Experts say that current death counts are bound to be an undercount because of insufficient testing at the beginning of the pandemic. 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. Testing for a national healthcare company. The clinic will operate on Tuesdays, Fridays and Sundays, from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. COVID-19 testing is provided by Honu Management Group and is free to the public. One thing the city pointed out is, Hey, you know, no ones been arrested for anything, Hacker recalled. The licensed doctors, who denied any wrongdoing through their attorneys, are the ones under investigation. City representatives had previously said publicly that Honu was meeting the terms of its contract. The city of Dallas has paid Honu $1 million, according to the citys public check register. HealthSource Saginawis a medical rehabilitation and recovery hospital. Honu, named for a Hawaiian green sea turtle, had a bumpy start in Texas. Dallas County Judge Clay Jenkins says Hony, the private company hired for millions of dollars to run testing at one site, was taking three days just to get tests to a lab in Austin for processing. Now, Parkland Hospital will operate testing at the Eastfield College site, which Honu used to run. The city and county of Dallas also wanted a company that could quickly process a high volume of tests, after frustrations with the federally supported sites, which officials said were taking up to 10 days to return results. Honu also has an agreement with the Texas Division of Emergency Management to provide testing at numerous sites around the state, including one at Mountain View College in Dallas. DALLAS - Dallas County is ending its contract with the company that runs one of the largest COVID-19 testing sites in North Texas. Spokane Valley, WA We've detected that JavaScript is disabled in your browser. By COVID-19 Bulletin: 08/19/20 Jencie Tomasek. The contract with Hanu (sic) is being cancelled, Jenkins wrote. A city spokeswoman said Honu was properly vetted as quickly as possible in what was a crisis. If you are a new sender, please provide your contact information and a fax number. If yes, provide the date, the entity, and details about the situation. Materials for People with Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities and Care Providers, COVID-19 Vaccine Provider Guidance and Educational Resources, Michigan Coronavirus Task Force on Racial Disparities, https://dev.michigan.local/som/json?sc_device=json, State awards six contracts for COVID-19 vaccination to high-risk populations and settings across Michigan, Go to Materials for People with Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities and Care Providers, Direct Care Workers: Communications Toolkit, Go to COVID-19 Vaccine Provider Guidance and Educational Resources, Go to Michigan Coronavirus Task Force on Racial Disparities, Go to COVID-19 Therapeutics Information Page, Shelters, transient communities, other vulnerable populations. Honu Management Group, and Fulgent should be awarded bids to fulfill the complete award Of PCR testing needed for St. Charles County. DALLAS A Washington state-based company is drawing increasing scrutiny as it secures publicly-funded COVID-19 testing contracts across the county. EN. The department is partnering with HONU Management . The doctors then allegedly received a share of insurance reimbursements a kickback. Honu set up its first testing site July 1 at the University of Dallas in Irving. June 28, 2021 Full COVID-19 vaccination is an essential job function of this role. Or, for all other COVID-19 questions or concerns, call 88-217-3904, email covid@dhd10.org or visit www.dhd10.org/schedule.. LTS is working with HONU Management Group through the state and interested school districts. About 15% of people tested there had to wait seven or more days from the. Dallas County COVID-19 cases are on the rise in Dallas County, as are hospitalizations across the state. Testing lets us know who is sick, but staying healthy is the best way to protect yourself. Back to coronavirus.in.gov; Need help? 1:18. 35 Honu Management Group, statewide, homebound; community mobile sites; neighborhood testing sites; seasonal agriculture; and shelters and vulnerable populations - $20,000,000. The newspaper reports the decision confirmed by a spokesman for Mayor Eric Johnson came after city and county officials began investigating Honu Management Groups performance and how it won the $14 million contract when it began running a drive through testing site July 1 in Irving. If you test positive for the coronavirus, DHD#10 will notify you via text and will ask you to fill out a survey so case investigations and contact tracing can begin. Thats raising questions about why Washington state did not warn other states about the companys officers, who are linked to a long-running health care fraud investigation by the Washington State Department of Health. 