225827 RFR Emotional Health Programs for Massachusetts 06.22.doc

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts

Department of Public Health

Bureau of Health Care Safety and Quality

Address: 67 Forest St. Marlborough, MA 01752 Contact Name: Katherine Saunders Telephone #: 857-329-4132 Email: katherine.saunders@mass.gov

Request for Response (RFR)

Document Title: Emotional Health Programs for Massachusetts

Nursing Home Residents ASK "RFR Number/Document Number" \* MERGEFORMAT ASK "RFR Number/Document Number" \* MERGEFORMAT COMMBUYS BID Number: BD-22-1031-BHCSQ-HCS10-68010 ASK "RFR Number/Document Number" \* MERGEFORMAT DPH RFR Document Number: 225827 June 24,2022

1.1 Procurement Scope and Description: The Massachusetts Department of Public Health (DPH), Bureau of Health Care Safety and Quality (BHCSQ) is responsible for ensuring residents receive safe care in their nursing homes.

The purpose of this RFR is to seek proposals for projects aimed at enhancing the care of residents in nursing homes in Massachusetts by providing emotional health programs to Massachusetts nursing home residents. Vendors will provide evidence-based programs to reduce loneliness and social isolation for nursing home residents. They will promote psychological and physical health among residents. Vendors will provide technical support to Massachusetts nursing home residents and staff to create programs that are sustainable beyond the funded period of the project. Project(s) will be funded from civil monetary penalties (CMP) that were previously collected from nursing homes.

The Bureau plans to contract with one or more vendors to conduct projects across the Commonwealth. Proposals must include the distribution of online resources, teaching materials, and tools to all Massachusetts nursing homes at the end of each project year.

This is a rolling RFR. Bidders may submit proposals during the entire contract period. Applications will be reviewed as they are received.

1.2 Multiple Quotes: DPH will allow a vendor to upload more than one quote in response to this RFR:

Multiple Quotes will be accepted:

No

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Yes

1.3 Applicable Procurement Law

Executive Branch Goods and Services

Legal Services

MGL c. 30, § 51, § 52 and § 65; c. 7, § 22; and 801 CMR 21.01(2) (b)

1.4 Whether Single or Multiple Contractors Are Required For Contract(s):

Check One (“X”):

Single Contractor

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Multiple Contractors

1.5 Calendar Rule Type:

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1.6 Acquisition Method:

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Fee for Service

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Unit Rate

Other

1.7 Use of a Procurement by Single or Multiple Departments:

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Limited User Contract – Restricted to Use by Issuing Entity Only.

Limited User Contract – Restricted to Use by Defined Entities Only. Any Contract(s) resulting from this Bid will be open for use by the issuing Purchasing Department and the following other entities:

· Identify additional Eligible Entities by name or type.

The Purchasing Department reserves the right to add or remove additional authorized users during the contract term.

1.8 Expected Duration of Contract:

Anticipated Initial Duration up to 1 year.

Anticipated Renewal Options: 1 option to renew for up to 2 years.

Final End Date of this Contract: 6/30/2028 Accepted proposals will be awarded an initial 1-year contract with the potential for one 2-year renewal. Each accepted proposal will have a maximum contract length of 3 years.

1.9 Anticipated Expenditures, Funding Or Compensation For Expected Duration Estimated Value of Procurement including all potential renewals $ 12,000,000 Estimated Annualized amount $ 2,000,000 Check One (“X”):

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Contract will have a Maximum Obligation

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Rate Contract: Contract will NOT have a Maximum Obligation Amount

Will Federal Funds be used to fund any part of Contract(s)?

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No

Yes*

*These awards are subject to all relevant OMB circulars and federal and state grant requirements.

Capital, Trust and Federal Accounts Only: Any funds designated in the budget that are unspent in any fiscal year will not be available for expenditure in the subsequent fiscal year.

2.0 Specifications The contractor(s) will partner with nursing homes and stakeholder organizations in Massachusetts to develop and implement innovative programs that support the safe and person-centric care of nursing home residents. Proposals, at a minimum, shall include plans to address quality of care issues of nursing home residents that:

· Deliver a program of learning and technical assistance for facilities and their staff using remote and/or on-site modalities and using a quality improvement framework.

· Implement a novel new program to facilitate safe interaction between residents and between residents and staff that promotes wellness. Examples of programs include, but are not limited to, therapeutic horticulture, organized music or art programs, movement programs and activities, or programs using the spoken word.

· Programs must be fully accessible to all residents, including those using wheelchairs/walkers/other mobility assistance devices.

