Notice of Non-Competitive Purchase - CARES

The North Dakota Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) Public Health division is pursuing a noncompetitive procurement for the Cardiac Arrest Registry to Enhance Survival (CARES), a specialized data management and tracking system. The contract will be awarded to Emory University Woodruff Health Sciences Center for a one-year term at an annual cost of $17,000. The CARES system is designed to collect and link comprehensive data from multiple sources including dispatch centers, 911 responders, and hospitals, creating detailed records of out-of-hospital cardiac arrest events. Key deliverables include a secure web database with HIPAA-compliant confidentiality protections, multiple data input methods, and capabilities to generate various reports such as Utstein, Survival, Demographics, and Hospital Benchmarking reports. The system currently covers data from 33 states, representing a population over 175 million, 2,300 Emergency Medical Service Units, and 2,500 hospitals. The procurement notice indicates a response deadline of June 25, 2025, at 2:00 PM CT, with interested vendors invited to submit alternative solutions through the State Procurement Office Online system.

The procurement does not specify explicit set-aside designations or restrictions on responding organizations. The noncompetitive nature of the purchase is justified by the CARES system's unique technical capabilities and potential to improve patient care and increase cardiac arrest survival rates. Vendors interested in responding are required to provide comprehensive information including company details, contact information, specification responses, value-added features, and cost information. The procurement method remains open to potential competition, allowing other vendors an opportunity to demonstrate equivalent capabilities. While the current contract value is $17,000 annually, the system's broad implementation across multiple states suggests potential for expanded use and future contract modifications. The procurement appears focused on technical capabilities rather than traditional small business or disadvantaged enterprise requirements, with emphasis on the system's specialized data collection and reporting functionalities.