36C24120Q0295-0001000.docx

5. PROJECT NUMBER (if applicable)

CODE

7.

ADMINISTERED BY

2. AMENDMENT/MODIFICATION NUMBER

CODE

6. ISSUED BY

8. NAME AND ADDRESS OF CONTRACTOR

4. REQUISITION/PURCHASE REQ. NUMBER

3. EFFECTIVE DATE

9A. AMENDMENT OF SOLICITATION NUMBER

9B. DATED

PAGE OF

PAGES

10A. MODIFICATION OF CONTRACT/ORDER NUMBER

10B. DATED

BPA NO.

1. CONTRACT ID CODE

FACILITY CODE

CODE

Offers must acknowledge receipt of this amendment prior to the hour and date specified in the solicitation or as amended, by one of the following methods:

The above numbered solicitation is amended as set forth in Item 14. The hour and date specified for receipt of Offers

E. IMPORTANT:

is extended,

(a) By completing Items 8 and 15, and returning __________ copies of the amendment; (b) By acknowledging receipt of this amendment on each copy of the offer submitted; or (c) By separate letter or electronic communication which includes a reference to the solicitation and amendment numbers. FAILURE

OF YOUR

ACKNOWLEDGMENT TO BE RECEIVED AT THE PLACE DESIGNATED FOR THE RECEIPT OF OFFERS PRIOR TO THE HOUR AND DATE SPECIFIED MAY is not extended.

12. ACCOUNTING AND APPROPRIATION DATA

(REV. 11/2016)

is required to sign this document and return ___________ copies to the issuing office.

is not, A. THIS CHANGE ORDER IS ISSUED PURSUANT TO:

Specify authority) THE CHANGES SET FORTH IN ITEM 14 ARE MADE IN THE CONTRACT ORDER NO. IN ITEM 10A.

15C. DATE SIGNED

B. THE ABOVE NUMBERE

D CONTRACT/ORDER IS MODIFIED TO REFLECT THE ADMINISTRATIVE CHANGES

SET FORTH IN ITEM 14, PURSUANT TO THE AUTHORITY OF FAR 43.103(b).

RESULT IN REJECTION OF YOUR

OFFER. If by virtue of this amendment you desire to change an offer already submitted, such change may be made by letter or electronic communication, provided each letter or electronic communication makes reference to the solicitation and this amendmen t, and is received prior to the opening hour and date specified.

C. THIS SUPPLEMENTAL AGREEMENT IS ENTERED INTO PURSUANT TO AUTHORITY OF:

D. OTHER

Contractor

16C. DATE SIGNED

14. DESCRIPTION OF AMENDMENT/MODIFICATION

16B. UNITED

STATES OF AMERICA

Except as provided herein, all terms and conditions of the document referenced in Item 9A or 10A, as heretofore changed, remains unchanged and in full force and effect.

15A. NAME AND TITLE OF SIGNER

16A. NAME AND TITLE OF

CONTRACTING OFFICER

15B. CONTRACTOR/OFFEROR

STANDARD FORM 30

PREVIOUS EDITION NOT USABLE

Prescribed by GSA - FAR (48 CFR) 53.243 (Type or print) (Type or print) (Organized by UCF section headings, including solicitation/contract subject matter where feasible.)

(Number, street, county, State and ZIP Code) (If other than Item 6) (Specify type of modification and authority) (such as changes in paying office, appropriation date, etc.)

(If required)

(SEE ITEM 11)

(SEE ITEM 13)

(X)

CHECK

ONE

13. THIS ITEM APPLIES ONLY TO MODIFICATIONS OF CONTRACTS/ORDERS,

IT MODIFIES THE CONTRACT/ORDER NO. AS DESCRIBED IN ITEM 14.

11. THIS ITEM ONLY APPLIES TO AMENDMENTS OF

SOLICITATIONS

AMENDMENT OF SOLICITATION/MODIFICATION OF CONTRACT

(Signature of person authorized to sign) (Signature of Contracting Officer) 05-05-2020 Y 00241 Department of Veterans Affairs

VA CENTRAL WESTERN MASSACHUSETTS HCS

Acquisitions-90 421 North Main Street Leeds MA 01053-9764 Y 00241 Department of Veterans Affairs VA Central Western Massachusetts HCS Acquisitions-90 421 North Main Street Leeds MA 01053-9764 To all Offerors/Bidders

36C24120Q0295 04-28-2020

X X X

The purpose of this amendment is to respond to vendor questions.

BRIDGET BARTOLOMEI

Contracting Officer

CONTINUATION PAGE

AMENDMENT 1 VA NEW ENGLAND PERFUSIONIST SERVICES 36C24120Q0295

Answers to Vendor Questions

This solicitation is different than previous solicitation 36C24120Q0071 for Perfusionist Services to VA Boston. Instead, I am now looking to put a Basic Purchasing Agreement (BPA) in place that VISN 1 (VA New England Healthcare System - Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, Vermont) could order from through task orders when Perfusionist Services are required. SERVICES WILL BE AWARDED BY TASK ORDERS TO INDIVIDUAL MEDICAL CENTERS AS REQUIRED ONCE BPA IS IN PLACE.