· Programs must be able to be implemented in a variety of settings within Massachusetts – urban, suburban, rural.

· Programs must be accessible during all or most seasons in Massachusetts.

· Education curriculum for maintaining the program should be targeted for any front-line staff including, but not limited to, Medical Directors, RNs, LPNs, CNAs, Social Workers, and Activities Directors, and Dietary staff, as appropriate.

At a minimum, programs must:

· Use best and evidence-based practice.

· Use state and federal guidelines for providing person-centered care to nursing home residents.

· Provide and foster culture change initiatives to improve quality of care and resident quality of life.

· Enable facility front-line staff with necessary tools to improve the quality of care and emotional health within the facility.

· Enable development of educational materials including educational sessions and tools that can be shared on the Massachusetts DPH website; and

· Provide for long-term sustainability of this program.

The contractor should solicit participation from a range of partners including health care facilities, residents, resident councils, long term care ombudsman programs, regional programs such as Area Agencies on Aging, and state agencies.

The contractor(s) will assemble, compile, and prepare training and education materials to present to nursing facilities and partner with nursing facilities to maximize implementation. The contractor(s) should plan to provide support to new fewer than 30 nursing facilities in this work and demonstrate that a substantial part of the project involves personal interaction with staff, delivered remotely or on-site.

During the course of the project(s), the contractor(s) will participate in program evaluation with MDPH staff, project participants, and other nursing facility providers to evaluate the effectiveness of this project, and to prepare a presentation and other outreach materials to share with all interested stakeholders, including nursing facilities that may not be able to participate in this project at this time. Materials prepared must meet all Commonwealth of Massachusetts accessibility requirements for website posting, including ADA requirements.

To ensure sustainability of this work, the contractor(s) will provide a final report to the BHCSQ leadership summarizing the objectives employed, service provided, interventions developed, themes identified from working with the nursing facilities and stakeholders in the development and implementation of the work, and measures used to assess facility adoption.

The funding for this project or projects comes from civil monetary penalties levied by Massachusetts as the state agency for the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services.

Supplier Diversity Program (SDP) Pursuant to Executive Order 565, the Commonwealth’s Supplier Diversity Program (SDP) promotes business-to-business relationships between awarded Contractors and diverse businesses and non-profit organizations (“SDP Partners”) certified or recognized by the Supplier Diversity Office (SDO).

All Bidders responding to this solicitation are required to make a meaningful financial commitment (“SDP Commitment”) to partnering with one or more SDO-certified or recognized diverse business enterprise or non-profit organization. After contract award (if any), the Total SDP Commitment shall become a contractual requirement to be met annually on a Massachusetts fiscal year basis (July 1 – June 30) for the duration of the contract. The minimum total SDP Commitment acceptable in responses to this solicitation shall be 1%. Bidders shall be awarded additional evaluation points for higher SDP Commitments. No contract shall be awarded to a Bidder without an SDP Commitment that meets the requirements. This requirement extends to all Bidders regardless of their own supplier diversity certification.

Bidders and Contractors may engage SDP Partners in the following two ways:

· Subcontracting, defined as a partnership in which the SDP partner is involved in the provision of products and/or services to the Commonwealth.

· Ancillary Products and Services, defined as a business relationship in which the SDP partner provides products or services that are not directly related to the Contractor’s contract with the Commonwealth but may be related to the Contractor’s own operational needs.

Other types of business-to-business relationships are not acceptable under this contract. All provisions of this RFR applicable to subcontracting shall apply equally to the engagement of SDP Partners as subcontractors.

All Bidders must complete the SDP Plan Form found in the Attachment section of this procurement and upload it with their bid response. In addition to proposing an SDP Commitment, each Bidder must propose one or more SDP Partner(s) to utilize in order to meet its SDP Commitment. Certified diverse Bidders may not list their own companies, or their subsidiaries or affiliates, as SDP Partners and may not meet their SDP Commitment by spending funds internally or with their own subsidiaries or affiliates.

Additional information about the SDP policy can be found in the Supplier Diversity Program Policies for Goods and Services. Contractors seeking assistance in the development of their SDP Plans or identification of potential SDP Partners may visit the SDP webpage, www.mass.gov/sdp, or contact the SDP Help Desk at sdp@mass.gov.

