One thing the city pointed out is, Hey, you know, no ones been arrested for anything, Hacker recalled. Public health officials have said that without a vaccine or another shutdown, testing and contact tracing are among the most important strategies local governments can adopt in order to stem the spread of the virus. 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. In Dallas, Texas officials paused a $14 million testing contract with Honu Management, of Spokane Valley, after the company failed to meet its contract requirement to turn around test results within three days. He previously worked at The Denver Post covering the statehouse and two presidential campaigns. Date of Birth / / mm / dd / yyyy. Yes Skip to content HomeHomeHome, current page. Holly K. Hacker. "They began testing on their own on Aug.14 at a skilled nursing facility in Detroit. You can also call the COVID-19 Hotline at 888-535-6136 or email us [email protected]. ", "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. 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. Its unclear whether the contract also addresses transport times from the testing site to the lab. I think its pretty crooked. With the advancement of information technology, traditional classroom teaching has gradually integrated the Internet and distance learning methods. %%EOF The company won the contract after the county stopped using the federal government for testing because it was taking too long to get results. Hours. 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. Honu partnered with one in the Austin area. Copyright 2023, D Magazine Partners, Inc. We use cookies to ensure that we give you the best experience on our website. The county looked at more than. Honu has lived up to the contract terms.. A whistleblower alleged in 2017 that DA Medical Group representatives, including Thornton, had proposed a business arrangement: the doctors would receive a rebate for having patients prescriptions filled by Oregon pharmacies, according to Washington state investigative records obtained by The News. KaiHonua. In the rush, some untested companies are winning work in Texas and across the country. After a positive test result, you may continue to test positive for some time after. Download File. DHEC has contracts with nine testing vendors across the state to perform COVID-19 testing. 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. For now, Honu is still free to vie for millions of dollars in COVID testing contracts. Sutfin said the state "closely monitors lab turnaround time and will do so in this case as well, as testing with Honu ramps up.". The citys contract says Honu is obligated to provide test results within 48 to 72 hours of specimens arriving at the lab. Honu also would be "responsible for rapid response when outbreaks occur.". You may continue to test positive on antigen tests for a few weeks after your initial positive. Contact: Lynn Sutfin, 517-241-2112. 1:18. If you continue to use this site we will assume that you are happy with it. Dallas County health officials are looking into why 7% of people tested positive at the site in July, compared to 17% at testing locations run by Parkland Hospital. A not detected (negative) test result for this test means that SARS- CoV-2 RNA was not present in the specimen above the limit of detection. Honus CEO said the company was truthful in the application. Dallas has canceled its $14 million contract with Honu. Hacker, who was researching the startup company that was receiving up to $14 million from Dallas and $17 million more from the Texas Division of Emergency Management, found Honus connection to the Washington state investigation after viewing the KING 5 story online. He said the pharmacy that DA Medical worked with was billing patients through another pharmacy and that arrangement was not disclosed to him. The web Browser you are currently using is unsupported, and some features of this site may not work as intended. The Michigan Department of Health and Human Services has awarded nearly $60 million in contracts to promote COVID-19 vaccination among high risk populations. Honu, named for a Hawaiian green sea turtle, had a bumpy start in Texas. However, that information can be found on the DSHS website at the following link: https://dshs.texas.gov/coronavirus/AdditionalData.aspx It has no jurisdiction over DA Medical Group or Thornton, she said. 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. Honu CEO Devin Thornton could not be reached for comment Tuesday. LTS is working with HONU Management Group through the state and interested school districts. Spokane Valley, WA We've detected that JavaScript is disabled in your browser. If results will be delayed beyond four days, the Honu Help Center will contact you. Click here to read more from our partners at The Dallas Morning News. Click HERE to find a testing location near you. EN. Testing is available from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. on the following dates and locations: For assistance regarding rural test results email [email protected] or call 1 (833)213-0643. . Now, Parkland Hospital will operate testing at the Eastfield College site, which Honu used to run. Dallas County Commissioners used money from the federal CARES Act to pay Honu because it was taking too long for the federally-run site to get test results back. Thompson Technologies, statewide, homebound, community mobile sites; seasonal agriculture; and shelters and vulnerable populations - $15,000,000. endstream endobj startxref A day after powerful thunderstorms, North Texas surveys the damage, 3 children killed, 2 wounded at Ellis County home; suspect in custody, How a Texas districts reaction to school shooting fears highlights discipline concerns, Carrollton man advertised pills on social media to entice teens to buy fentanyl, feds say. Please report a positive COVID-19 test to [email protected] so our COVID Action Team can follow up with you. About 15% of people tested there had to wait seven or more days from the. Honu promised results within 72 hours. Last month The News reported on potential. 