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. This week . I think its all a money grab, regardless of the interest of the general public, said Vanessa Izquierdo of Dallas. The United States Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has more information at a federal level about COVID-19 and our current pandemic. He also reports on social justice issues and inequities. A spokesman for Mayor Eric Johnson confirmed the change. The number of active COVID cases has also continued to rise. The state's contract stipulates that Honu can use either polymerase chain reaction (PCR) tests or rapid point-of-care tests that have gottenemergency use authorization from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. AH6HL??o >J Parkland Health and Hospital System will take over Honus testing sites at the end of the month. "They began testing on their own on Aug.14 at a skilled nursing facility in Detroit. Eight billboards display photos from Weems archive along with English and Spanish messages about the virus, KERA reports. State fines United Shore, 5 other businesses for coronavirus-related violations, Your California Privacy Rights / Privacy Policy. Honu has lived up to the contract terms.. 0 Conventional diagnostic tests for the novel coronavirus may give false-negative results about 30% of the time, meaning people with an active COVID-19 infection still test negative for the disease . Clients and Partners We asked around if the residents have any complaints about their city, they said, "there is none!" Honu is expected to ramp up its testing capability, and be able toperform anywhere from 1,000-4,000 tests statewide per day inplaceslikenursing homes andlong-term care facilities, adult foster care homes as well as prisons, jails and homeless shelters, food processing facilities and housing formigrant workers. Download File. Recommended when you're adding many individuals. Inflammation and problems with the immune system can also happen. ", "As this virus has continued to spread and adapt so have we as a company and community health service provider," Thornton wrote in an email message to the Free Press. Effective August 28th, @Parkland will take over the site @eastfield_dc currently run by Hanu. Dallas Mayor Eric Johnson launched an audit into how Honu won the multi-million dollar contract after a number of concerns were reported, including an unusually low positivity rate of 7 percent at Honus test site compared to much higher rates at others, like 17 percent positivity at Parklands test site. endstream endobj startxref 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. 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. Thornton said the change came after parting ways with his former business partner. Since the beginning of the pandemic, Parkland has played a role in public testing, usually working with other agencies, including the federal government. Its unclear right now how much of the contract the city of Dallas had paid out. Thornton told The News there was no kickback scheme. However, a e negativresult does note rulout COVID-19 and should not be used as he t sole basis for treatment or patient management decisions. However, that information can be found on the DSHS website at the following link: https://dshs.texas.gov/coronavirus/AdditionalData.aspx 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 . Texas is increasingly relying on Honu, which has worked with the state to test people in rural and urban areas for COVID-19. Holly K. Hacker. The CAPA/IAPA expert group defined 14 areas in which recommendations would be made. Honus application also said another company called mLife helped gain White House approval for Honus coronavirus testing program. mLife Diagnostics President Hunt Allred said mLife sent Honus information to contacts in D.C., but isnt sure what happened from there. Both Rapid and PCR COVID-19 tests are available to individuals of any age, regardless of symptoms. Were going to hold them to the contract if they cant do it.. This is definitely not a case I would categorize as standard, said department Assistant Secretary Kristin Peterson, who runs the Health Systems Quality Assurance program. In May, the city asked Honu for additional references to show the company could handle a bigger job, Thornton said. Bidders could offer statewide or regional services based onState of Michigan Prosperity Regionsand six site or setting types were included in the RFP including: The following bidders have been awarded two-year contracts to provide the following services: The total value of the contracts will be based on actual usage/need based on site type and actual number of doses of COVID-19 vaccine administered. Peterson was asked if DOH should do more to warn other states about Honus link to DOHs ongoing investigation, since so much is at stake with coronavirus testing. I dont understand. The Allegan County Health Department will hold drive-through events for residents to get tested for COVID-19 every Wednesday 1-7 p.m beginning Wednesday, Sept. 22. The second site run by the Texas Military Department Mobile Testing Team will be at the Eastside Sports. FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Locations being considered for potential future HONU sites are Waimanalo, Waipahu, Wahiawa, Ewa, and Leeward Oahu. An agency spokesman did not return requests from The News on Tuesday seeking comment about the status of the contracts. We want to get those results. 