36C24420R0048 Qs and As V3.pdf

1. On the RFP do we have to submit candidate with our proposal or just pricing by 9/4?

Please see the last paragraph of 52.212-1(b)(5):

“The Offeror will provide proof of its capability to recruit qualified candidates and provide a description of the qualifications of primary and backup personnel, including education, board certification(s), and years of experience.”

The offeror does not need to submit a candidate for each and every position listed in the RFP.

However, the offeror may find doing so helpful in delineating the offeror’s ability to recruit qualified candidates and describe the qualification of those candidates.

2. Is [the RFP] just for SDVO [or] unrestricted ?

The RFP is unrestricted. However, the award of task orders will be done utilizing a small business reserve in accordance with FAR 52.219-31. The Government will first attempt to award the task order to a SDVOSB at a fair and reasonable price. If the Government is unable to do so, for any reason, the Government will then attempt to award the task order to a VOSB. If the Government cannot award to a VOSB at a fair and reasonable price it will then attempt to award the task order to a SB. It the Government cannot award to a SB at a fair and reasonable price it will then attempt to award the task order on an unrestricted basis.

3. How much of the credentialing process will the VA outsource to the vendor?

None.

4. How much of the approval process will the VA outsource to the vendor?

None.

5. Assuming the VA will outsource both processes, where does the VA want to participate in the credentialing and approval processes?

Not applicable.

6. If the VA does not want to outsource both processes,

a. What is the expectation and timeline for the vendor of the VA to conduct the credentialing process?

The process varies between two weeks and eight weeks.

b. What is the expectation and timeline for the vendor of the VA to conduct the approval process?

The process varies between two weeks and eight weeks.

7. What is the expectation and timeline for the vendor of the VA to conduct interviews of healthcare providers?

The VA does not plan to interview healthcare providers submitted by the offeror. The VA will conduct a technical evaluation to determine if the healthcare providers proposed by the offeror are technically capable.

8. What is the expectation and timeline for the vendor of the VA to conduct the security clearance of the healthcare providers?

The process varies from three weeks to eight weeks.

9. In terms of managing of the FTE count, what is the schedule for each type of specialty nurse to be onsite providing services for their specific specialty?

The hours provided in the RFP are estimates only. The services provided resulting from this RFP will be for the purpose of augmenting the government’s workforce as government vacancies become available. The services resulting from this RFP will be limited in quantity to those necessary to provide the government time to recruit and fill vacancies. The government is unable to specify the FTE count and schedule for each type of specialty nurse given the unknown nature of the quantity of services needed.

10. In terms of bill rates, nurses have a variety bill rates in the market based upon specialties, even “general RNs”. Does the VA have an exact count, by type, of when in the overall schedule each type of specialty nurse will be required?

No. Please see the answer to question 9 for more detail.

11. Is the winning bid based upon the lowest price?

No. Please review provision 52.212-2.

12. On a percentage basis for winning the bid, where does quality of healthcare providers rank?

See provision 52.212-2. There is no percentage basis for the quality of the healthcare providers ranking. The technical and past performance factors when combined, are significantly more important than price.

13. Is overtime rate and holiday rate the same?

The Government does not dictate the pricing offerors propose. The offeror is free to propose different rates for overtime and holiday pay provided they are in compliance with the Department of Labor’s wage determination.

14. Can a CLIN for Program Management Office be added or will this be an overhead expense?

No, this would be an overhead expense.

15. Section E.1. Past Performance Volume. Is the Past Performance Volume limited to three pages total, or three pages per Contract Reference?

Three pages total.

16. Section B.2. Price/Cost Schedule: Should pricing include rates for straight time (40 hours) and overtime?

The pricing is for straight time, however offerors can list overtime and holiday pay if different from straight times by designating the unit price in each CLIN or SubCLIN as straight pay, overtime, and holiday as applicable.

17. Section 2. Qualifications (Staff/Facility): Certain labor categories require licensure or registration from the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and others allow for licensure or registration from any U.S. state, territory, or commonwealth. Can staff from other states be used based on an emergency order waiver? Will the client provide the waiver?

