70-U6900-26-CP295_071726 Medical Staffing SS.pdf.PDF

UNM Proposed Sole Source Form – Rev 04/07/2021

Proposed Sole Source Purchase Form Pursuant to New Mexico Procurement law, the UNM Purchasing Department will post your completed form on the UNM

Sunshine Portal and the State of New Mexico Procurement website for 30 days prior to purchase of the goods/services if the request exceeds $60,000.00.

I. GENERAL INFORMATION. PLEASE PROVIDE THE FOLLOWING:

Date of Request 7/1/2026 Requisition Number (If Applicable) Request Submitted by: Abra Altman Title Dept Administrator

Department Neurology Email amaltman@salud.unm.edu Phone 505-228-5873 Proposed Vendor Medical Staffing Associates Amount $150,000

Vendor Address 6731 Whittier Avenue, Suite 300, Mclean, VA 22101 Contract Term

Through 12-31-2028

Buyer Team - See Commodity list at http://purchase.unm.edu/department-information/comm-code-listing.pdf

Provide a basic description of goods/services to be provided:

Neurology-specialized faculty recruitment firm to help identify 5 viable faculty candidates: 2 neuromuscular neurologists, 2 epilepsy neurologists and 1 cognitive neurologist.

Why is this purchase needed?

The Department of Neurology has found it increasingly difficult to hire faculty in several areas, with a particular critical urgency for neuromuscular, epilepsy and cognitive neurology trained specialists.

Neuromuscular Our neuromuscular faculty provide specialized care to patients across New Mexico and operate the state’s only dedicated MDA and ALS Care Centers, serving a large and complex patient population. In addition to clinical care, the team plays a critical educational role, training residents, medical students, and two neurophysiology fellows.

The neuromuscular section is supported by foundation-funded philanthropic resources with a strong history of sustained investment. Our multidisciplinary ALS and Muscular Dystrophy clinics are recognized as certified Care Centers by their respective national organizations and receive external funding. All of this funding requires oversight by dedicated faculty principal investigators.

Following the departure of one neuromuscular faculty member at the end of FY25, recruitment efforts have not yet yielded viable candidates. We have since been notified of an additional resignation effective in October. This will leave only one part-time (.5 FTE) provider to serve the entire patient population. As a result, staffing levels in these highly complex clinics have reached a critical point. There is significant concern that the remaining provider may experience rapid burnout under the weight of these responsibilities.

Epilepsy The UNM Comprehensive Epilepsy center is the only NAEC (National Association of Epilepsy Centers) level 4 accredited epilepsy center in the state, serving people with epilepsy in New Mexico and adjacent states with a catchment area of over 2 million people. In addition to providing care for a large and complex patient population, our providers play a key academic role by teaching residents, medical students, and fellows.

mailto:amaltman@salud.unm.edu http://purchase.unm.edu/department-information/comm-code-listing.pdf

The epilepsy group currently includes seven full- and part-time faculty members. However, two faculty—a married couple—have both announced their resignations, creating a critical staffing gap. Maintaining the required 24/7 coverage will be extremely challenging and will necessitate increased shift coverage from remaining faculty. This is not sustainable, as the team has already been operating with additional coverage demands.

Cognitive The UNM Memory & Aging Clinic is the only center in New Mexico devoted to the evaluation and management of individuals with Alzheimer’s Disease (AD) and related dementias including Lewy body dementia, Parkinson Disease Dementia, Frontotemporal Dementia, Vascular Dementia, and memory loss or cognitive impairment due to several other neurodegenerative disorders. Created in 2016, the center offers the region's most advanced care for cognitive and memory disorders in older adults. The center also conducts several clinical research trials for AD and related dementias and healthy aging. This includes the New Mexico Alzheimer’s Disease Research Center (NM ADRC), funded by the National Institutes of Health, a statewide collaboration uniting UNM, the Mind Research Network, and urban and tribal communities across New Mexico.

Following the resignation of one of our cognitive neurology faculty in FY24, recruitment efforts have not led to even one viable candidate. The two cognitive neurology faculty who remain have only a total of .57 clinical FTE between the two of them because one is shared with the VA and the other is primarily research. Not only is this not enough clinical FTE to serve all the Memory & Aging Clinic patients, it also puts a strain on the NM ADRC which utilizes the clinic to refer patients.

II. BASIS FOR SOLE SOURCE PROCUREMENT. CHOOSE APPLICABLE BOX(ES) AND

PROVIDE ADDITIONAL INFORMATION, AS REQUESTED:

☒ Proprietary item, technology or service only available from the proposed vendor. (Check box and describe proprietary component)

The Department of Neurology has historically had limited success using recruitment firms to identify and place qualified faculty. Given our current critical staffing needs, we consulted the American Academy of Neurology (AAN) Business Administrators network for recommendations. While several firms were suggested, one individual—Ellen Politi of Medical Staffing Associates—was repeatedly endorsed for her proven success in placing neurology faculty, competitive pricing, and effective business model.

Neurology, neurosurgery, physical medicine & rehabilitation, and neuropsychology are among Medical Staffing Associates’ primary areas of expertise. They currently partner with and have successfully recruited for numerous academic medical centers and health systems throughout the country, including the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences, Atrium Health Wake Forest Baptist, Charleston Area Medical Center, Medical College of Georgia, Carilion Clinic and the Virginia Tech Carilion School of Medicine, St. Luke's University Health Network, Hackensack Meridian Health, SUNY Downstate, and Cooper University Health Care and many others. At Hackensack Meridian Health alone, they’ve placed approximately 15 neurologists, neurosurgeons, and physiatrists over the past several years. They’ve successfully recruited numerous neurologists for Charleston Area Medical Center, including, over the years, at least eight neurologists as well as the department chair. They’ve also successfully placed several neurologists at the Medical College of Georgia and continue to support their recruitment efforts.