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. %PDF-1.5 % When the tribe used the kits to test 61 frontline workers, over half came back positive, sending a panic through our tribe, health director Skyla Fast Horse said. This was in partnership with the National Guard, HONU Management Group, and the city of Detroit. %%EOF The state resumed work with NovaDX and has reported no issues since, but has not yet released its investigation report to The News. He said he was unsure why only 50 test kits were purchased and that he would look into it. Devin Thornton,CEO and founder of Honu Management Group, said the company doesn't take its contract with Michigan lightlyand hasworked with the state for the lastmonth "to plan for a successful launch. Local photographer and artist Carrie Mae Weems has partnered with several cultural institutions in North Texas to launch a campaign to raise awareness about high infection rates in Black, Latino, Asian/Pacific Islander, and Native American communities. They collected 36 samples. HHS-OIG general policy is to neither confirm or deny the existence of an investigation, Health and Human Services spokesperson Yvonne Gamble wrote in an email reply to KING 5s question about whether its investigators will take action. To date, more than 61% of Michigan residents have received at least their first dose of vaccine and we continue to urge everyone who is eligible to get theirs as soon as possible. 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.. notifying individuals of their results.CS210403009 More information about this contract is available at https://archive.oa.mo.gov/ . Get the latest breaking news from North Texas and beyond. Effective August 28th, @Parkland will take over the site @eastfield_dc currently run by Hanu. People can request an appointment by calling or texting 888-776-5252, or visiting mdmedicalgroup.us. ^,b20A0 maVQIxRGM@Zn $/UL We didnt go through the normal soliciting for an open bid, Hacker told KING 5 about Dallass hasty decision hire Honu. 0 State and local governments everywhere have been screaming throughout this whole pandemic, absent a comprehensive national testing program, this is whats happening, said Dallas Morning News reporter Holly Hacker, who first linked Honus management team to DA Medical Group and its spotty history. We were in need of a vendor to continue our testing and Honu was the only vendor to respond completely to meet our needs, Rocky Vaz, director of the citys Office of Emergency Management, said last week. Honus CEO, Devin Thornton of Spokane Valley, also runs DA Medical Group out of the same small office suite in a medical building just outside Spokane. Honu. T>103Yh~m&&=bg3ZBs L55@:sad`p2h3! X City officials bypassed the usual competitive bidding rules in an effort to quickly provide testing to fight the coronavirus pandemic. hbbd``b`$ @%$D0t $t_ $$nL I#3|0 : Thornton told the Free Press the tests the company is using, PCR nasopharyngeal and PCR saliva-based testing, can detect SARS-COV-2at least 95% of the time. Thornton recently met with two News reporters and showed them around the University of Dallas testing site, where staff and contractors tested up to 500 people a day. Dallas has canceled its $14 million contract with Honu. In emergencies where cities are choosing vendors with little or no competition, its important to stringently vet the company and its executives, said Sean Moulton, a senior policy analyst at the Project on Government Oversight, a Washington, D.C. nonprofit. It appears one time in the companys 35-page proposal, under the name Edwin Anderson, on a California lab licensing document. Some of the questions now being asked about Honu Management stem from a KING 5 Investigation that aired in November. Honu promised results within 72 hours. Washingtonians weigh in on recent efforts to limit insulin costs, Winner of $754.6 million Powerball jackpot's identity revealed, Portions of western Washington under Winter Weather Advisory overnight, accuses Thornton and others at DA Medical of orchestrating a kickback. The other fairgrounds testing site managed by the county's Department of Emergency Management at the Gold Lot runs through Friday, 10 a.m.