Since they are not VA employees, they will need a PA license. The vendor would need validate they graduated from an accredited school.

https://www.acenursing.org/contact-us/

18. Section 2.10 and C.16, Indemnification and Medical Liability. Section 2.10, “The Contractor shall be liable for, and shall indemnify and hold harmless the Government against, all actions or claims for loss of or damage to property or the injury or death of persons, arising out of or resulting from the fault, negligence, or act or omission of the Contractor, its agents, or employees. Section C.16, It is expressly agreed and understood that this is a non-personal services contract, as defined in Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) 37.101, under which the professional services rendered by the Contractor or its health-care providers are rendered in its capacity as an independent contractor. The Government may evaluate the quality of professional and administrative services provided but retains no control over professional aspects of the services rendered including, by example, the Contractor’s or its health-care providers’ professional medical judgment, diagnosis, or specific medical treatments. The Contractor and its healthcare providers shall be liable for their liability-producing acts or omissions. Looks as though the contractor would have to provide full indemnification, but it is not clear. Please clarify?

The contractor shall provide full indemnification.

19. Section 2.6: For the listed training requirements, will time dedicated to that effort be paid?

https://www.acenursing.org/contact-us/

Yes.

20. Section 2.1.4: Contract requires a physical exam within 90 days. Will a Fit for Duty certificate meet this requirement? We do not get hard copies of the actual exams.

Full Pre-employment physical exam is required.

21. Did not see a breakdown of the hours. Assumption is made that each FTE is equal to 2080 hours. Please clarify or provide how many FTEs total per labor category?

An FTE is equal to 2,080. However, the quantities provided are only estimates as this contract is for temporary work to augment permanent government staff during the hiring phase.

22. Will staff travel and expenses be reimbursed?

No, travel is not required in the performance of the duties of this contract and will not be reimbursed.

23. Will labor travel pay be reimbursed for mobilization and demobilization days?

There is no mobilization travel included in the performance of this contract.

24. Will the VA provide COVID-19 related items/requirements (e.g. PPE, N-95 Fit Testing, etc.)?

Yes, the VA will provide all PPE necessary for the performance of the duties included in this contract.

25. Will a 14-day quarantine be required for staff when departing the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania? If so will this be paid time?

There is no travel necessary for the performance of this contract, and therefore should be no need for the VA to pay staff for quarantine related to travel. The VA will not pay for quarantine related to staff’s off-duty activities.

26. We would like to clarify the NAICS code of 621399 with the unrestricted set-aside.

Yes this procurement is unrestricted under NAICS code 621399. However, the award of task orders will be done utilizing a small business reserve in accordance with FAR 52.219-31. The Government will first attempt to award the task order to a SDVOSB at a fair and reasonable price. If the Government is unable to do so, for any reason, the Government will then attempt to award the task order to a VOSB. If the Government cannot award to a VOSB at a fair and reasonable price it will then attempt to award the task order to a SB. It the Government cannot award to a SB at a fair and reasonable price it will then attempt to award the task order on an unrestricted basis.

• Is the intent to have any small or large business bid as prime, regardless of their NAICS size standard since marked unrestricted?

The Government will ideally have a large business, a small business, and multiple SDVOSBs and VOSBs as prime contractors for each labor category as prime contractors.

• Is the intent for large business to respond with a SDVO/VOSB sub?

The Government anticipates multiple awards per clin, with some awards reserved for small business

• With the current NAICS code, would that mean that any prime or sub would not be eligible for the SDVOSB/VOSB credit if over $8M?

The size limits for NAICS codes are set by the SBA and not the VA. They can be found at the following link: https://www.sba.gov/document/support--table-size-standards. Information on how to calculate average annual receipts and of a firm can be found in 13 CFR § 121.104. A contractor cannot receive credit as a SD/VOSB if they do not meet the definition of a small business.

