In-School Nursing and Respiratory Therapist Services

Description: M-DCPS is seeking services from an agency(ies) that will provide nursing services for one or both of the following categories: • Exceptional Student Education (ESE): Registered Nursing (RN), Licensed Practical Nursing (LPN), and Respiratory Therapy (RT) services for students with disabilities for whom such services have been identified and approved as necessary to access education. The District may, at its sole discretion, select a primary and alternate agency (or agencies) to provide these required services. • Comprehensive Health Services: Additional nursing services to cover school locations on an as-needed basis. The District reserves the right to select one or more agencies to cover school locations with LPN, RN, and certified medical emergency providers that have been vetted and approved by District personnel. Note: The agreement between the successful Proposer and the Board will be non-exclusive. Estimated service hours (contract period): • RN services: Approximately 25,000 hours per month. • LPN services: Approximately 25,000 hours per month. • RT services: Approximately 100 hours per month. Program scope and clinical requirements: • Personnel must be authorized/licensed for their specific professional discipline and able to provide services to students with disabilities ages 3 through 22. • Services are needed at approximately 300 schools. • Services are provided to students whose IEPs or Section 504 Plans indicate the need and for whom nursing orders have been submitted, reviewed, and approved. • Agency personnel are required to be first responders for emergencies at the school site. • Core procedures include, but are not limited to: nebulizer, IPPB, suction, heat aerosol, chest physiotherapy (CPT), oxygen, tracheotomy care, catheterization, gastric tube feeding, seizure precautions, diabetes management, dressing changes, and medication administration (e.g., intramuscular, rectal, G-tube). Service delivery models required (examples): • Constant Monitoring/Continuous Supervision Model — one RN, LPN, or RT assigned continuously for medically fragile students. • Cluster Model — one RN, LPN, or RT for several students at the same school site. • Prescribed Time Model — itinerant RN, LPN, or RT providing services across district locations on specified schedules. Operational directives and contractor responsibilities: • Agency employees must wear a School Board-issued photo identification badge; contractors bear costs for background screening, fingerprinting, and photo IDs. • Agencies must provide PPE per CDC guidance and supply adequate bilingual personnel as required. • Agencies must submit next-day attendance for assigned coverage by 5:00 PM the day prior; field trip coverage must be confirmed at least two days prior. • Agencies must maintain staff capacity to meet district service hour needs; shift minimum is five (5) hours per school day unless otherwise directed. • Selected agencies must provide supervisor ratios (one RN Supervisor per every 40 schools assigned) and maintain daily/weekly/monthly supervisory activities (review orders, documentation, school visits, QA reviews). Documentation, billing and invoicing requirements: • Agencies must maintain detailed service logs (names of clinicians, description of services rendered, minutes/hours per day), student attendance verification for billed time, and a weekly Nurse Sign In/Out Log signed by the Principal or designated representative; these logs must accompany invoices. • Payment: monthly installments. Monthly Invoice Packet must be submitted electronically within 10 days of month close to in-schoolnursing@dadeschools.net and must include a calculated summary invoice, individual school invoices as machine-readable raw data, nurse credentials, rates, total hours, totals, and signed Nurse Sign In/Out logs (PDF). • District will not pay for student-absent days; limited exception for nurses arriving and waiting up to one hour if parent did not notify absence; duty-free lunch is non-billable. • Records retention: all documentation must be maintained for five (5) years and be available for audit; agencies must complete Medicaid-related logs for District Medicaid reimbursement activities. Comprehensive Student Health Services (as-needed coverage): • Agencies must provide procedures for communication/collaboration, validation of billable hours prior to invoicing, staff training plans, and a transition plan for first 30/90/180 days. Agencies must submit an Agency Spreadsheet for assigned personnel every two weeks and whenever new personnel are added. Minimum proposer requirements and submission content (high level): • Minimum five (5) years in business providing similar services; required exhibits and forms (Exhibits 1–15, 19–21 and Exhibit 18 if applicable) and proof of registrations, licenses and certifications (AHCA license, RN/LPN/RT/EMT/Paramedic credentials), insurance, capacity evidence to cover approximately 300 schools/1,300 students, transition plan, procedures for validating billable hours, clinical supervision and competency documentation, background screening (AHCA Level 2) and references. Evaluation: Proposals will be evaluated on Proposed Approach and Methodology (40 points), Experience and Qualifications (30 points), and Overall Cost (30 points). The District may short-list, request demonstrations, negotiate and request Best and Final Offers.