-5 p.m. . Given the states prior issues with NovaDX, the city and county of Dallas asked Honu to work with a different lab. Less than two months after that story aired, Thornton and at least three other DA Medical Group employees formed a new company in January Honu and began soliciting and bidding on COVID-19 testing contracts across the country. You cannot use this service to report results from a. Ive always run the company kind of as a charity, Thornton said. It isn't clear how long these effects might last. Many governments are turning to emergency procurements in the scramble to provide crucial services and goods related to the pandemic like testing supplies and protective gear. Our company has and will always operate with the utmost compliance to both federal and state regulations, he said. 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. Visit our frequently asked questions page for our most commonly answered questions on COVID-19. Garcia is a Colorado native who joined The Dallas Morning News in 2019. The Dallas Morning News reported that Honu misrepresented or overstated its qualifications when it proposed managing COVID-19 drive-through testing and laboratory analysis for contracts in Dallas and Dallas County. Get immediate access to organizations and people in the DFW area that need your help or can provide help during the Coronavirus crisis. Dallas, Texas 75201. Sender Address. The company took over public testing after the city and county stopped working with the federal government because it was taking too long to return results to residents. Hacker says the city and county showed little concern when she first told city and county about Honu managements history in Washington state. Follow her on Twitter @kristenshamus. Suite 2100 He told county commissioners Tuesday that his office was still reviewing the citys contract to determine if Honu met the terms of the agreement. Honu CEO Devin Thornton could not be reached for comment Tuesday. She noted that theres a clause in the contract that allows for termination - but that hasnt been necessary. UnitedHealth Group will adhere to all federal, state and local regulations as well as all client requirements and will obtain necessary proof of vaccination, and . You could have gotten them there faster in a backpack on a bicycle than they were getting them there, Jenkins said. endstream endobj startxref undefined mi away Get Directions Insurance information unknown Antibody, Antigen View Details Fast Track Immediate Care Through this initiative, 66 churches throughout the Metro Detroit area became COVID-19 vaccine . This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. Dallas County started investigating the problem after FOX 4 reported last week that father and son, Cliff and Chris Cozby, waited more than a week to get results from the Honu site. Thats my thing.. Recovery Mobile Clinic, Regions 9 and 10, community mobile sites; and shelters and vulnerable populations - $1,400,000. By signing up you agree to our Terms of Service and Privacy Policy, Stand with us in our mission to discover and uncover the story of North Texas, How Dallas missed potential red flags in picking a company to run a major COVID-19 testing site, Connect with needs and opportunities from. Dallas city officials noted that DA Medical and Thornton have not been charged with any crimes. But the Dallas Morning News reported that half the people tested there came back with potentially false positive results, so the tribe stopped using Honus testing. A negative result does not exclude the possibility of COVID-19. Finally, the Honu Management Group, conducts COVID testing and provides weekly access to COVID-19 vaccines and booster shots. The company, he said, is conducting COVID-19 tests for both the city and county of Dallas as well as other communities in Texas and Missouri, and, as of Friday, had conducted 80,000 tests at more than 70 sites. When youre trying to herd cats, and youre trying to get things out, that was honestly an oversight, he said. There was tremendous increase in the number of cases of mucormycosis among patients affected by coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) during the second wave of pandemic in South Asian countries. DHEC has contracts with nine testing vendors across the state to perform COVID-19 testing. Both the city and county planned to pay Honu using a portion of the $500 million in federal aid the local governments received from Congress as part of its coronavirus relief package. Visit Healthcare, statewide, community mobile sites; seasonal agriculture; and shelters and vulnerable populations - $7,000,000. endstream endobj 217 0 obj <>/Metadata 8 0 R/Pages 214 0 R/StructTreeRoot 13 0 R/Type/Catalog/ViewerPreferences<>>> endobj 218 0 obj <. The tribe has not used any more of the test kits, Fast Horse said. A new internal report by Dallas Countys health department obtained by The News found that wait times for results from local Honu sites have increased markedly. Parkland will send the samples to ARUP Laboratories, the same private lab it uses for its other testing sites, Parkland officials said Tuesday. The web Browser you are currently using is unsupported, and some features of