Forsyth County public health seeks $55,000 emergency trailer and $149,400 lab software contract

Forsyth County public-health staff asked the Board on Jan. 16 to approve two items intended to strengthen the county’s emergency-response and laboratory capabilities: a reimbursable purchase of a mobile trailer for emergency response and a three-year contract for laboratory information software.

Emergency preparedness coordinator Emily Austin said Public Health seeks to buy an 8½-by-20-foot climate-controlled trailer from Trailers of the East Coast for $55,000 to serve as a multi-department emergency-response workspace and a command post. “This trailer would serve as a multi department emergency response resource…capable of being powered by either an onboard generator or by being connected to shore power,” Austin said. The trailer is towable by multiple county vehicles and would support testing, vaccination and responder rehab. Austin said the purchase would be funded through an agreement addendum with the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services (AA716 COVID-19 vaccination program) and would be fully reimbursable, so there is no direct county cost.

Assistant Public Health Director Nicole Priti asked commissioners to approve a three-year agreement with Orchard Software Corporation for laboratory information services not to exceed $149,400 ($49,800 annually). Priti said the Public Health Laboratory has used Orchard since 2015 and the updated contract includes a cloud-based system upgrade to improve test-ordering and result reporting to the State’s electronic disease surveillance system and to replace an outdated server.

Priti said the county sought informal bids from two other vendors and Orchard submitted the lowest price. Both items were presented with staff recommendations; no formal board vote is recorded in the briefing transcript.

Provenance: Trailer discussion begins at 00:19:20 and Orchard software discussion begins at 00:17:28 in the transcript.