At Monday's City Commission meeting, Commissioners considered authorizing the purchase of an IQ 640 Emergency Medical Supply Vending System and 36 door locker from VendNovation LLC in the amount of $37,845.
BACKGROUND:
For over 10 years the Salina Fire Department has utilized a vending system from VendNovation LLC for controlled distribution of all medications and many of our disposable medical supplies such as IV needles, airway management supplies, bandaging supplies and replacement EKG electrodes and defibrillation pads. The system controls access to supplies and maintains a real-time transaction record with audit logs for accountability. The Department was able to track by either item or employee who accessed the vending system, what items were distributed and what EMS call the item was used on. Each department employee has a specific PIN that is used to access the vending system. Employees who are not authorized to handle or administer controlled substances are not allowed to dispense controlled items.
Once the department receives supplies from medical supply vendors they are placed in the vending system. The vending system then allows for tracking and complete accountability for items used as well as reducing waste. This is all accomplished while meeting FDA and DEA regulations for narcotic and medication control and chain of custody.
The vending system provides for an accurate supply inventory tracking process and allows authorized department staff the ability to track the inventory of supplies. The current vending system has exceeded its useful life and while still functional, it is unreliable. Replacement parts for the current system, if even available are typically back ordered as the system has become outdated.
The proposed system is also compatible with medication vaults that will soon be utilized on all 7 ambulances. The new vending system in conjunction with the medication vault in each ambulance will allow for continuity of accountability from the point of distribution from the vending system, to storage on the ambulance, to administration to a patient and ultimately restocking of medications and supplies after an EMS related incident.
The cost of the vending system is $25,845.
Staff is also requesting to purchase a 36 door locker assembly at an additional cost of $12,000.
This assembly will replace a set of wooden supply cabinets that are currently not connected to the vending system. The wood cabinets are approximately 10 years old and are in well used condition. The current wood storage cabinets routinely have to have the locks and hinges repaired and are occasionally inadvertently left unlocked. While there are no DEA controlled supplies in the wood cabinets, it does leave a potential for supplies to be removed without knowledge to fire department staff. The additional lockers will add another layer of security as well as inventory management for EMS supplies.
The Salina Fire Department requests authorization to purchase the updated svstem from VendNovation following the City of Salina's single source purchasing policy. The policy states "For a continuation of an existing project or continuity of similar services in which past performance is considered acceptable and knowledge of the specific work has been demonstrated."
Factors included for consideration for authorization to follow the single source policy:
- The fire department has an established working relationship with VendNovation with the current supply vending system
- The web based software is already established and does not need to be updated, the new vending system uses the same web based software for all tracking and reports
- User profiles are already established within the current software
- Allows for continuity as there is essentially no training necessary for personnel as they already use the VendNovation system
FISCAL NOTE:
$25,000 was initially approved for the 2023 sub CIP request to replace the vending system. The cost of the vending system ($25,485) and the additional 36 door locker ($12,000) bring the total cost of the purchase to $37,845. Approval from the Finance Department was obtained to address the increase in cost. The EMS equipment line item in the Fire Department's operating budget could absorb the increase in cost of the system.