Dallas County, Texas
For the second year in a row, Dallas County hired Bio-Defense Network to recruit Closed POD hosts who would represent 100,000 new enrollees. Last year, we received MOU commitments for a total of 202,000 enrollees, more than doubling our requirement. This year, the project began in January. By April, we received MOU commitments from Closed POD hosts that totaled more than 160,000 enrollees, and the project is still not finished. It has gone so well over the last two years that Dallas County has already submitted a project plan for the third year beginning, in September.
Butte County, California
The project for Butte County just concluded. It included a review and revision of the County’s Medical Countermeasures Plan, which included adding a Closed POD section of the plan, as well as significantly revising its Closed POD Memorandum of Understanding. In addition, we held a Closed POD project kickoff meeting with potential Closed POD hosts located in Butte County. Thirteen of the 14 largest employers in the area signed up to attend the informational event, and several have already submitted MOUs for membership.
King/Snohomish/Pierce Counties, Washington
This project is scheduled to begin in January, 2015. It will include soliciting Closed POD hosts for a minimum of 300,000 enrollees in the tri-county area. UASI funding has been approved, but sole source approval is still pending. Sole source projects have been approved in Texas, Missouri, New York and California, so this is not anticipated to be a problem.