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. 1042 0 obj <>/Filter/FlateDecode/ID[]/Index[1023 32]/Info 1022 0 R/Length 102/Prev 654034/Root 1024 0 R/Size 1055/Type/XRef/W[1 3 1]>>stream Why isnt anybody taking the initiative to say something or do something (about this company), she said. She previously worked for the San Antonio Express-News and in New Hampshire, as the statehouse reporter for the Concord Monitor. Please update to a modern browser such as Chrome, Firefox or Edge to experience all features Michigan.gov has to offer. Anyone interested in donating or volunteering at the center can go to . The citys vetting process did not pick up potential red flags, The Dallas Morning News found. . UnitedHealth Group will adhere to all federal, state and local regulations as well as all client requirements and will obtain necessary proof of vaccination, and . Information on testing at other sites in the city is available. How to mix and match your boosters and vaccines. receive a COVID-19 rapid PCR test. 0 Honu also said it provided lab testing, protective gear and patient monitoring for the Indian Health Services - Sioux Nation beginning in April. It breaks my heart when people try to abuse the system that is designed for patient care, Thornton said. In July, Washington state-based Honu began operating a county drive-through site at the University of Dallas in Irving. 1023 0 obj <> endobj Conventional diagnostic tests for the novel coronavirus may give false-negative results about 30% of the time, meaning people with an active COVID-19 infection still test negative for the disease . The state of Michigan signed a $42 million contractin July with aCOVID-19 testing companythat is under scrutiny in Texas for returning test results too slowly, and is accused of providingunreliabletest results to a South Dakota native American tribe. Testing is free and available to members of the community with or without COVID-19 symptoms. By clicking Sign Up, I confirmthat I have read and agreeto the Privacy Policy and Terms of Service. Michigan residents seeking more information about the COVID-19 vaccine can visitMichigan.gov/COVIDvaccine. getting your covid-19 test results from a neighborhood test site If you are tested at a neighborhood site, you will be contacted . 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. %%EOF 3/1/2023. Is Dallas becoming unaffordable due to rising housing costs, inflation and stagnating pay? Michigan Antigen Testing Results. In Dallas, Texas officials "paused" a $14 million testing contract with Honu Management, of Spokane Valley, after the company failed to meet its contract requirement to turn around test. Or, for all other COVID-19 questions or concerns, call 88-217-3904, email [email protected] or visit www.dhd10.org/schedule.. Date of Birth. AH6HL??o >J EN. DALLAS - Dallas County is ending its contract with the company that runs one of the largest COVID-19 testing sites in North Texas. hb```a``"(qaj{bE\01$)v%[email protected] 33@ )[ Testing will take place at the . After learning of the states investigation involving tests results from Honus lab partner, The News began looking into the company. Results . In the rush, some untested companies are winning work in Texas and across the country. Honu also answered questions from the countys health department about their testing capabilities, she said. The county also looked at nearly 1,600 results there. For questions about test results, call 800-402-0000 between 8 a.m. and 5 p.m. (EST) Monday through Friday, and 8 a.m. to 12 p.m. (EST) Saturday. Locations being considered for potential future HONU sites are Waimanalo, Waipahu, Wahiawa, Ewa, and Leeward Oahu. Parkland will send the samples to ARUP Laboratories, the same private lab it uses for its other testing sites, Parkland officials said Tuesday. To date, the state, through the Texas Division of Emergency Management, has paid Honu $2.4 million for its services, according to payment records posted online. As of Nov. 30, Otsego County had 3,947 COVID-19 cases and 67 deaths from the disease. Since Honu started running the University of Dallas site, over 90% of test results have been turned around within 3 days, data provided by the county shows. The city of Dallas has paid Honu $1 million, according to the citys public check register. Honu Management Group Aug 2020 - Present2 years 6 months Michigan, United States Epic Sr. Credentialed Trainer ASAP Thomas Jefferson University Hospitals May 2019 - Nov 20197 months Greater. The Dallas Morning News reported that Honu misrepresented or overstated its qualifications when it proposed managing COVID-19 drive-through testing and laboratory analysis for contracts in Dallas and Dallas County. Dallas County Judge Clay Jenkins says Hony, the private company hired for millions of dollars to run testing at one site, was taking three days just to get tests to a lab in Austin for processing. Thornton did answer questions from the Dallas Morning News. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. If you test positive for the coronavirus, DHD#10 will notify you via text and will ask you to fill out a survey so case investigations and contact tracing can begin. To make an appointment for a COVID test, call: 325-430-7603 or 325-643-3793. Dallas, Texas 75201. 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. He said the pharmacy that DA Medical worked with was billing patients through another pharmacy and that arrangement was not disclosed to him. . Mr. Beck is newly admitted to ABC House and consents to a COVID-19 test, his result is positive. However, Jenkins said, the demand for tests has fallen and Parkland hopes to be able to adjust as needed later this year. 