Announcement of an Exempt Purchase

Temporary agency staffing for registered nurses, imaging technicians, certified nursing assistants, lab technicians, medical assistants, locum tenens physicians and other job classifications to fill vacancies in order to provide clinical and support services to patients. In addition to normal vacancies, additional temporary staff is needed to respond to the 2nd surge of the COVID-19 pandemic.

This purchase is exempt from the usual selection processes of the Procurement Code because the procurement expenditure is for medical supplies or medical services necessary for the delivery of care and treatment at medical, dental, or veterinary teaching facilities utilized by SIU or U of I (30 ILCS 500 / 1-13(b-5)) We need to supplement our employed staff who are currently unable to work due to a positive COVID diagnosis, and to cover increased demand for testing, intensive care services, and anticipated vaccine deployment. Our current relationship with Cross Country has been successful and the vendor has been able to meet most of our staffing needs on a timely basis.