this site may not work as intended. Results . %%EOF Direct Patient lines are open: 8:30am to 7:00pm Monday through Friday 8:30am - Noon on Saturdays. Contractors will be required to schedule appointments and manage all logistics involved in providing mobile vaccinations. Honu Management Group started administering tests at Eastfield College in Mesquite earlier this month. Individuals wanting to be tested can contact any Georgia public health department to schedule an appointment at a SPOC location convenient to them. Testing is free and available for anyone 5 years or older with or without COVID-19 symptoms. Finally, the Honu Management Group, conducts COVID testing and provides weekly access to COVID-19 vaccines and booster shots. In the last week, Honu alsoconducted coronavirus testing atHealthSource Saginaw, Sutfin said. A new site will open at Westwood Mall, located at 3020 U.S. 41 West in Marquette Township, beginning Monday. As KING 5 reported in November, three Seattle-area foot doctors are accused of over-prescribing medications and equipment to patients whose insurance companies were billed for the treatments. "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.". Patient ID Number. All rights reserved. hb```a``"(qaj{bE\01$)v%O19rV@w.q 33@ )[ But last week, Dallas County canceled its contract with Honu for COVID-19 testing because officials said test results were taking as long asseven days to come back. . Anyone interested in donating or volunteering at the center. Dallas County Judge Clay Jenkins first announced the shift from Honu to Parkland in a late-night tweet Monday. Dallas might not use private vendors to run testing sites anymore because of concerns with timeliness and accuracy. It made us ask more questions about just who is this company? Hacker said. According to city officials, Honu transported patient samples from its testing sites to a lab near Austin using FDA-approved procedures. It was interesting. Testing for a national. The change takes effect Aug. 28 at Dallas College Eastfield Campus in Mesquite, Jenkins said. After waiting 10 days for an inconclusive test result, shes still not sure if she had the virus. As part of their contracts, these vendors are to relay test results to the individuals who were tested within 48-72 hours, and if there is a consistent delay in that turnaround time, the vendors are to quickly notify DHEC. "We welcome the audits as an opportunity to affirm who we are as a company," he said. The city said Honu is meeting the obligations of the contract, including turning around test results quickly. Honu began seeking publicly-funded testing contracts in the emerging world of COVID-19, stating the company could setup operations and deliver results faster than competitive bidders. Nic Garcia, Senior writer. Dallas County Judge Clay Jenkins has reported 787 new COVID-19 cases and 10 deaths on Tuesday, though 550 of them are backlogged cases from earlier this year. The county looked at more than. After the Dallas Morning News articles, the mayor of Dallas called for an audit into how the Honu contract was awarded. 3/1/2023. Has bidder ever been debarred, suspended, or disqualified from bidding or contracting with any entity, including the state of Michigan? Does that mean Honu is free to operate, unregulated? It is able to provide test results in an average of 3.52 days. Honu partnered with one in the Austin area. 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. 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. It wasn't until six weeks into its contract with the state of Michigan, that Honu began testing people here. The company is using California-based Nova DX to process its tests. Thornton said the application shouldnt have said that and it has been taken off all of Honus subsequent proposals. Texas became the fourth state to surpass 10,000 deaths on Monday, joining New Jersey, New York, and California. 1042 0 obj <>/Filter/FlateDecode/ID[]/Index[1023 32]/Info 1022 0 R/Length 102/Prev 654034/Root 1024 0 R/Size 1055/Type/XRef/W[1 3 1]>>stream Would you like to proceed to legacy Twitter? Thornton did not respond to questions about the quality of services the company provided to the tribe. Allie has covered Texas politics since 2017 and written about everything from tax policy to child protection. When she did get her results 10 days later, they were rejected, meaning the test was unable to determine whether she had coronavirus. Embedded Tech For Above Baseline IT Tech Support. We will get residents fast,accurate results. Site Type 6 will be bid out to the awarded contractors on an as needed basis upon determination by the state. "We welcome the audits as an opportunity to affirm who we are as a company.". hbbd```b``d7X "c"Ac ;?H2x`sl The Michigan Department of Health and Human Services has awarded nearly $60 million in contracts to promote COVID-19 vaccination among high risk populations.
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