This specialized knowledge, expertise and access to available candidates can help us quickly fill our critical open positions in a timely manner in-order-to prevent faculty burnout and interruptions in care.

☐ Compatibility requirement with existing item, technology or service. (Check box and describe compatibility requirement)

☐ Renewal of support/maintenance/subscription of software, technology or other intellectual property. (Check box and describe)

☒ Other Basis for Sole Source: Please describe below:

Medical Staffing Associates maintains a proprietary physician network developed over more than 30 years of exclusive neuroscience physician recruitment. Through long-term relationships with neurologists beginning during residency and fellowship and continuing throughout their careers, the firm maintains current knowledge of physician subspecialty training, academic interests, career objectives, and geographic preferences. This relationship-based recruitment model provides access to highly qualified physicians who may not be identified through traditional recruitment methods. Additionally, Medical Staffing Associates has agreed to perform this search under a cost-effective hybrid retained/contingency model, requiring only a modest $5,000 search initiation retainer that is credited toward the first successful placement. This approach allows the Department to engage a highly specialized recruitment firm while minimizing financial risk.

III. SUPPLEMENTAL DETAILS. PLEASE PROVIDE ADDITIONAL INFORMATION AS

REQUESTED BELOW:

Describe in detail the unique capabilities of the proposed vendor’s goods/service and/or personnel performing the work and why this constitutes the only source. Focus on what is unique about the goods/service and why no other vendor could meet your needs.

Medical Staffing Associates is uniquely qualified to provide physician recruitment services for this search based on its specialized focus in neurology and related neurosciences, extensive experience recruiting for academic medical centers, and demonstrated record of successful placements for institutions with comparable faculty and clinical missions.

Unlike general physician recruiting firms, Medical Staffing Associates maintains a concentrated practice in neurology, neurosurgery, physical medicine and rehabilitation, and neuropsychology. This specialized focus provides access to an established network of highly qualified physician candidates and an in-depth understanding of the unique requirements associated with recruiting academic neurologists, including faculty expectations, research interests, subspecialty expertise, and clinical practice needs.

The institution requires a recruitment partner with demonstrated success in placing academic neurologists and department leadership at comparable organizations. Medical Staffing Associates' specialized expertise, established candidate network, and proven record of successful recruitment in academic neuroscience make it uniquely qualified to meet these requirements. Utilizing another recruitment firm without this specialized experience would significantly reduce access to the targeted candidate pool and increase the risk of prolonged vacancies in a highly competitive physician recruitment market.

Given our critical staffing needs, it is essential to engage a recruitment partner with an established record of successful neurology placements to minimize vacancy duration and expedite recruitment.

Describe the due diligence made to locate other possible sources including communications with other universities, communications with similar providers, web searches, yellow page searches, review of advertisements and trade publications, etc.

Given our current critical staffing needs and our prior unsuccessful experience using a general physician recruitment firm, we sought recommendations from the American Academy of Neurology (AAN) Business Administrators network regarding firms specializing in academic neurology recruitment. While several firms were identified, Ellen Politi of Medical Staffing Associates was consistently recommended based on her demonstrated success in placing neurology faculty, competitive fee structure, and effective recruitment model. Based on these recommendations and the firm's documented record of successful neurology faculty placements at peer academic medical centers, Medical Staffing Associates was determined to be the vendor best suited to meet our recruitment needs.

In addition, as part of our market search, we solicited feedback from several University of New Mexico department administrators regarding their experiences with physician recruitment firms. We received one response from a department administrator who reported having worked with two recruitment firms without achieving successful recruitment outcomes. This feedback further reinforced the importance of selecting a firm with demonstrated expertise and a proven track record in academic neurology recruitment.

List the other vendors who were contacted. Please describe the specs/qualifications/criteria that the other vendors were unable to satisfy.

The department identified several physician recruitment firms through recommendations from the American Academy of Neurology (AAN) Business Administrators network. Feedback from peer institutions indicated varying levels of satisfaction with these firms, and several were not recommended based on prior recruitment experiences.

Medical Staffing Associates was the only firm that received consistently positive endorsements for its success in recruiting academic neurology faculty, competitive fee structure, and effective recruitment model. Based on these recommendations and our evaluation of the firms' qualifications, Medical Staffing Associates was determined to best meet our requirements due to its specialized focus on neurology recruitment, demonstrated success placing faculty neurologists at peer academic medical centers, established candidate network, and competitive pricing.

Additionally, we solicited feedback from several University of New Mexico department administrators regarding their experiences with physician recruitment firms. We received one response from a department administrator who reported having worked with two recruitment firms without achieving successful recruitment outcomes. This feedback further reinforced the importance of selecting a firm with demonstrated expertise and a proven track record in academic neurology recruitment.

Based on this due diligence, the department concluded that Medical Staffing Associates was the only firm that most closely met the specialized requirements for this recruitment and offered the strongest combination of demonstrated success in academic neurology recruitment, an established candidate network, competitive pricing, and a recruitment model aligned with the department's immediate staffing needs.

No additional recruitment firms were contacted, as the due diligence process identified Medical Staffing Associates as the firm that best met the department's specialized recruitment needs.