• Example if you are a SDVO you could respond as prime since marked unrestricted regardless of the NAICS code -But then the way the RFP is written the 8mill NAICS would take effect for subs SDVO/SB ? Does this mean if a SDVO under NAICS code $27 mil you can prime but cant be a sub?

The VA is only evaluating prime offerors and the ability to adhere to the sub-contracting requirements.

27. We typically do not see this type of proposal listed as “Office of All Other Miscellaneous Health Practitioners” as that is used for in-office support. In-hospital medical staffing is usually posted as 561320, “Temporary Help Services”. We respectfully ask that you review this NAICS code.

NAICS codes in Sector 56 are for “Administrative and Support, Waste Management and Remediation Services.” Sector 62 is for “Health Care and Social Assistance.” The services requested in this RFP are “Health Care” services and fall under Sector 62, and specifically NAICS 621399.

28. In reference to 52.212-1 (pages 77-82): Can you please confirm RFP responses are to be submitted via email to Mr. L. Adam Bryson at leslie.bryson@va.gov?

https://www.sba.gov/document/support--table-size-standards

29. In reference to VAAR 852.219-9 (page 69 & 70): Can you please confirm a Small Business Participation Plan is required with proposal submission?

Yes, for large businesses.

30. If a Small Business Participation Plan is required, can you please confirm in which volume offerors should include this information?

If necessary, please submit as an independent document limited to three pages of text with Times New Roman size twelve font and one inch margins.

31. Can the solicitation please be amended to incorporate the odd number Wage Determination so that offerors satisfy the fringe benefit requirements on a “per employee” basis rather than “average cost” basis?

The Government will post both the even and odd numbered wage determinations. The offeror must state in their price proposal which wage determination their prices are based upon.

32. In reference to Section D – Contract Documents, Exhibits, or Attachments (page 76): Can you please provide the mentioned attachments (Small Business Reserve Explained, WD 2015-4236 v 15, and QASP - Multi Specialty Medical Staffing V 1)?

33. In regards to the SF 1449, B.1 Contract Administration Data, and Reps & Certs, can you please specify which volume offerors should include this information?

The Contractor POC listed in B.1 Contract Administration Data can be listed in your cover letter or email. The Reps and Certs are a stand-alone document. The offeror can either submit the paragraph in section (b) with their cover letter or email or fill-in section (c) and submit it as a stand alone document.

34. Will you please consider excluding the Cover Page, Table of Contents, SF 1449, B.1 Contract Administration Data, and Reps & Certs from any page count?

Yes. Please limit the cover letter to two pages of text with Times New Roman size twelve font and one-inch margins and the Table of Contents to one page of text with Times New Roman size twelve font and one-inch margins. The Reps and Certs shall be limited to what is in FAR 52.212-3 and will not count against any page counts.

35. The current NAICS listed is 621399 Office of All Other Miscellaneous Health Practitioners however the work described in the SOW is more in line with NAICS 561320 Temporary Help Services. Would you consider changing the NAICS for this requirement?

No. NAICS codes in Sector 56 are for “Administrative and Support, Waste Management and Remediation Services.” Sector 62 is for “Health Care and Social Assistance.” The services requested in this RFP are “Health Care” services and fall under Sector 62, and specifically NAICS 621399.

36. In regards to the approval of electronic timecards, does the VA require a daily approval by the shift supervisor to verify the time worked by each individual contractor and if so, will the VA allow access to a vendor owned system for these hours to be verified by the VA employee on the VA network?

Copies of paper timecards are unacceptable. The VA has an electronic timecard system that can be made available to the vendor. If the vendor wishes to utilize an alternate electronic timecard, then the Vendor must implement within 60 days of task order award an electronic time keeping system capability for their contract employees. This system must be accepted by the VA. Vendor is responsible for training VAPHS personnel in the use of this system. In addition to tracking employee time, this system will be utilized by VAPHS personnel to validate contractor invoices. This system must be capable of producing customizable reports that include the name of contractor, hours and days worked, overtime, etc. The system must allow for VAPHS personnel to approve contract employee timecards. The system will not be able to attach to the VAPHS internal computer network.