CORI Checks:

In order to ensure that employees or other persons regularly providing client or support services in any program of an EOHHS Department or in vendor agency programs funded by an EOHHS Department are appropriate for serving in their positions, a Criminal Offender Record Information (CORI) check shall be performed on candidates for positions in such programs or facilities, in accordance with 101 CMR 15.00 (EOHHS regulations governing Criminal Offender Record Checks). These regulations establish a core standardized policy regarding the review of criminal records for employment. It is the policy of EOHHS that an individual’s background including any CORI and other relevant information be carefully considered so that the vulnerable populations served by EOHHS are protected. It is also the policy of EOHHS that qualified rehabilitated offenders are given a fair opportunity to be employed and successfully reintegrated into the workforce. In addition, as provided in 101 CMR 15.09(5), the hiring authority must comply with the requirements of the Division of Criminal Justice Information Services (formerly the CHSB) governing CORI at 803 CMR 2.00 et seq.

3.0 Performance Requirements and Contract Monitoring: The Department of Public Health is endeavoring to deliver the Best Value to facilitate our needs. However, it is important to measure the Contractor’s performance to ensure the contract is in compliance with what has been requested and what the Contractor has offered in this RFQ. The following performance areas will be subject to measurement:

1. Timely Delivery (Commodities, Services, Reports, Billing, etc.)

2. Responsiveness to Departmental Inquiries

3. Quality of Deliverables (Commodities, Services, Reports, etc.)

4. Performance Targets/Benchmarks (Quantities, Outcomes, etc.)

5. Attendance at scheduled meetings

6. Responsiveness to Departmental Inquiries. Contractors must be available to provide progress updates to DPH on a bi-weekly basis and attend scheduled meetings.

7. Quality of Deliverables

a. Implementation of meaningful work plan that engages no fewer than thirty nursing facilities and stakeholders, including residents and families in dementia care activities.

b. Submission of thoughtful written report of activities and measure implemented and to be used in the future.

8. Performance Targets/Benchmarks.

a. Submission of work plan and contract activities within 60 days of contract execution.

b. Brief written status report of work plan implementation and activities completed within 30 days of project kick-off and monthly thereafter.

c. Preliminary report will be due within 12 months of contract execution and annually thereafter. Report shall include summary of training activities and measures implemented to monitor performance.

d. Preparation of project findings and recommendations for presentation at town hall conference for nursing home facility providers and state surveyors. Due within 18 months of contract execution and at the end of the 3-year project.

e. Final written reports will be due before the end of the project period (3 years). Report shall include, at a minimum, project findings, summary of nursing home engagement, measures implemented to monitor performance and overall project recommendations.

9. Completion of training and technical assistance to at least 30 nursing homes.

a. Demonstrate completion of training sessions and staff participation roster (including at a minimum name and role of staff).

b. Demonstrate the implementation of reliable data collection for the purpose of consistent measure reporting and analysis within targeted nursing homes; and

c. Provide supporting evidence to demonstrate pre- and post-project intervention impact.

4.0 Contract Invoicing Vendors will submit billing monthly. Invoices will be emailed to: HCQBILLING@MASS.GOV Payment through Electronic Funds Transfer is required for any contract awarded through this solicitation. The EFT form and instructions on how and when to submit this form can be found in the Vendor Activation Folder (VENDACT) in the Attachments for this RFR.

5.0 Evaluation Contractor selection will be based on documentation of appropriate experience and expertise to accomplish the requested activities on time and within budget. Evaluation and rating of vendor responses will be based on the following.

Evaluation Criteria

All proposals will be scored on the following criteria:

· Cost-effectiveness of the proposal, assessed through review of the response budget that demonstrates task-cost correlation.

· Thorough presentation/description of work plan outlining activities, any data collection and outcomes measurement methods, integration of stakeholders including nursing home residents and their families, and consumer organizations into the work plan, and timeline to ensure completion of the requested activities before the end of the contract.

· Applications should include letters of support from at least 10 Massachusetts Nursing Homes.

· Demonstrated prior experience in project development and implementation in a long-term care setting with demonstrated positive process and outcome results.

· Overall quality of response and sustainability of activities proposed.

· Prior experience with the long-term care industry. Demonstrated prior experience conducting organizational assessments on-site in long-term care facilities and providing recommendations for improving communication, supervision, and service delivery.

· Consistency with federal requirements for CMP fund usage at 42 USC 488.433 and CMS Survey & Certification Memo 12-13-NH including a description of how this project benefits nursing home residents, and how the nursing home community will be involved in its development and implementation. A complete budget justification is required.

· Supplier Diversity Program Review Process

Proposals will undergo multiple levels of review that will consider all of these criteria as well as those described below:

· Technical Review: The quality of the response to each question in the narrative is evaluated by a team of objective reviewers who score each question according to criteria related to that question. Reviewers are instructed to evaluate each question for content, comprehensiveness, and clarity of each answer.

