1. SOW.pdf

75H70523Q00013 Mindfulness Training

Statement of Work Employee Mindfulness and Resiliency Training

INTRODUCTION:

The mission of the Indian Health Service (IHS) is to raise the physical, mental, social, and spiritual health of American Indians and Alaska Natives (AI/AN) to the highest level. Similarly, the IHS Vision is to support healthy communities and quality health care systems through strong partnerships and culturally responsive practices.

The National Academies of Science, Engineering, and Medicine 2019 Taking Action Against Clinician Burn-out report included recommendations surrounding redesign of clinical systems and focused activities 1) that patients value and 2) that support clinicians in providing high-quality care. Additionally, the report recommends health-systems consider activities that target system factors that contribute to clinician burn-out and support well-being and that these interventions are supported with leadership commitment to infrastructure, resources, accountability, and organizational culture.

BACKGROUND:

The COVID-19 Pandemic experiences and community response activities have showcased the perseverance, compassion, and generosity that IHS workers have for their assigned duties and the communities they serve. Early in the response activities, tribal and health-system leaders expressed concern for front-line workers already faced with resource limitations and vicarious trauma. Many IHS sites and areas considered interventions to promote employee wellness, prevent burn-out and compassion fatigue, and support their employees.

The IHS is uniquely positioned as an employer to support wellbeing and resilience. The IHS vision is grounded in strong partnerships and culturally responsive practices and the strategic goals require a commitment to each other. Additionally, the IHS service population includes workers as patients that are uniquely situated to provide input and guidance on meaningful strategies that support health workplaces and communities. Trauma-responsive practices and relationship-based care are our clinical ethos. Retaining and recruiting service-minded employees is necessary to improve access, safety, and quality. Employee burn-out results in high vacancy rates, absenteeism, presenteeism, and patient safety concern.

Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction is an evidence-based practice that emphasizes enhancing the individual’s resiliency framework is essential to the stamina and long-term endurance to sustain the continued provision of high-quality medical care. It is also considered an integrative treatment for pain management and is included in the 2019 Pain Management Best Practices Inter-Agency Task Force - Draft Report on Pain Management Best Practices: Updates, Gaps, Inconsistencies, and Recommendations. Furthermore, mindfulness-based practices have demonstrated efficacy for treatment of mental health conditions.

PURPOSE OF CONTRACT:

The purpose of this contract is to facilitate access to an evidence-based, off-the-shelf training curriculum for IHS staff that teaches self-care practices. The training curriculum needs to include two types of interventions including a basic fundamentals of mindfulness interventions as well as a certificate training opportunity. Both options will support development of self-efficacy and skills to demonstrate resilience in the face of rapidly changing conditions, innovation, creativity and increased focus for themselves, their patients, and their employees.

SCOPE:

The scope of this intervention is two-fold.

Basic mindfulness-based intervention: this training will be delivered virtually to 6 cohorts of 20 IHS employees per year. The curriculum will help participants to understand the basics of self-care and the relaxation response and well as ways to recognize and elicit the relaxation response;

the linkages between mind and body; adaptation; positive self-thought; and creative expression.

Cohorts will be assigned by HQ and area leadership. Continuing education credits should be available for activities.

Certification level training: this training will build upon the introductory training and will provide a focused, compressed intervention that will equip the participant to support on-going program implementation and to deliver a mindfulness/resiliency training program. Participants will complete this learning through both online training and mentorship, and onsite participation at the University. This onsite engagement is necessary to demonstrate subject mastery for the content. Six licensed providers will be selected to participate each year. Continuing medical education credits are necessary.

SPECIFIC REQUIREMENTS:

Courses and interventions must be evidence-based and delivered with both virtual and live options.

Vendor must be classified as an accredited a medical teaching institution.

Courses should offer joint accreditation continuing education credits.

Courses are provided by licensed clinicians with current certification in mind-body interventions.

Certification should equip the trainee with providing mindfulness-based interventions to clinical populations.

Employees completing the certification level training will use SF182 for training documentation.

Training Interventions:

1. Basic training to be offered as two-hour sessions with core curriculum comprised as 6-8 modules. A compressed intervention is necessary for rapid scale implementation within one year. These training sessions should be offered to IHS specific cohorts comprised of 20 Federal employees from a variety of selected leadership, clinical, administrative settings. A total of six cohorts (20 persons each) per year in the base year with a repeat in option year one.

SAMPLE Cohort Groupings by discipline or by Area

1. IHS SR Leadership Team (20 persons)

2. Area Director + 5 Area ELT/Leadership members (3 Areas)

3. Area Director + 5 Area ELT/Leadership members (3 Areas)

4. Area / Discipline Cohort 1 (SU) – 20 employees

5. Area / Discipline Cohort 2 (SU) – 20 employees

6. Area / Discipline Cohort 3 (SU) – 20 employees

2. Certification level training will include intensive on-site didactic training to establish a learning collaborative. The certificate program will also include basic program facilitation, mentorship, and intensive implementation training. Following completion of training and mentorship requirements, the vendor will administer a competency exam to demonstrate knowledge of core requirements. The certificate training program will be offered to six (6) identified IHS licensed clinicians in the base year and 6 in option year one.

VENDOR QUALIFICATIONS:

Training and certification program are offered through an accredited medical school by licensed clinicians in good standing. Affiliation with an academic medical school will promote use of evidence-based training standards and will assist participants with relating to instructional methods.

Must have active SAM.gov/UEI number.

All training courses will offer Joint Accreditation CME and Accreditation Council for

Continuing Medical Education (ACCME) continuing education credits. This is for both virtual and live training methods.

Training will need to consider culturally responsive and trauma-informed practices.

The certificate training program will need to accommodate an IHS cohort to establish and support a learning community. The basic program offered virtually will also use a cohort approach.

Certificate training program will include on-going access to participant workbooks to support train the training approaches.

PERIOD OF PERFORMANCE:

Base Year: TBD

Option Year One: TBD

Government will Provide:

Training Coordinator and Project Manager

PLACE OF PERFORMANCE:

Basic: Virtual course offering Certification: On-site 2-3 day training with virtual mentoring sessions with access to enduring content and recordings

Point of Contact:

Cindy Gunderson, HOPE Committee Chair Cynthia.gunderson@ihs.gov