37. Pricing Instructions identified on page 13 state that the offeror shall edit the number of sub-clins to correspond with the number of personnel submitted for the contract line item number. Does the proposal submission require candidate profiles, CV’s and licensure information for each proposed labor category?

Candidate profiles are not necessary, but my be helpful in establishing the voracity of non-price evaluation factors.

38. CLINS 0001AA – 0001AP list multiple RN Specialties however section 2.1.1.1 only identifies qualifications for 2 of these specialties. Can you please provide the qualifications for the additional RN Specialties listed in the CLINs

All RN specialties in CLINs 0001AA-0001AP have been defined in the PWS in sections 2.1.1.1.3 through 2.1.1.1.14.

39. Can you please identify the qualifications for the Neurology RN in section 2.1.1.1.3

This has been moved to 2.1.1.1.7 and defined.

40. Please clarify that the 2-Step PPD is no longer a requirement and contractor can submit proof of a negative interferon-gamma release assay for all contract employees. There is a discrepancy between section 2.1.1 and section 2.14.1

Routine annual tuberculosis (TB) testing is no longer required for all health care workers.

• If you have never had a positive TB test, you no longer need to report to Employee Occupational Health (EOH) during your birthday month each year for TB testing.

• If you have had a positive test (TB skin test or blood test), you will still need to meet with EOH each year in your birthday month to review a symptom checklist. EOH staff will also discuss with you whether you have been treated for your positive TB test, and what steps you should take if you haven’t been treated. If you know you had a positive TB test in the past and have not visited EOH for follow-up in the last 12 months, please do not wait until your birthday month to stop in to talk with EOH staff. EOH is open 7:30 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. in the following locations with no appointment necessary:

o University Drive – building 1, room 1A252.

o Heinz campus – building 50, room GG101.

• New employees and volunteers will still need to have TB testing on hire, but just once.

• Repeated testing will only be required for a select group of employees with occupational exposure to TB, and for any employee with an unprotected exposure to TB.

WHY ARE THE RULES CHANGING?

On May 17, 2019, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the National Tuberculosis Controllers Association updated guidelines for TB screening of health care personnel. Because TB has become much less common across the U.S., the risk of health care workers being exposed to TB has dropped. So few health care workers have developed TB infections from workplace exposures that routine annual testing is no longer recommended.

VAPHS policy changed on July 1, 2019, to reflect this change in CDC guidelines.

WHAT SHOULD I KNOW ABOUT TB and TB tests?

Having a positive TB test may mean that you have been exposed to the TB bacteria Mycobacterium tuberculosis.

Sometimes a TB skin test will be positive from exposure to bacteria related to TB, but which can’t cause TB. One example is BCG, a vaccine to help prevent TB, given to babies and children in parts of the world where TB is more common. Some people who have had BCG vaccine will have a positive TB skin test from the vaccine. There is a blood test that can be used to tell if the person has really been exposed to TB bacteria, or if the positive skin test is from BCG, or some other related bacteria that will not cause TB.

It is important to know if your TB test is truly positive due to exposure to TB bacteria. If you have been exposed to TB, you can develop something called latent TB infection, or LTBI. With LTBI, you are not sick and not contagious, but the TB germs remain in your body. If your immune system becomes weakened by age, illness or certain medications, you may develop TB disease.

When you have TB disease, you become sick, and can spread TB to others. There are medications that can be taken to keep LTBI from becoming TB disease. That is why it is important for employees who have had a positive TB test to check in yearly with EOH to discuss symptoms to watch for, and treatments for your positive TB test.

For more information about the new CDC recommendations, TB testing, LTBI and TB disease, please go to www.cdc.gov/tb .

41. Are Monitor Watchers and Constant Observation Techs interchangeable? I see that CLIN 0006 incorporates both but sub-CLINs 0006AA is specific to Monitor watcher, 0006AB is specific to COT at Heinz CLC but 0006AC & 0006AD are not specific to either. Can you clarify each Sub-CLIN

No. The qualifications are different. The sub-CLINs are provided to allow offerors to price them accordingly.

