36C24123Q0664.docx

GENERAL INFORMATION

SET-ASIDE

Lewiston Veterans Center

35 Westminster Center

Lewiston ME

CONTACT INFORMATION

Providence VAMC 830 Chalkstone Ave

Providence RI 02908

POINT OF CONTACT*

Contracting Officer Keri Reeves keri.reeves@va.gov keri.reeves@va.gov

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

AGENCY’S URL

URL DESCRIPTION

Presolicitation Notice Presolicitation Notice

DESCRIPTION

Presolicitation Notice

Pre-solicitation Notice of Intent to Sole Source Pre-Solicitation Notice of intent to award a sole source contract. This is not a solicitation. The Department of Veterans Affairs intends to negotiate a sole source contract with:

ANDROSCOGGIN HOME HEALTH SERVICES INC

ueiSAM: JLWBC7HJMJ97

15 STRAWBERRY AVE

LEWISTON, ME 04240-5941

The purpose of this acquisition is to provide readjustment counseling services to eligible veterans referred by COR or designee in accordance with the requirements as outlined in this statement of work.

In-person or telehealth Individual and group counseling sessions for eligible Vet Center clients that are Combat Veterans or Military Sexual Trauma survivors in the Farmington, Maine area, rural areas of Maine, and telehealth support to other Maine Vet Centers as needed as outlined in the Statement of Work. The services are located at the Lewiston Vet Center VAMC located at 35 Westminster Street Waterville, ME 04901. The service required is for the Base period of performance 6/8/2023 -6/07/2024, a Base +3 year’s requirement.

Continuity of care for Veterans receiving counseling services is critical for this requirement, therefore, ANDROSCOGGIN HOME HEALTH SERVICES INC is the only vendor/contractor that can provide the service required, this acquisition will not be competed. Since the intent is to procure this on a sole source basis, no solicitation will be posted to Contracting Opportunities SAM.gov.

The NAICS 624190. The size standard is $16.0 Million. The PSC/FSC is Q526.

The authority for this action is FAR 6.302.1-1 Only one responsible source and no other supplies or services will satisfy agency requirements.

Interested persons may contact the Contracting Officer by email only at keri.reeves@va.gov regarding this procurement. The determination to conduct a competitive procurement based on responses to this notice is solely within the discretion of the Contracting Officer.

Response must be received by 05/16/2023, NLT 10:00am EST.

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STATEMENT OF WORK

Department of Veterans Affairs- Readjustment Counseling Lewiston Vet Center

DESCRIPTION OF THE SUBJECT WORK

In-person or telehealth Individual and group counseling sessions for eligible Vet Center clients that are Combat Veterans or Military Sexual Trauma survivors in the Farmington, Maine area, rural areas of Maine, and telehealth support to other Maine Vet Centers as needed.

1. This service does not include Couples, family, and phone counseling, and assistance with applying for service connection benefits counseling.

2. A counseling session or initial assessment shall last a minimum of 60 minutes and shall be deemed a single visit. (Longer visits shall be considered a single visit, regardless of length.)

3. All group sessions shall last a minimum of 90 minutes per session (Longer visits shall be deemed a single group visit, regardless of length.)

The Vet Center Director will determine the eligibility of the referral to the Fee for Service Vendor.

1. Vet Center Director will complete initial screening and complete Intake and Risk Assessments, determine eligibility, and make appropriate referrals to the Fee for Service Vendor.

2. Vet Center Director will make the referral and three visits will be authorized

3. Fee for Service Vendor will have to complete the intake assessment, military history, and treatment plan in the first three sessions.

4. Additional Visits will have to be requested by the Fee for Service Vendor through an encrypted email and if approved by the Vet Center Director additional 15 visits per quarter that can be a combination of individual and/or group counseling sessions.

5. Authorizations will be documented in the client’s file and will be followed up by VA Form 10-5565b.

Duty of the Fee for Services Vendor

1. Provide timely invoices and clinical documentation per contract.

2. Provide a Summary of Care Monthly for each client at the end of the month five business days later.

3. Complete the closing summary after 90 Days of inactivity.

4. Provide quarterly Assessments for each client.

5. Accept appropriate referrals within the scope of their clinical licensure.

6. All providers in Maine will be independently clinically licensed to conduct individual and group counseling independently.

