Rhonda R Cato

Rhonda R. Cato serves as a key procurement professional within the Defense Health Agency, supporting the agency’s mission to deliver seamless, mission-critical healthcare services to uniformed personnel, retirees, and their families. She manages a diverse portfolio of acquisitions centered on medical equipment, pharmaceutical supply chain support, and clinical infrastructure modernization. Her work ensures operational readiness through the timely procurement of surgical supplies, diagnostic tools, and secure health data systems, aligning with DHA’s strategic priorities in clinical quality and logistics resilience. She typically handles competitive sealed bids and negotiated contracts under FAR Part 13 and Part 15, with a focus on high-reliability medical and technical services. Cato maintains consistent working relationships with specialized vendors including Dependable On-Site Scan & Shred, Inc. for secure document handling, Hanith Bioscience, LLC for biopharmaceutical logistics, Livion Technology, LLC for advanced medical device solutions, I-2-I Solutions, Inc. for IT-enabled clinical support, and Draeger Inc. for critical care and anesthesia equipment. These partnerships reflect a preference for niche, technically proficient contractors capable of meeting stringent DoD compliance and supply chain security standards. Her contracting patterns indicate a reliance on established vendors with proven capabilities in regulated healthcare environments. Her procurement approach prioritizes open competition, with 66.7% of awards issued without set-aside restrictions, while 33.3% are structured as total small business set-asides under FAR 19.5. This balance demonstrates a deliberate commitment to fostering competition from small businesses without compromising operational requirements. While she does not routinely favor 8(a), HUBZone, or SDVOSB set-asides, her consistent use of small business set-asides signals a strong institutional alignment with DoD’s socioeconomic contracting goals. Cato’s primary procurement focus lies in NAICS 339113 (surgical appliance and supplies manufacturing), followed by 325412 (pharmaceutical preparation manufacturing) and 811219 (other personal services, including medical waste and facility support). Her expertise spans high-compliance medical device procurement, sterile supply logistics, and clinical support services, reflecting deep domain knowledge in military healthcare delivery systems and the regulatory frameworks governing defense medical procurement.