1. Based on the Q&A from the previous solicitation there are incumbents, is this contract intended to replace the incumbents or is this intended to supplement the current staff or just cover vacations and fill in gaps?

At this time, the only actual requirement I have is for three (3) Perfusionists to VA Boston HCS. Once the VISN-Wide BPA is in place, I will award a task order from it for these services. VA Boston currently has a VA-staffed Chief Perfusionist and Perfusionist and I plan to supplement this staff with three (3) full-time equivalent contracted Perfusionists.

2. Will the Chief perfusionists be expected to manage/supervise the existing Perfusionist staff?

At this time, I don’t have a requirement for a Chief Perfusionist. If one is required somewhere within the VISN during the life of the BOA, more specific expectations will be spelled out on the task order. At this time, I would say that, yes, a Chief Perfusionist would be expected to manage the staff.

3. The line item for On-Call has 1,336.00 listed per POP, based on 24-hour call schedule this equates to just over 2 days per month, is this correct?

Calculations for on-call were made as follows:

365*24-2080 (2080 is a 40 hours/week*52 for regular working hours) = 6680 hours of call per year.

6680/5=1336 per person on a team of 5. 1336/52 weeks= ~26 hours per week on call per person.

4. How many full-time employee VAMC perfusionist/or Fee for service will remain on staff?

For the VA Boston HCS task order that will be awarded from this BOA, there are currently two (2) VA staff that will remain; a Chief Perfusionist and a Perfusionist.

5. The line item for On-Call states “be within 45 minutes of the facility to support these emergent cases….” The place of performance lists 11 locations, some of which are several hours apart. Will the Perfusionists be expected to be covering each location while on-call?

Task Orders will be awarded as required for individual locations. Perfusionists will only be expected to work at the station identified in the particular task order.

Currently, the only location I need to fill is VA Boston HCS, 1400 VFW Parkway, West Roxbury, MA. Perfusionists will need to be within 45 minutes of that facility.

6. If they are only covering for a specific location while on-call, will that location remain the same for the duration of the contract?

Yes

7. How far in advance is the schedule made?

The schedule is made one month in advance.

8. Reconfirm that you will still accept any state license and provider will be able to start an assignment, but would need to obtain a MA license while working the assignment?

Licenses can be issued in any state, territory, or commonwealth of the US or DC. However, for VA Boston HCS specifically, the task order will require the Perfusionist be licensed in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts.

9. For clarification: just for the Acting chief position—they would have had to become board certified within in 18 months of graduation? If it was longer then this then they would not qualify for this position?

The 18-month requirement is for Board-eligible Perfusionists. They would need to become certified within 18 months of graduation.

10. How much orientation will be involved for the “acting chief” and then for the standard perfusionist?

Orientation time, getting them up to speed with our cpb practice, will depend on the competency of the contract Perfusionist. From experience, 4-8 weeks should be a reasonable time frame for that Perfusionist to be solo and taking call. The surgeons and our in-house Perfusionists will determine when someone is ready.

11. in section 4.5.1 and 4.5.4 you are asking provider to written protocols for services provided and provide QC/QA of the Heparin Management System and Heater Cooler Cleaning Log: with in 10-days of the contract award—is this standard without a provider having stepped into a VAMC system before to understand how they like things ran?

As far as written protocols, the contractors will have to use our established SOP (Standard Operating Procedures) and these are included as part of training/orientation. This is to make sure that there is no conflict of practice for the safe conduct of perfusion. I’m sure they will have their own management SOPs but the delivery of perfusion should be according to our standards.

12. Will the Chief of Cardiac Surgery be training the “acting chief” on how the VAMC wants the annual Quality Management Plan written out to VAMC standards and expectations?

Please see #11 above.

13. Are the meetings that the contractor's staff has to attend paid?

Meetings will occur during work hours.

14. Are the training sessions attended by the contractor's staff paid?

Ongoing training will occur during work hours. However, any training required to pass security check that is part of the process of getting hired would not be paid by the VA.

15. With the multiple locations involved, do the hours on the price/cost schedule represent an approximation of all the hours at all the locations rolled up?

No. The 2,080 hours listed in Item Numbers 0001 & 0002 represent the number of hours expected to work during one year for one FTE (full-time equivalent) contracted staff; 2080 is a 40 hours/week*52 for regular working hours. In other words, I’m asking what the cost of hiring one FTE Chief Perfusionist for a year would be in #0001 and the cost of hiring one FTE Perfusionist for a year in #0002.

16. We assume that the VA is not thinking of having the exact same contractor employee working in all the locations, true?

Correct. Task Orders will be awarded when a Medical Center requires Perfusionist Services and their requirements will be specific. Currently, only VA Boston HCS in West Roxbury, Massachusetts, has a requirement. Once the BPA is awarded, a task order will follow requesting the services of 3 FTE Perfusionists for West Roxbury, MA, only.

17. In some cases the requirement for a contractor's employee might be at the same time in multiple locations, true?

Currently, our only requirement is for 3 FTE Perfusionists to VA Boston HCS. No other VA Medical Centers in New England currently have a need. However, during the five-year life of the BOA, other MCs may require services. If so, an entirely different task order would be written and additional Perfusionists would be required.