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. . Click here to read more from our partners at The Dallas Morning News. 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. We are presenting the radiological findings of invasive mucormycosis with . Honus CEO said the company was truthful in the application. hVO0WqhTulCJ40;;K@5LF$:U HT^ Sender Address. Thornton said the application shouldnt have said that and it has been taken off all of Honus subsequent proposals. What was not clearly disclosed: the construction company owner also co-owns the lab that Honu used to test his workers -- the same lab that had partnered with Honu on other COVID-19 jobs. This was in partnership with the National Guard, HONU Management Group, and the city of Detroit. It wasn't until six weeks into its contract with the state of Michigan, that Honu began testing people here. For assistance. Holly works on the investigations team after many years covering education for The Dallas Morning News. Frth is a perfect blend of old and new! Honu is classified as a woman owned small business, recognized NAGC certified member, and registered GSA contractor (CAGE: 8LTV3, DUNS 117481755) that has worked to help provide patient centered services with a focus on care coordination, collaboration, and transparency in order to provide health care services with cost-effective solutions. In May, the city asked Honu for additional references to show the company could handle a bigger job, Thornton said. It was interesting. 2023 www.freep.com. Honu Management Group, statewide, homebound; community mobile sites; neighborhood testing sites; seasonal agriculture; and shelters and vulnerable populations - $20,000,000. A new internal report by Dallas Countys health department obtained by The News found that wait times for results from local Honu sites have increased markedly. Test results from state sites will be provided via email within 2-3 days, and the public is reminded to check their junk/spam email folders for the emailed test results. Honu, meanwhile, is expanding its footprint here and across the country. City officials declined to say whether knowing about the discrepancies in Honus proposal would have changed the decision to award it the contract. State and local governments everywhere have been screaming throughout this whole pandemic, absent a comprehensive national testing program, this is whats happening, said Dallas Morning News reporter Holly Hacker, who first linked Honus management team to DA Medical Group and its spotty history. All rights reserved. As KING 5 reported in November, three Seattle-area foot doctors are accused of over-prescribing medications and equipment to patients whose insurance companies were billed for the treatments. Separately, the city did not address questions about the difference in positive test results, but said Tuesday it is beginning a competitive bidding process to look for additional testing vendors, should they be needed. I dont understand. There are several variants of the virus circulating in our state, including the concerning Delta variant, and we know the vaccine is our best protection against COVID-19.". Healthcare is not something we take lightly. A second reference told The News Honu overstated its work and another customer said they had a bad experience with the company. Within the last five years, has your company or any of its related business entities defaulted on a contract or had a contract terminated for cause? Effective August 28th, @Parkland will take over the site @eastfield_dc currently run by Hanu. Absent a national testing program, state and local governments are taking on much of this crucial work themselves. As Dallas County residents wait longer for COVID-19 test results at one site, leaders demand change, earlier this month found that the city missed potential, 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. Holly K. Hacker. 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. After the Dallas Morning News articles, the mayor of Dallas called for an audit into how the Honu contract was awarded. The newspaper reports the decision confirmed by a spokesman for Mayor Eric Johnson came after city and county officials began investigating Honu Management Group's performance and how it. Sutfin said the state will "carefully monitorHonus performance, including its timeliness, and take action if problems arise. Anyone interested in donating or volunteering at the center. Honus application also said another company called mLife helped gain White House approval for Honus coronavirus testing program. mLife Diagnostics President Hunt Allred said mLife sent Honus information to contacts in D.C., but isnt sure what happened from there. The county looked at more than 12,000 test results from Honu sites in the Dallas area over six weeks in July and August. Earlier this month, commissioners questioned the companys long turnaround times and the accuracy of the test results. Click HERE to find a testing location near you. Previously Holly reported for the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, the Ventura County (Calif.) Star and the Antioch (Calif.) Ledger Dispatch. When she did get her results 10 days later, they were rejected, meaning the test was unable to determine whether she had coronavirus. 