42. Is CLIN 0006AE considered a Sterile Processing technician and if so, is there a list of qualifications that can be incorporated into the PWS.

No they are not.

43. Are the hours listed in each CLIN for 1 year of for the entire POP identified in each CLIN as: POP Begin: 08-01-2020 POP End: 07-31-2025

The period of performance is five years from the date of the award.

44. Can you please provide an extension of 7 days for the solicitation response?

No.

45. Are there any incumbents for this effort?

Yes and no. There is an incumbent providing some of the services but others are new.

46. CLINs 0006AC and 0006AD are shown as Surgical Clinics – Surgery, and Same Day Surgery (procedure). What are the actual positions – COT or HCT?

HCT.

47. Pricing instructions state: The offeror is instructed to edit the number of sub-clins to correspond with the number of personnel submitted for the contract line item number (CLIN). Does this mean we have to include resumes etc for any position for which we propose a price, and if we do not have resumes, we cannot propose?

No resumes are required. You can submit a proposal without resumes.

48. Can you please provide the following documents listed in Section D of the solicitation? They are not in SAM, nor are they included in the solicitation:

o Small Busines Reserve Explained.

o Wage Determination 2015-4236 v 15.

o QASP Multi Specialty Medical Staffing V 1.

49. The cover sheet, Form 1449 identifies that the Government intends to make multiple awards, but reserves the right to make a single award. Page 13, Section B.3 identifies the potential Contract Award type as Multiple Award IDIQ. Page 86, Section E.5 identifies that the Government contemplates award of a Firm-Fixed-Price, Indefinite Quantity contract. Please confirm if you anticipate multiple award or single award IDIQ.

The Government intends to award multiple awards. But reserves the right to make a single award.

50. Please confirm the period of performance for this opportunity. Section B identifies the POP as beginning 8-1-2020 and ending 7-31-2025 (5 years). Please confirm if the period of performance is Base + 4 option years or flat 5 years

The period of performance will be a flat five years from the date of award.

51. Section 2.15, page 28 is labeled “Key Personnel”. However, no Key Personnel are specified.

Please confirm if any of the positions will qualify as Key Personnel.

There are no key personnel required, however the offeror is free to identify key personnel in their proposal.

52. What competing vehicle will the Gov’t use at the task order level when services are requested?

RFI, RFQ, etc?

RFQ

53. Will the Gov’t issues separate task orders for each labor category when needs arise?

54. If a large business bids on their own, can they also be listed as a subcontractor if they partner with VOSB or VOSB who also bids on this solicitation?

55. Can the agency please clarify how they would like proposals to be submitted?

Via email to Mr. L. Adam Bryson at leslie.bryson@va.gov.

56. Past Performance:

a. Will the VA accept an IDIQ Multiple Award Task Order contract with numerous relevant

Task Orders as a single Past Performance example?

mailto:leslie.bryson@va.gov

b. Will the VA accept previously signed Past Performance Questionnaires or CPARS as evidence of performance?

57. Solicitation 7.1.1 states that “Copies of all licenses, board certifications, NPI, to include primary source verification of all licensed and certified staff” must be included in the proposal. How many candidates in each labor category should offerors provide resumes for with our proposal?

There is no minimum requirement.

58. Section 7.1.1, on Page 41, states that a Quality Control Plan, Copies of all licenses, board certifications, NPI, to include primary source verification of all licensed and certified staff, and certification that staff list have been compared to OIG list are to be upon proposal. How are contractors to address all this information in 15-page Technical Proposal?

This information will be attachments to the technical proposal, if the offeror choses to submit them, and will not count against the page limit.

59. Should a contractor be awarded a contract, will the rates proposed become ceiling rates for all future task orders?

Yes, baring changes to the wage determination.

60. Is this a follow-on contract? If so, who are the incumbents and what are their contract numbers?

This is a new award, the incorporated services have been contracted for at various points in the previous 5-10 years. Nothing has been previously performed at the scale or breadth of the current procurement.