36C24219D0098-002.pdf

VHAPM Part 819.7007/7008 Sole Source Awards to a

Verified Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned Small Business/Veteran-owned Small Business

Attachment 1: Request for SDVOSB/VOSB Sole Source Justification Format >SAT

VHAPM Part 819.7007/7008 Page 1 of 6

Original Date: 08/30/2017

Revision 02 Eff Date: 10/24/2018

DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS

Justification and Approval (J&A) For

Other Than Full and Open Competition (>SAT)

Acquisition Plan Action ID: 36C242-19-AP-0565

1. Contracting Activity:

Department of Veterans Affairs, New York/New Jersey Health Care Network

Veterans Integrated Services Network (VISN) 2 Upstate, Canandaigua VA Medical Center

400 Fort Hill Avenue, Canandaigua, NY 14424

2. Nature and/or Description of the Action Being Approved:

Network Contracting Office (NCO) 2 Upstate intends to award a sole source contract to Superior Optical

Labs, Inc., a Service Disabled Veteran Owned Small Business (SDVOSB), registered in the Vendor

Information Pages (VIP) for Prescription Eyeglasses and Optician Services. This requirement is for the manufacturing and delivery of both dress and safety prescription eyeglasses to include fitting services provided by a licensed optician. Contractor shall offer both dress and safety frames, as well as single vision, bifocal, trifocal, and progressive lenses. The proposed sole source contract is for a one-year Firm Fixed Price

(FFP) Indefinite Delivery/Indefinite Quantity (IDIQ) contract with one (6) six-month option period. The anticipated performance period is October 1, 2019 through September 30, 2020 for the base period and

October 1, 2020 through March 31, 2021 for the (6) six-month option period.

3. Description of Supplies/Services Required to Meet the Agency’s Needs:

The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) has an ongoing program to provide prescription eyeglasses (both dress and safety) to eligible veterans. The provision of corrective eyeglasses is required for eligible veterans to meet their optic and low vision medical needs. The VA eye clinic prescribes corrective lenses based upon a medical exam. The clinical judgement and assessment are used to determine medical necessity in conjunction with VHA Directive 2008-070 (Prescribing Hearing Aids and Eyeglasses) and 39 CFR 17.149

(Sensory-Neural Aids). Eyeglasses are not an emergent service and follow the administrative standard for assessment and procurement practices. The Contractor shall provide all labor and materials necessary to provide prescription eyeglasses and in house (onsite at VA facilities) optician fitting services.

At this time, all ordering is done by the Prosthetic and Sensory Aids Service (PSAS) Central Processing

Section. However, each VISN 2 Upstate site reserves the authority to develop individual ordering and payment processes during the contract term.

The Contractor is to provide prescription eyeglasses including fitting services by a licensed optician according to contract specification for beneficiaries of the following sites of care and their entire catchment areas, including their respective Community Based Outpatient Clinics (CBOCs), within the Veterans Integrated

Service Network (VISN) 2 Upstate New York/New Jersey VA Health Care Network:

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Revision 02 Eff Date: 10/24/2018

Albany Stratton VA Medical Center

Department of Veterans Affairs

113 Holland Ave.

Albany, NY 12208

Canandaigua VA Medical Center

Department of Veterans Affairs

400 Fort Hill Ave.

Canandaigua, NY 14424

Bath VA Medical Center

Department of Veterans Affairs

76 Veterans Ave.

Bath, NY 14810

Rochester Outpatient Clinic (ROPC)

465 Westfall Rd.

Rochester, NY 14620

VA Western NY Healthcare System

3495 Bailey Ave.

Buffalo, NY 14215

Syracuse VA Medical Center

800 Irving Ave.

Syracuse, NY 13210

VA anticipates the award of a single, firm-fixed-price, IDIQ contract resulting from this solicitation. The number of patients covered by this contract is expected to increase/decrease among VISN 2 Upstate patients and dependent upon beneficiaries added or removed throughout the contract term. The volumes or amounts of prescription eyeglass orders shown below are estimates only. These estimates are based on historical data

(quantities of eyeglasses ordered for Veteran patients in the VISN 2 Upstate Medical Center Optical Clinics during the last five fiscal years) and do not include optician services.