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. Is Dallas becoming unaffordable due to rising housing costs, inflation and stagnating pay? A Google search led to a November news report from KING-TV in Seattle about a Washington State Department of Health investigation into at least two foot doctors regarding an alleged medical kickback scheme. Instead, the average wait for test results from Dallas public testing sites is six days, according to the county. in the DFW area that need your help or can provide help during ABC House tests all 36 staff every Monday. Holly works on the investigations team after many years covering education for The Dallas Morning News. The city and county of Dallas also wanted a company that could quickly process a high volume of tests, after frustrations with the federally supported sites, which officials said were taking up to 10 days to return results. For questions about test results, call Honu at 866-809-8282. Call us: 211. Thompson Technologies, statewide, homebound, community mobile sites; seasonal agriculture; and shelters and vulnerable populations - $15,000,000. The web Browser you are currently using is unsupported, and some features of this site may not work as intended. Every single penny I have ever made in this company has always gone back into healthcare, whether thats supporting clinics, or supporting patients or getting patients treated at the lowest possible cost. . Parkland Health and Hospital System will take over Honus testing sites at the end of the month. Texas is increasingly relying on Honu, which has worked with the state to test people in rural and urban areas for COVID-19. KaiHonua. Honu Management Group, statewide, homebound; community mobile sites; neighborhood testing . Honu Management Group started administering tests at Eastfield College in Mesquite earlier this month. Test results will be sent via text or email within 48 hours from your test date. DHEC has contracts with nine testing vendors across the state to perform COVID-19 testing. The second omicron variant comes into focus. 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. Thornton said that once notified of the issue, DA Medical did its own investigation, fired the pharmacy it had worked with, and is cooperating with state investigators. The citys contract says Honu is obligated to provide test results within 48 to 72 hours of specimens arriving at the lab. Honu partnered with one in the Austin area. Finally, the Honu Management Group, conducts COVID testing and provides weekly access to COVID-19 vaccines and booster shots. Franciscan Urgent Care - Puyallup. Peterson points out that DA Medical and Devin Thornton are not the targets of the Department of Health's investigation, since the agency is only authorized to investigate licensed, medical professionals. Honu won the $14 million contract less than two months ago, but questions arose about test security and timeliness earlier this summer. Dallas County COVID-19 cases are on the rise in Dallas County, as are hospitalizations across the state. undefined mi away Get Directions Insurance information unknown Antibody, Antigen View Details Fast Track Immediate Care However, that information can be found on the DSHS website at the following link: https://dshs.texas.gov/coronavirus/AdditionalData.aspx A spokesman for Mayor Eric Johnson confirmed the change. For questions on test. Drive-through. The department has not issued any charges and the case remains open. It appears one time in the companys 35-page proposal, under the name Edwin Anderson, on a California lab licensing document. Get Results with . The licensed doctors, who denied any wrongdoing through their attorneys, are the ones under investigation. %PDF-1.6 % A spokeswoman for the Washington health department, Jessica Baggett, said the investigation focuses on three podiatrists because they are licensed by the state. The county also found that on average, it took residents 3.3 days to get their results from the University of Dallas. Holly K. Hacker. Thank you @Parkland @DCHHS @DallasOEM https://t.co/vNfH2ZLXJB, A city spokeswoman clarified Tuesday that the contract has not been canceled, only paused.. A general rise in COVID-19 cases, as well as the spread of the B.1.1.7 variant in Livingston County, is prompting a drive-thru testing event this weekend. 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. The CAPA/IAPA expert group defined 14 areas in which recommendations would be made. 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. Does that mean Honu is free to operate, unregulated? Texas became the fourth state to surpass 10,000 deaths on Monday, joining New Jersey, New York, and California. People are friendly and accommodating! Antrim County was reporting 2,975 cases and 45 deaths while Charlevoix County had 3,180 cases and 45 deaths. The problem: One reference said Honu overstated the scope of its work. Clients and Partners She specializes in data analysis. "This is part of the state's efforts to bring vaccine into communities and to vaccinate as many Michiganders as possible. The city and county of Dallas will end their joint agreement with a Washington-based company that was hired to run a publiccoronavirustesting site after the turnaround time for results was taking nearly twice as long as before, Dallas County Judge Clay Jenkinssaid late Monday. Has bidder ever been debarred, suspended, or disqualified from bidding or contracting with any entity, including the state of Michigan? As far as Im concerned, I dont care if it was the University of Dallas or Mountain View, they have not performed, Dallas County Commissioner John Wiley Price said Tuesday during the commissioners meeting. 