McLean, Virginia–Potomac Health Associates, Inc. (PHA) announced that its client, Seasons OB/GYN, was awarded a five-year contract with the Department of Navy to provide comprehensive obstetrical services for military beneficiaries in the Charleston, South Carolina area.
The Navy sought a group to provide comprehensive prenatal and postpartum services at the Navy clinic in Charleston, and have patients delivered in one of the local private hospitals in the area. Since the closure of Naval Hospital Charleston, the Navy has treated obstetrical patients primarily at its existing outpatient clinic in Charleston. With the impending move from its current location to a new outpatient clinic on the grounds of Naval Weapons Station in Goose Creek, the new clinic will be approximately five minutes both Seasons OB/GYN’s offices as well as Trident Medical Center, where all Season’s OB/GYNs perform deliveries.
The contract will employ a relatively unusual combination of approaches with Seasons OB/GYN providing prenatal and postpartum services on-site at the Navy clinic in Goose Creek under a fixed price reimbursement mechanism specified in their contract with the Navy. All inpatient services will be performed at Trident Medical Center and will be paid for separately in accordance with TRICARE reimbursement policies.
The contract effectively give Seasons OB/GYN a franchise on the military market for obstetrics in the Charleston area, putting the practice into the enviable position of having what amounts to an exclusive provider relationship with the Navy for virtually all local military obstetrical care for the next five years. The local military population is expected to generate anywhere from 400-600 deliveries annually.
“While my partners and I had heard rumors about the contract coming for about the last year or so, we were completely unprepared to deal with the details and complexities of the contracting process on our own,” according to Richard P. Day, M.D., founder of Seasons OB/GYN. PHA contacted us before we knew that the official bidding documents had been released and alerted us to the fact that the clock had actually started running. They helped us address a number of ambiguities in the solicitation documents, and negotiated on our behalf to successfully resolve several potentially troublesome billing issues that arose under the unique contracting approach selected by the Navy. “In addition, “said Dr. Day, “their research of potential competitors allowed us to articulate several important advantages of interest to both the beneficiary population and the Navy.
About Seasons OB/GYN
Seasons OB/GYN is a woman-owned small business (WOSB) that has been providing comprehensive obstetrical and gynecological care in the Charleston area for over 25 years. Dr. Richard Day, the founding partner, has provided maternity care to military beneficiaries under the former Civilian Health and Medical Program for the Uniformed Services (CHAMPUS) since 1983. The practice has grown to be among the most well-known and respected within the local military population. Seasons OB/GYN is believed to have delivered more babies of military beneficiaries than any other practice in the metropolitan Charleston area. Seasons OB/GYN performs all of its deliveries at Trident Medical Center (TMC). With approximately 2,400 annual deliveries, TMC performs more deliveries than all but one hospital in the state of South Carolina. The presence of two neonatologists and a Level II neonatal nursery at TMC indicates the level of experience, expertise and quality to care for some of the most difficult cases, if necessary, and provides the Navy one of the most qualified, experienced team of providers in the local area.
About Potomac Health Associates, Inc.
Potomac Health Associates, Inc. is a professional services firm that specializes in federal health care contracting and business development for commercial clients. Since its inception in 1991, the firm has helped its clients win in excess of $400 million in competitive awards from the VA alone, and an estimated $3.75 billion collectively in competitive and non-competitive contract awards from federal agencies.