0 City and county officials did not immediately respond to questions from The News on Tuesday about contract details. Frth is a perfect blend of old and new! 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. Honu Management Group, statewide, homebound; community mobile sites; neighborhood testing . 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. . DALLAS - Dallas County is ending its contract with the company that runs one of the largest COVID-19 testing sites in North Texas. 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. We want to get those results. Dr. Officials said the COVID-19 variant cases were identified after daily testing of inmates and staff at the facility. On Monday, it was 2,604. American Airlines, flight attendants file for mediation during contract negotiations, New Uptown office tower lands second major lease, Years after North Texas bid for Amazons second headquarters, retail giant halts plan, Mesquite to become the site of new 2,500-home community, North Texas builders see influx of activity in new year, but challenges persist, Mark Wahlberg pours tequila for fans at Dallas restaurant during thunderstorm, The Cowboys are closer than you think to a total makeover at running back, 12 Dallas-Fort Worth restaurants that have closed in 2023, Ex-Cowboys OC Kellen Moore opens up on Dallas departure, shows gratitude for Mike McCarthy, Dallas Cowboys focused on adding another dynamic offensive weapon. We would not be in a position to make any announcements about the company itself, said Peterson, because Honu and DA Medical are not licensed healthcare facilities. Please check and confirm the following: 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. Working with the Indian Health Service. 235 0 obj <>/Filter/FlateDecode/ID[<8763DAC2B36949EDBEB7040E1499219C><09BE46F66F2F17459397F1020D978FC3>]/Index[216 32]/Info 215 0 R/Length 95/Prev 52306/Root 217 0 R/Size 248/Type/XRef/W[1 2 1]>>stream The latest Tweets from Honu MG (@HonuMg). For instance, Honu claimed it had experience providing testing for a Native American tribe in South Dakota. She noted that theres a clause in the contract that allows for termination - but that hasnt been necessary. In August, the testing site relocated to Eastfield College in Mesquite. The company is using California-based Nova DX to process its tests. Previously Holly reported for the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, the Ventura County (Calif.) Star and the Antioch (Calif.) Ledger Dispatch. Direct Patient lines are open: 8:30am to 7:00pm Monday through Friday 8:30am - Noon on Saturdays. The city was not able to reach all of Honus references, but those who responded were positive, spokeswoman Roxana Rubio said in a statement Tuesday. . The number of active COVID cases has also continued to rise. Devin Thornton has told us that there was no kickback scheme and that his company was performing legitimate work for these other companies that they work with and it was someone elses wrongdoing, Hacker said. The company was testing up to 500 people per day. notifying individuals of their results.CS210403009 More information about this contract is available at https://archive.oa.mo.gov/ . 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 . Rocky Vaz, the citys director of emergency management, on Monday notified Honu Management Group that the city wanted the Washington state-based company to suspend testing Aug. 28. The city says it promised a 72-hour test result turnaround time. It was interesting. We will get residents fast,accurate results. COVID-19 has resulted in the increased use of distance learning around the world. Nic Garcia writes about government and politics in North Texas, especially Dallas County. This was in partnership with the National Guard, HONU Management Group, and the city of Detroit. Honu also said it provided lab testing, protective gear and patient monitoring for the Indian Health Services - Sioux Nation beginning in April. The Indian Health Service then retested the same 61 people and all results were negative, he said. Like at Ellis Davis, Parkland staff will completely take over the Eastfield site, including screening for eligibility, registering patients and collecting specimens. 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. If the answer is yes, then state the date of initial filing, case name and court number, and jurisdiction. Honu Management Group started administering tests at Eastfield College in Mesquite earlier this month. Instead, the average wait for test results from Dallas public testing sites is six days, according to the county. Even gaining White House approval for its testing program. Washington state-based Honu Management Group also may have overstated the scope of its work when it negotiated its Dallas coronavirus testing contract, and claimed to have White House. It took a steep $1.4 billion loss over the first three months of the year as the omicron variant of COVID-19 kept travel demand low. June 28, 2021 We work in healthcare to make a difference, and we do it to provide a service the best we can to all people affected during these times.. ;Y|V[]G/yvr~$ctyi?H4QCeSVW9C]eAQgCma* Open Form. 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. "Honu scored the highest during a Joint Evaluation Committee evaluation of proposals from the five bidders and it was determined that they met the requirements," Sutfin said.