· To encourage substantial Bidder supplier diversity initiatives and commitments as measures valuable to the Commonwealth, at least 25% of the total available evaluation points for this bid solicitation shall be allocated to the evaluation of the SDP Plan submissions.

· Second Level Review: During the second level of review, factors such as an applicant’s past performance, billing, license status, ADA compliance, agency demographics, need, resources available, and other criteria are considered and scored. These criteria may vary depending upon the service being procured. Based on all review scores, programs make recommendations to the Commissioner, who makes the final funding determination.

6.0 Estimated Procurement Calendar

Deadline for Questions and Answers

All Questions must be received in writing. Questions can be sent by email no later than the date and time indicated in the Procurement Calendar. All Questions with answers will be posted on the COMMBUYS Attachment section for this procurement.

Tuesday, December 1, 2026 at 5:00PM E-mail: Katherine.Saunders@mass.gov

The BID opening date

(Deadline for Submission of Response)

All responses to be submitted electronically using the online submission tools available to Vendors registered in COMMBUYS.

This is a rolling RFR. Bidders may submit applications up until the date and time listed below.

Thursday, December 31, 2026 at 3:00 PM

7.0 Instructions for Submission of Responses

· See application for more details COMMBUYS Submission All responses are to be submitted electronically using the online submission tools available to Vendors registered in COMMBUYS. There is no charge to register in COMMBUYS. To Register go to www.COMMBUYS.com and click on the “Register” link on the front page.

All Quotes must be received by the Department of Public Health before the specified date, month, year and time of the Bid Opening Date displayed on COMMBUYS. Times are Eastern Standard/Daylight Savings (US), as applicable.

All Bidders are advised to allow adequate time for submission by considering potential online submission impediments like Internet traffic, Internet connection speed, file size, and file volume. DPH is not responsible for delays encountered by Bidders or their agents, or for a Bidder’s local hardware failures, such as computers or related networks, associated with bid compilation or submission. Bids submitted via COMMBUYS are time stamped by the COMMBUYS system clock which is considered the official time of record.

Bidders are encouraged to upload attachments well in advance of the Bid Opening Date. This will help to reduce disqualified submissions that can occur if upload is not fully completed or if an attachment is missing at the deadline. Prior to the Bid Opening Date listed in the Procurement Calendar above, documents can easily be deleted, and revised versions can be uploaded. If you wish to revise or delete a quote after submission, you may do so prior to the bid opening date. (The Withdraw, Reopen, and Resubmit a Quote in COMMBUYS Job Aide can be found in Attachments Section.)

Electronic Signatures

Quotes submitted via COMMBUYS must be signed electronically by the Bidder or the Bidder’s Agent by accepting the terms and conditions of the bid on the “Terms & Conditions” tab in COMMBUYS. Bidders do this by selecting “Save & Continue” on the “Terms and Conditions” tab after accepting the terms and conditions of the bid. By agreeing to this the submitter attests that s/he is an agent of the Bidder with authority to sign on the Bidder’s behalf, and that s/he has read and assented to each document’s terms.

Vendor Activation Requirements

As part of this RFR application a potential bidder who is new to the state system or who will need to update existing information in MMARS should follow the instructions found in the Vendor Activation Folder (VENDACT) found in the Attachments for this RFR.

File Format and Naming Conventions

Scanned documents will be accepted and must be scanned in such a way that they can be read on a computer monitor and printed on 8 1/2” x 11” paper, unless otherwise specified. Attachments must be uploaded individually and cannot be combined in a zipped file.

DPH is requiring that all response attachments that are uploaded in COMMBUYS include the company name of the Bidder and the RFR number. For additional instructions about naming conventions and the document titles see the Checklist of Attachments Found in the Application Response Form. The description entered during the file upload process ensures each file is readily identified by Company Name, RFR and content.

8.0 RFR Attachments:

All required bid attachments are available in COMMBUYS under the “File” attachments section on the Summary Page. Be sure to follow all instructions in the BID (RFR) and the Application Response Form to ensure that all required forms and information are submitted properly.

To assist bidders in identify the purpose of the attachments for this procurement; the forms posted on the COMMBUYS attachment section have a prefix according to the following chart:

with the application.

