citys Office of Emergency Management, said last week. People can request an appointment by calling or texting 888-776-5252, or visiting mdmedicalgroup.us. Recovery Mobile Clinic, Regions 9 and 10, community mobile sites; and shelters and vulnerable populations - $1,400,000. Brings new meaning to the phrase Sunday Funday. Holly K. Hacker. Anyone interested in donating or volunteering at the center. He has previously defended his companys testing work and said his goal is to help patients while keeping health care costs low. Michigan residents seeking more information about the COVID-19 vaccine can visitMichigan.gov/COVIDvaccine. . Information on testing at other sites in the city is available. You can also call the COVID-19 Hotline at 888-535-6136 or email us atCOVID19@michigan.gov. 12615 E. Mission Ave Ste #101, Spokane Valley, WA 99216. Thornton and Anderson both told The News there is no conflict of interest because Dallas is not using NovaDX as the lab for its contract with the city. COVID-19 vaccination data reporting has been discontinued on the Texas DSHS dashboard. Mr. Beck is newly admitted to ABC House and consents to a COVID-19 test, his result is positive. It appears one time in the companys 35-page proposal, under the name Edwin Anderson, on a California lab licensing document. Honu won the contract through a competitive bidding process run through the state Department of Technology, Management and Budget, Sutfin said. Finally, the Honu Management Group, conducts COVID testing and provides weekly access to COVID-19 vaccines and booster shots. A Google search led to a November news report from KING-TV in Seattle about a Washington State Department of Health investigation into at least two foot doctors regarding an alleged medical kickback scheme. A state investigation found problems with certain tubes used to ship patient samples for testing at the lab, NovaDX, according to state health officials. Around the same time, the federal government began threatening to pull its support from two major drive-through sites where city and county residents could get tested for free. Contractors will be required to schedule appointments and manage all logistics involved in providing mobile vaccinations. . People who had severe illness with COVID-19 might experience organ damage affecting the heart, kidneys, skin and brain. It breaks my heart when people try to abuse the system that is designed for patient care, Thornton said. In Sanilac County, there were 2,762 total cases or 307 new. The problem: One reference said Honu overstated the scope of its work. She previously worked for the San Antonio Express-News and in New Hampshire, as the statehouse reporter for the Concord Monitor.