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. We continue to monitor Honus performance, Rubio said. COVID-19 testing is conducted by private vendor Honu on behalf of the Texas Division of Emergency Management and the city of Longview and Gregg County Emergency Management on Thursday, July 23 . ALLEGAN COUNTY The Allegan County Health Department will be holding a series of free, drive-thru COVID-19 testing events in November. An agency spokesman did not return requests from The News on Tuesday seeking comment about the status of the contracts. No spam, ever. She noted that theres a clause in the contract that allows for termination - but that hasnt been necessary. HHS-OIG general policy is to neither confirm or deny the existence of an investigation, Health and Human Services spokesperson Yvonne Gamble wrote in an email reply to KING 5s question about whether its investigators will take action. Finally, the Honu Management Group, conducts COVID testing and provides weekly access to COVID-19 vaccines and booster shots. I didnt hear anything from the facility until ten days later when I received my test results, said Vanessa Izquierdo, who recently visited a drive-through test site that Honu ran at the University of Dallas. Stay informed with a detailed weekly report on DFWs evolving healthcare industry. hb```,,B 0 "We welcome the audits as an opportunity to affirm who we are as a company," he said. The first reference, Converging Health, confirmed to the city it worked with Honu on a large testing project and said Honu went above and beyond to help us meet the demands of the client with such a short timeline, records show. People can request an appointment by calling or texting 888-776-5252, or visiting mdmedicalgroup.us. With the advancement of information technology, traditional classroom teaching has gradually integrated the Internet and distance learning methods. Through this initiative, 66 churches throughout the Metro Detroit area became COVID-19 vaccine . Honu. Among them: But because the concerns raised inTexas hadn't reached a conclusion at the time the project was bid out, Honu didn't have to disclose it. If results will be delayed beyond four days, the Honu Help Center will contact you. COVID-19 test, her result is negative. CareATC provided the staffing while Honu said it provided lab testing and protective gear. People who had severe illness with COVID-19 might experience organ damage affecting the heart, kidneys, skin and brain. "Because Honu has only conducted one testing event so far, its too soon to say how quickly their results are coming back as a general matter," Sutfin said, or to get a picture of the percentage of positive tests. A new site will open at Westwood Mall, located at 3020 U.S. 41 West in Marquette Township, beginning Monday. But state DOH records allege that Thornton and DA Medical orchestrated the kickback scheme using a corrupt online pharmacy and by soliciting local doctors to write the prescriptions. In seeking a contractor, city officials bypassed the usual competitive bidding rules. Nic Garcia writes about government and politics in North Texas, especially Dallas County. The contract with Hanu is being cancelled. Even though the Washington State Department of Health has thousands of pages of investigative files on DA Medical Group, and its CEO Devin Thornton, those records have been not been made public as the department investigation stretches beyond three years. Thats raising questions about why Washington state did not warn other states about the companys officers, who are linked to a long-running health care fraud investigation by the Washington State Department of Health. Were going to hold them to the contract if they cant do it.. Nor did the city catch a potential conflict of interest: an El Paso construction company owner used Honu to test his workers and vouched for the companys services. Brings new meaning to the phrase Sunday Funday. A Dallas Morning News investigation earlier this month found that the city missed potential warning flags in Honus application. 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 site moved this week to Dallas College Eastfield Campus. The city says it promised a 72-hour test result turnaround time. Please allow up to 30 days for DSHS to review and reply to your request. For more help with the HONU results, email [email protected] or call 844-778-2455. CS210403013 WellHealth Management State and Community-Based COVID-19 Testing QVL Purchasing has awarded twenty (20) contracts to labs for COVID-19 Testing. The Texas Division of Emergency Management tapped the company in May as one of several to help process COVID-19 tests. She specializes in data analysis. . Date of Birth. Mail or fax your completed Authorization to Release Laboratory Results form (PDF 63kb). ", "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 company took over public testing after the city and county stopped working with the federal government because it was taking too long to return results to residents. 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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. Dressed in black scrubs and orange Nikes, Thornton talked of how he grew up in Hawaii, ended up in Washington state and went from working in medical sales to forming his own healthcare management company in 2008. HealthSource Saginawis a medical rehabilitation and recovery hospital. "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. Dallas city officials noted that DA Medical and Thornton have not been charged with any crimes. T>103Yh~m&&=bg3ZBs L55@:sad`p2h3! X You may continue to test positive on antigen tests for a few weeks after your initial positive.