9.0 COMMBUYS Support

A link to a job aid on How to Submit a Quote on COMMBUYS COMMBUYS Resource Information at www.mass.gov/osd/commbuys Email: Send inquiries to the COMMBUYS OSD Help Desk at OSDHelpDesk@mass.gov Telephone: Call the COMMBUYS Help Desk at 1-888-627-8283 or 617-720-3197. The Help Desk is staffed from 8:00 AM to 5:00 PM Monday through Friday Eastern Standard or Daylight time, as applicable, except on federal and state holidays.

Technical assistance is available during the procurement process. Every effort is made to respond to inquiries within one business day.

Bidders are advised that COMMBUYS will be unavailable during regularly scheduled maintenance hours of which all users will be notified.

10.0 Other Requirements Pertaining to this RFR

Public Records: All information, documents, and attachments submitted as a response to this RFR are considered a public document subject to the Massachusetts Public Records Law, M.G.L., c. 66, s. 10, and to c. 4, s. 7, ss. 26. Please be aware that checking the “confidential” box in COMMBUYS does not bar these documents from being released as a public record pursuant to these statutes once the procurement is awarded, unless statutorily exempt from disclosure.

National Culturally and Linguistically Appropriate Services (CLAS) Standards When releasing their report “Unequal Treatment” the Institutes of Medicine concluded “race disparities in health outcomes persist even after the significant efforts of multiple programs and accounting for risks such as low income, poor education and cigarette smoking.” The national Culturally and Linguistically Appropriate Services (CLAS) Standards have been developed to offer a framework to address the structural, clinical and organizational barriers that contribute to health disparities. In 2005, the Massachusetts Department of Public Health Office of Health Equity was awarded the federal grant State Partnership Grant to Improve Minority Health. The goal of this grant is to develop and implement Massachusetts standards consistent with the nationally proposed CLAS Standards throughout the Department’s procurement and internal operations. MDPH would be among the first public health agencies in the country to systematically apply these standards as a tool to eliminate racial, ethnic and linguistic health disparities.

Continued implementation of the CLAS standards will occur over the term of this contract. Providers will be required to cooperate with this effort. Such cooperation may include the submission of data relative to the CLAS standards and the implementation of CLAS-related performance requirements.

The national CLAS standards are included as an attachment to this RFR. Making CLAS Happen is a guide to providing culturally and linguistically appropriate services in a variety of public health settings. Further guidance is available at the Office of Health Equity’s website: www.mass.gov/dph/healthequity.

COMMBUYS REGISTRATION

It is the responsibility of the prospective Bidder and awarded Contractor to maintain an active registration in COMMBUYS and to keep current the email address of the Bidder’s contact person and prospective contract manager, if awarded a contract, and to monitor that email inbox for communications from the Purchasing Department, including requests for clarification. The Purchasing Department and the Commonwealth assume no responsibility if a prospective Bidder’s/awarded Contractor’s designated email address is not current, or if technical problems, including those with the prospective Bidder’s/awarded Contractor’s computer, network, or internet service provider (ISP) cause email communications sent to/from the prospective Bidder/Awarded contractor and the Purchasing Department to be lost or rejected by any means including email or spam filtering. To register go to � HYPERLINK "http://www.COMMBUYS.com" �www.COMMBUYS.com�.

QUOTE SUBMISSION

This BID requires the submission of electronic quotes. All Bidders are advised to allow adequate time for submission of their quotes by considering potential online impediments like Internet traffic, Internet connection speed, file size, and file volume. DPH is not responsible for delays encountered by Bidders or their agents, or for a Bidder’s local hardware failures, such as computers or related networks, associated with bid compilation or submission. Bids submitted via COMMBUYS are time stamped by the COMMBUYS system clock which is considered the official time of record.

VENDOR ACTIVATION

To receive a contract with state a vendor must be active in The Massachusetts Management Accounting and Reporting System (MMARS). MMARS is the official accounting system of the Commonwealth and once registered a vendor will be issued a Vendor Code number or a “VC” number. This VC number is used for all contracts that a vendor has with state agencies. An organization with existing state contracts or a vendor who has had state contracts with any state agency in the past has been registered in MMARS and does not need to re-submit paperwork again unless existing information in MMARS will need to be updated. As part of this RFR application a potential bidder who is new to the state system or who will need to update existing information in MMARS must follow the instructions found in the Vendor Activation Folder (VENDACT) in the Attachments for this RFR.

� JAMA. 2020;324(7):619-620. doi:10.1001/jama.2020.13484

� Wu, B. Social isolation and loneliness among older adults in the context of COVID-19: a global challenge. glob health res policy 5, 27 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1186/s41256-020-00154-3

M04-M78 Services Purchased in Support of Human and Social Services for Clients

9/2021