VISN 2 Upstate Medical Center FY 14 FY 15 FY 16 FY 17 FY 18

Albany 5,444 5,989 6,162 5,956 5,536

Bath 3,044 3,794 3,858 4,188 3,822

Canandaigua 1,451 3,188 3,964 4,051 2,725

ROPC 2,364 972 385 284 1,371

Syracuse 11,354 11,290 12,659 11,256 11,921

Buffalo 8,588 7,654 8,364 8,063 7,567

VISN Order Total 32,245 32,887 35,392 33,798 32,942

VISN Expenditure Total $ 2,568,539.00 $ 2,705,463.62 $ 2,273,569.83 $ 2,009,598.39 $ 1,939,440.59

4. Statutory Authority Permitting Other than Full and Open Competition:

38 U.S. Code § 8127(c); 41 USC §3304(a)(5), as implemented by FAR 6.302-5 (Authorized or Required by

Statute). COs may use procedures other than competitive procedures (sole source) up to $5,000,000. Check the specific VAAR clause used below:

(x) 819.7007 Sole source awards to a verified service-disabled veteran-owned small business;

( ) 819.7008 Sole source awards to a verified veteran-owned small business

5. Demonstration that the Contractor’s Unique Qualifications and/or Nature of the Acquisition Requires the Use of the Authority Cited Above (applicability of authority):

Pursuant to 38 U.S.C. § 8127(c) a sole source award to a SDVOSB concern is authorized where the SDVOSB concern is determined to be a responsible source with respect to performance of the contract; the anticipated award will exceed the simplified acquisition threshold but will not exceed $5,000,000; and the contract award

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Revision 02 Eff Date: 10/24/2018 can be made at a fair and reasonable price that offers best value to the United States. Superior Optical Labs, Inc. is a verified SDVOSB by the Center for Veteran Enterprise (CVE) on the Vendor Information Pages

(VIP). Superior Optical Labs, Inc. (DUNS No. 788332286) has performed satisfactorily on contracts for similar supplies and services to other Veteran Integrated Service Networks. Superior Optical Labs, Inc.

currently provides eyeglasses and fitting services to VISN 6, and historically provided eyeglasses and fitting services to VISN 8 for 14 years. Superior Optical Labs, Inc. also has an overflow contract for VISN 20, and is an outsource partner for VISN 10.

VISN 2 Upstate currently has a contract for prescription eyeglasses with AbilityOne/Winston-Salem

Industries for the Blind (WSIFB). On October 17, 2018 the United States Court of Appeals for the Federal

Circuit (CAFC) issued a ruling in PDS Consultants v. U.S., Winston-Salem Industries for the Blind that states “Where a product or service is on the [AbilityOne Procurement] List and ordinarily would result in the contract being awarded to a nonprofit qualified under the JWOD, the [Veterans Benefits Act of 2006] unambiguously demands that priority be given to veteran-owned small businesses”, which directly impacts

VISN 2 Upstate’s contract with WSIFB. As a result of the ruling, VISN 2 Upstate has conducted market research and identified SDVOSB interest and capability to provide prescription eyeglasses and optician services. As VISN 2 Upstate is no longer able to continue the current contract with WSIFB after the end of the existing option period (September 30, 2019), this contract will provide the short-term coverage needed for the VISN 2 Upstate facilities to provide continuity of services to Veteran beneficiaries while a long-term contract is sought. The solicitation and source selection processes for the new vehicle have however been delayed due to coordination issues, workload constraints, and complexities introduced by separate eyeglass procurement actions. A consolidated acquisition planning approach has been adopted, and a short-term contract is considered to be in the best interest of the Government in order to provide uninterrupted services, while pursuing a best value contract solution. A competitive, long-term SDVOSB set-aside solicitation is expected to be released on FBO on or around November 1, 2019.

6. Description of Efforts Made to ensure that offers are solicited from as many potential sources as deemed practicable:

A Sources Sought Notice was sent directly to four (4) known SDVOSB entities with current VA contracts for prescription eyeglasses on December 4, 2018, which provided an opportunity for the identified companies to respond with their interest and capability to provide the described requirement. Two (2) responses to the Sources Sought Notice were received, including the response from Superior Optical Labs, Inc.

