Announcement of an Exempt Purchase

The Welch Allyn SmartCare Biomed Service Program provides a comprehensive, proactive maintenance and support solution for 121 Welch Allyn Vital Signs Monitors. Through this program, a dedicated team of certified biomedical engineers and support specialists delivers technical assistance, troubleshooting, and repair services to ensure equipment reliability and optimal performance. Leveraging data analytics and IoT-based monitoring, the program identifies potential maintenance needs before equipment failure occurs, helping to reduce downtime, extend device life, and prevent costly repairs through timely, preventative intervention.

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)) If this exemption is not approved, the State would face increased financial costs associated with technician training and equipment maintenance. By solely focusing on training our technicians under this program, we are currently saving 15,540 dollars annually. Additionally, without the program's coverage, the cost of parts required to repair devices ranging from 78 dollars to 922 dollars per unit would need to be purchased individually. The program provides a cost-effective alternative by investing 251 dollars per device, which includes all necessary parts. Therefore, not approving this exemption would result in higher repair expenses and the loss of ongoing annual savings.