Task force votes to require Regional One Health written ‘good-faith effort’ plan tied to disparity consultant

The Regional One Health Black Economic Inclusion Task Force voted to require Region One Health to submit a written “good‑faith efforts” plan for inclusive contracting, developed in conjunction with the health system’s disparity-study consultant, during its meeting on April 3, 2025.

The motion, offered by Commissioner J.W. Gibson and seconded by Shep Wilburn, passed on a voice vote. The motion directs Regional One to produce a written good‑faith‑effort process and to ensure the disparity consultant reviews and helps defend it as needed.

The vote followed an extended conversation about how to define and score “good faith efforts” so that outreach to minority- and women‑owned firms (MWBEs) would be meaningful and legally defensible. Task force members including Janice Banks, Ansley Clark, Shep Wilburn and Commissioner Gibson pressed for a transparent, documented process and for the county’s disparity consultant to be involved in crafting or vetting the procedures.

“There's a process. And I'll get each of you the matrix that we use at the county,” Shep Wilburn said, describing the county’s existing good‑faith‑effort scoring matrix and stressing the need for documentation: “It’s not like you can say, ‘I tried.’ You have to prove it.”

Gibson said he amended an initial proposal to avoid locking Region One into county‑specific scoring language and instead asked that the health system work with its consultant to produce the written plan. “I amend my resolution to be a little bit more simpler, to simply say that we require Regional 1 [to] consult their disparity consultant in helping to draw that process up,” Gibson said.

Several task force members cautioned about public language and legal exposure. Ansley Clark urged careful wording: “We need to be very, intentional and strategic in how we do that as far as the language,” she said, noting the current litigation environment around race‑based programs. Wilburn agreed that the disparity consultant’s involvement would help defend the process if challenged in court.

The motion was entered and put to a voice vote; the chair announced, “Ayes have it.” No roll‑call tally was recorded in the meeting minutes.

The task force’s action came amid broader discussion on inclusive contracting and workforce training tied to the Regional One rebuild. Members reiterated that inclusive economic development (contracting) and inclusive workforce development (hiring and training employees, especially from high‑poverty ZIP codes) are distinct goals that must be pursued in parallel.

Task force chair Commissioner Brooks framed the action as part of oversight duties: “Whenever you’re spending public money, you need to exercise extremely tight due diligence,” Brooks said, adding that the group needed a defensible, documented process for contractor outreach and selection.

Next steps recorded by the task force: Regional One is to prepare the written good‑faith effort documentation and coordinate with the disparity consultant; the task force will review the document when completed and may return it to committee for further refinement.

Notes: The motion and vote were recorded as a voice vote; no roll‑call counts were announced. The task force discussed using the county’s matrix as a reference but ultimately required Regional One to work with its own disparity consultant to finalize the process.