7. Determination by the CO that the Anticipated Cost to the Government will be Fair and Reasonable:

The Contracting Officer will determine fair and reasonableness of the proposed prices through a comparison of those prices to the Independent Government Estimate (IGE), market research, and other available price analysis techniques in accordance with FAR 13.106-3(a)(2).

8. Description of the Market Research Conducted and the Results, or a Statement of the Reasons Market

Research Was Not Conducted:

The following market research was conducted to identify potential sources to fulfill the requirement for VISN

2 Upstate:

1. A search was conducted in the Vendor Information Pages (VIP) for SDVOSBs registered under NAICS

Code 339115. It identified 66 verified SDVOSBs, but it was impossible to determine whether the

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Revision 02 Eff Date: 10/24/2018 identified companies were capable of fulfilling VISN 2 Upstate’s requirement as the NAICS Code is very broad.

2. A search was conducted in the Federal Procurement Data System – Next Generation (FPDS-NG) to identify VA reports falling under NAICS Code 339115 and Product Service Code (PSC) 6540, and then further narrowed to list only those reports that stated “Yes” in response to “Is Vendor Service Disabled

Veteran Owned Business”. This identified 355 reports but the largest dollar values were to PDS

Consultants, Inc., AB Martin Services, Inc., LC Four Enterprise, LLC, and Ferris Optical (acquired by

PDS Consultants, Inc.) and it appeared all held contracts with the VA for prescription eyeglasses.

3. During the period market research was being conducted Mr. Derek Bodart, Chief Executive Officer at

Superior Optical Labs, Inc., reached out directly to Allan Preston, Medical Sharing Branch Chief, to express Superior Optical Labs, Inc.’s interest in providing prescription eyeglasses to VISN 2. Mr. Bodart explained they had been watching solicitation 36C24218R0522, which had been posted on FedBizOpps for Prescription Eyeglasses and Optician Services in VISN 2 Downstate but was ultimately cancelled on

November 5, 2018. Mr. Bodart supplied his capability statement with the message and it explained they had provided services to VISNs 6 and 8, as well as VISNs 10 and 20 in overflow contract and outsource partner capacities.

4. A Sources Sought Notice was emailed directly to the primary SDVOSBs identified during market research

– AB Martin Services, LC Four Enterprise, PDS Consultants, and Superior Optical, as it was thought they would be best equipped to quickly step in based on their history with the VA prescription eyeglasses program in other VISNs. Two of the four companies responded to the notice – Superior Optical Labs, Inc.

and PDS Consultants, Inc. Both companies appeared capable of fulfilling VISN 2 Upstate’s requirement after review of their Sources Sought Notice responses. At this time VISN 2 Downstate is pursuing a sole-source short-term contract with PDS Consultants, Inc. and a decision was made to spread the short-term requirements across the identified sources to provide as much opportunity to the SDVOSB community as possible. As a result, VISN 2 Upstate is pursuing a sole-source short-term contract with Superior Optical

Labs, Inc.

In order to determine Superior Optical Labs, Inc.’s technical capability as well as their compliance with the

Buy America Act and the Limitations on Subcontracting, the following market research tasks were conducted:

1. In a query of Center for Veteran Enterprise (CVE) on the Vendor Information Pages (VIP), Superior

Optical Lab, Inc. was listed as a verified Service Disabled Veteran Owned Small Business;

2. In a review of the System for Award Management (SAM) website, Superior Optical Labs, Inc. (DUNS

No. 788332286) is listed as a small business under this requirement’s NAICS Code 339115 (Ophthalmic

Goods Manufacturing) with Size Standard 1000 employees. In addition, Superior Optical Labs, Inc. has confirmed that they manufacture all of their eyeglasses.

3. Superior Optical Labs, Inc. made assurances in December 2018 in writing that they were in compliance with the requirements of the Buy American Statute and Limitations on Subcontracting. Superior explained they manufacture all of their eyeglasses and will always do at least 51% of the work, therefore, they can comply with the Limitations on Subcontracting.

