MARYLAND, December 1 - For Immediate Release: Wednesday, January 12, 2022

Committees to review hospital and emergency department capacity and need for psychiatric bed resources, prevailing wage requirements and a special appropriation to fund the ongoing audit of the Montgomery County Police Department and the Task Force to Reimagine Public Safety

The joint Health and Human Services (HHS) and Public Safety (PS) Committee will meet on Thursday, Jan. 13 at 9:30 a.m. to discuss hospital emergency department capacity and the need for psychiatric bed resources.

The Government Operations and Fiscal Policy (GO) Committee will meet 1 p.m. to discuss Bill 35-21, Prevailing Wage Requirements – Construction Contracts Amendments.

The joint GO and PS Committee will meet at 2 p.m. to discuss a Special Appropriation to the County Government’s FY22 Operating Budget, Office of the County Executive - $250,000; and Amendment to the FY22 Operating Budget Resolution 19-872, Section G, FY22 Designation of Entities for Non-Competitive Contract Award Status: Effective Law Enforcement for All, Inc.

More detail on each agenda item is provided below.

Hospital Emergency Department Capacity and Need for Psychiatric Bed Resources

Review: The joint HHS and PS Committee will meet to review hospital emergency department capacity and the need for psychiatric bed resources. The County’s hospitals are experiencing delays in being able to appropriately discharge people who come to the emergency department with a mental health crisis to an in-patient psychiatric bed or community-based treatment center, which has had an impact on hospital emergency department capacity.

This discussion is a continuation of the Nov. 1, 2021 meeting, when the Committee discussed the growing number of people experiencing mental health challenges during the COVID-19 pandemic which is a trend that has been seen both locally and regionally. At this meeting, the joint Committee will continue to receive information regarding the specific issue of capacity in mental health programs and gaps and barriers for transfers from emergency departments. In addition, the joint Committee will receive an update from Montgomery County Fire and Rescue Service (MCFRS) on Emergency Medical Services (EMS) transports, wait times and boarders in emergency departments.

Those expected to attend and provide information include Judge Marina Sabett, District Court, Montgomery County; Cari Guthrie Cho, chief executive officer, Cornerstone Montgomery; Jeff Richardson, vice president, Community-Based Behavioral Health Programs, Sheppard Pratt; Karla Hoffman, chief, Families and Communities, Sheppard Pratt; Elizabeth Arend, representing Nexus Montgomery and director of provider services, Primary Care Coalition; Mindy Pierce, senior director, Nexus Montgomery and Population Health, Primary Care Coalition; Dr. Raymond Crowel, director, Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS); Dr. Rolando Santiago, chief, Behavioral Health and Crisis Services, DHHS; Dr. Earl Stoddard, Assistance Chief Administrative Officer; Scott Goldstein, chief, MCFRS; Ben Kaufman, battalion chief, Montgomery County Fire and Rescue Service; Leslie Frey, Office of Intergovernmental Relations and DHHS; Dr. Novell Coots, president and chief executive officer, Holy Cross Hospital; Eileen Cahill, chief advocacy and community engagement officer, Holy Cross Hospital; Scott Graham, director, Emergency Preparedness, Life Safety and Workforce Wellness, Holy Cross Hospital; Leslie Ford Weber, director, Government and Community Affairs, Montgomery County and federal strategy, Suburban Hospital and Johns Hopkins Medicine; Margie Hackett, R.N., transition guide nurse manager, Suburban Hospital and Johns Hopkins Medicine; Saleem Choudhury, chief operating officer, Adventist Healthcare; Joan Vincent, vice president of patient care services and chief nursing officer, Adventist Healthcare; and Kandy McFarland, vice president, Behavioral Health, Adventist Healthcare.

Bill 35-21, Prevailing Wage Requirements - Construction Contracts - Amendments

Review: The GO Committee will meet to review Bill 35-21, Prevailing Wage Requirements - Construction Contracts – Amendments, which would amend definitions related to construction and the prevailing wage threshold. The lead sponsors of the bill are Councilmembers Hucker and Jawando. Council President Albornoz and Vice President Glass and Councilmembers Rice, Katz, Riemer and Navarro are cosponsors.

Prevailing wage laws require that wages for County funded construction projects be calculated to reflect local wages for similar jobs. The purpose of Bill 35-21 is to expand the applicability of the County’s prevailing wage law to include a County financed construction contract with a value of $250,000. This change would align the County with recently passed state prevailing wage law regarding the contract threshold limit. In addition, the bill would apply prevailing wage requirements to certain public-private partnerships, require construction contracts to include a local hiring requirement and specify violations of the local hiring mandate.

Those expected to attend and provide information from the Office of Procurement include Ash Shetty, director and and Grace Denno, manager.

Special Appropriation to the County Government’s FY22 Operating Budget, Office of the County Executive - $250,000; and Amendment to the FY22 Operating Budget Resolution 19-872, Section G, FY22 Designation of Entities for Non-Competitive Contract Award Status: Effective Law Enforcement for All, Inc.

Review: The joint GO and PS Committee will review a $250,000 special appropriation for Effective Law Enforcement for All, Inc. (ELE4A). The special appropriation will fund the ongoing work of ELE4A related to the audit of the Montgomery County Police Department (MCPD) and the Task Force to Reimagine Public Safety.

Those expected to attend and provide information include Marcus Jones, chief, Montgomery County Police Department (MCPD); Dr. Earl Stoddard, assistant chief administrative officer, Montgomery County; Darren Francke, assistant chief, MCPD; Taman Morris, Office of Management and Budget (OMB); David Douglass, president, ELE4A; Dr. Ashley Burns, executive director, ELE4A; Mary Ann Viverette, ELE4A; Jackie Proctor, ELE4A; and Bill Murphy, ELE4A.

The Committee meeting schedule may change from time to time. The current Council and Committee agendas, Council staff reports and additional information on items scheduled for Council review can be viewed at: http://www.montgomerycountymd.gov/COUNCIL/ondemand/index.html.

The Council and committees are meeting via Zoom because of ongoing construction and technology upgrades in the Council's Hearing Room and the inability to conduct meetings in a socially distant way in other areas of the Council Office Building with television broadcast capacity. Councilmembers continue to hold meetings in their offices by appointment.

The virtual Council and committee meetings will be streamed live on the Council’s web page via YouTube and on Facebook Live and can be watched on County Cable Montgomery on Xfinity/RCN 6 HD 996/1056, Fios 30, and on the CCM live stream.

Release ID: 22-012 Media Contact: Sonya Healy, 240-777-7926 , Benjamin Sky Brandt 240-777-7884