7. Sessions will be in-person or telehealth.

8. Will not charge late or no-show fees to clients.

9. Maintain up-to-date records and maintain privacy standards.

10. Will be available for clinical audits by the Vet Center Director or District Staff.

Communication

1. All client information will be sent in an encrypted email

2. Questions or concerns will be routed to the Vet Center Director and COR via telephone or encrypted email

3. ADDRESS FOR MAIL / PACKAGES: Lewiston Vet Center Attn: Erik Noll, Office Manager 35 Westminster Street Lewiston, ME 04240

4. LISTING FOR FAXED CORRESPONDENCE: Lewiston Vet Center Phone: 207-783-0068 FAX: 207-783-3505

Contractors are expressly prohibited from the following:

1. Commercial advertising of their services to Vietnam and/or post-Vietnam era war zone veterans under this contract program in such a way as to indicate or imply VA endorsement or promotion of services.

2. Referring to themselves as “Vet Centers,” “Outreach Centers,” or “Readjustment Counseling Centers”, “Veterans Outreach Program,” or similarly misleading the public regarding the nature of their relationship with the VA.

3. Contractors will not actively outreach or solicit clients.

4. Contractors will refrain at all times from personal, financial, or business relationships with clients, family members, or significant others of such clients or former clients insofar as such personal relationships might compromise the professional neutrality and effectiveness of the counseling relationship.

Contractors will adhere to the professional standards of their relevant licensing body.

5. VA will not reimburse for telephone calls with veterans or significant others, consultation between contract counselors and other individuals, veterans’ travel, veterans not keeping appointments (no-shows), or services not specifically in the contract mechanism or the VA referral form (10-5565b).

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT OF SERVICES

When services are rendered, the contractor will secure a signed acknowledgment of services from each client and for each visit filled to the VA. The contractor will list the client’s name, name of counselor and professional degree, date of service, length of treatment, treatment modality, and client’s signature.

CONTRACT SERVICES REVIEW/EVALUATION

Regular evaluations of the technical compliance with the terms of the contract and the level and types of contract services provided to veterans and significant others will be conducted. These may take the form of any of the following:

1. On-site visits to the contract provider’s site(s) and on-site review of all other involved VA organizational elements (Medical Administration Service, Acquisition and Materiel Management Service, Fiscal Service, Vet Centers, and other VA referrals).

2. Self-evaluations performed by the contract provider (e.g., quality assurance Activities).

3. The RCS contracts program should also be reviewed as part of the SIR mechanism at the Vet Center or VAMC responsible for administering such contracts.

4. Representatives of the VA and other Government agencies are authorized to visit the Premises of service contractors during business hours for purposes of evaluation and auditing.

5. On-Site monitoring will be guided by the following:

· Annual on-site visits to all contract providers are usually conducted by the Contract Officer’s Representative (COR).

· Regular on-site review of all other VA organizational elements conducted by the RCS Assistant Regional Manager for Contract Services according to existing RCS Guidelines.

· Written site visit reports by the COR and ARM/CS are used to document any

· deficiencies and irregularities noted, along with recommendations and

· abnormalities noted, along with hints and timeliness for corrective

· action.

· Where irregularities or deficiencies are noted, on-site visits may be scheduled at a frequency greater than annually to monitor corrective actions and contract

· compliance.

· Representatives of the VA and other Government agencies are authorized to visit the premises of service contractors during business hours for purposes of evaluation and auditing, which may

· include inspection of clinical records.

· The written results of evaluations will be used to determine the extent all those

· involved are providing appropriate actions as per the terms of the contract.

BILLING

Contract providers will forward invoices, with attached acknowledgment of services received (Verification form) through the COR to Patient Services of the contracting facility at the end of each month. The billing will be reviewed by the COR before the release of payments. All invoices must include the following:

a. Contract number

b. Vet Center of Station number of referring unit

a. Client number

b. Total number of individual visits and number of group visits per veteran of client

c. Total number of group visits

d. Total number of group visits

e. Basic rate for contract

f. Total amount billed

g. Month in which services were provided