4. On February 20, 2019 NCO 2 Contracting Officer Lauren Helming held a telephone call with Superior

Optical Labs, Inc. Chief Executive Officer, Derek Bodart, to further determine their responsibility and

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Revision 02 Eff Date: 10/24/2018 capability to provide Eyeglasses and Fitting Services to the VISN 2 Upstate Medical Centers optical clinics. Below are the findings:

a. Per the information provided by Mr. Bodart, the Contracting Officer determined that Superior

Optical Labs, Inc. manufactures all of its eyeglasses. Superior Optical Labs, Inc. is a small business concern for the applicable NAICS code size standard (1000 employees).

b. Furthermore, Superior Optical Labs, Inc. will deliver only domestic end products in compliance with the Buy American Act FAR 52.225-1(d).

c. Finally, Superior Optical Labs, Inc. is technically capable of meeting the requirement. Mr. Bodart confirmed that they have resources to immediately provide eyeglasses to all Upstate Medical

Centers and their entire catchment areas, and could immediately begin recruitment to fulfill the additional requirement for licensed optician services.

No additional market research was conducted or needed.

9. Any Other Facts Supporting the Use of Other than Full and Open Competition:

Based on market research performed during the planning stage for this solicitation for Prescription

Eyeglasses and Optician Services, the Contracting Officer has determined that multiple awards shall not be used to acquire this supply in indefinite quantities. The requirements of FAR 16.504(c)(1)(ii)(A)&(B) were considered in making this decision, and the rationale is as follows:

Prescription Eyeglasses and Optician Services require a high level of oversight to ensure all contract requirements are being met. The VISN 2 Upstate Optical staff and Prosthetics and Sensory Aid Service

(PSAS) staff are in daily contact with the Contractor and monitor areas such as staff licensing, timeliness of eyeglasses shipping and delivery, compliance with ANSI quality standards, and customer satisfaction survey processing, in addition to working with the contractor to place orders throughout the day when a Veteran is seen by the VA optical shops. Historically, VISN 2 Upstate has held a contract for prescription eyeglasses

(without services) with Winston-Salem Industries for the Blind, the qualified non-profit under the AbilityOne program. As such, to ensure the commercial marketplace could fulfill VA’s estimated annual quantity (32,942 orders in Fiscal Year 18), a Sources Sought Notice was issued and included a response item about capability and interest in fulfilling the needs of the full coverage area. All respondents stated they could incorporate this number of orders into their daily operations without issue, as well as provide Optician Services, which VISN

2 Upstate has added to their requirement based on staffing needs. Considering the scope of the requirement, the required level of oversight and time in order to effectively manage the Prescription Eyeglasses program, it would not be in the best interest of the Government to award multiple contracts.

10. Listing of Sources that Expressed, in Writing, an Interest in the Acquisition:

Superior Optical Labs, Inc. and PDS Consultants Inc.

11. A Statement of the Actions, if any, the Agency May Take to Remove or Overcome any Barriers to

Competition before Making subsequent acquisitions for the supplies or services required:

VISN 2 Upstate NCO will continue to monitor the market to ensure that future sole source requirements are avoided. Furthermore, a full market analysis will be conducted for the long-term contract requirements.

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12. Requirements Certification: I certify that the requirement outlined in this justification is a Bona Fide Need of the Department of Veterans Affairs and that the supporting data under my cognizance, which are included in the justification, are accurate and complete to the best of my knowledge and belief.

Douglas O. Williams Date

VISN 2 Network Prosthetics Manager

13. Approvals in accordance with the VHAPM Part 806.3 OFOC SOP:

a. Contracting Officer or Designee’s Certification (required): I certify that the foregoing justification is accurate and complete to the best of my knowledge and belief.

Lauren M. Helming Date

Contracting Officer

Network Contracting Office (NCO) 2

b. One Level Above the Contracting Officer (Required over the SAT but not exceeding $700K):

I certify the justification meets requirements for other than full and open competition.

Allan M. Preston Date

Branch Chief, Medical Sharing

Network Contracting Office (NCO) 2

c. VHA RPO HCA Review and Approval: I have reviewed the foregoing justification and find it to be complete and accurate to the best of my knowledge and belief and recommend approval (if over $68 million) or approve ($700K to $68 million) for other than full and open competition.

Joseph P. Maletta Date

Executive Director, RPO East

Head of Contracting Activity (HCA) https://vaww.pclo.infoshare.va.gov/PMWeb/VHAPM_Part_806.3.aspx

Date8_af_date: 5/24/19