Alameda County outlines complex procurement timeline for Santa Rita Jail medical services

Chair Supervisor Marquez convened the Health and Public Protection committees on Sept. 29 to review plans for the next Santa Rita Jail medical services contract and to receive an update on procurement timing. Kimberly Gassway, director of the county GSA and the county purchasing agent, told supervisors the existing contract expires on Sept. 30, 2027, and that "a procurement of this type typically can take up to 12 months," not counting possible protests or appeals.

Gassway laid out the sequence: specification development (the sheriff's office is leading scope work with GSA and county counsel), a mandatory bidders conference with required site clearances, a proposer Q&A period and any addenda, submission and vendor completeness and qualification checks, vendor interviews by a County Selection Committee, a notice of intent to award, and a statutory protest window followed by possible appeal to the auditor's office.

Lieutenant Dan Murphy of the Alameda County Sheriff's Office said specification work began in July and that the RFP will be unusually complex because it must incorporate multiple programs and obligations including CalAIM, the planned EPIC electronic health record integration, existing consent-decree requirements and reentry-related services. "We're bringing in experts not only from inside the county, but also outside the county," Murphy said.

County counsel and procurement staff described how protests are handled: Acquisition Policy and GSA review an initial protest and issue a response; bidders who disagree can appeal to the auditor's office, which operates on its own timeline and can require restarting the procurement. Cathy Lee of the County Counsel office clarified procurement options, saying, "If you are using internal county employees, then, you would not need to have an RFP for that," but that contracting with a separate public entity such as Alameda Health Services would generally be documented as an outside contract unless the board waives competitive procurement.

Supervisors pressed staff on whether the timeline gives sufficient transition time and who will sit on selection panels; GSA said selection committees typically include multiple subject-matter experts and that it may use different panels for different portions of a large procurement to ensure appropriate expertise and to avoid conflicts of interest. Gassway said the county will work with sheriff's staff and county counsel to build contract provisions, including penalties, to address lack of performance.

The board and staff emphasized transparency: the RFP will be posted publicly when released, and the county said it will solicit and consider community input. Chair Marquez asked staff to return with an update in January or February to review progress on procurement and the EPIC implementation, a direction the committee accepted.

What happens next: staff will continue drafting specifications with multidisciplinary input, finalize selection-panel design, and complete RFP posting and bidder outreach; a protest or auditor appeal could extend or restart the timeline.