36C24425Q0452.docx

Sources Sought Notice Sources Sought Notice

GENERAL INFORMATION

SET-ASIDE

Network Contracting Office 4

1010 Delafield Road Pittsburgh, PA 15215

POINT OF CONTACT*

Stephanie McFadden, Contracting Officer stephanie.mcfadden@va.gov

PLACE OF PERFORMANCE

ADDRESS

Department of Veterans Affairs

Wilmington VA Medical Center

1601 Kirkwood Highway

Wilmington DE

COUNTRY

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

AGENCY’S URL

URL DESCRIPTION

AGENCY CONTACT’S EMAIL ADDRESS

EMAIL DESCRIPTION

DESCRIPTION

THIS IS NOT A SOLICITATION. This is a Sources Sought Notice only and is issued to conduct market research and gain knowledge of current market capabilities. Responses to this notice are not offers and cannot be accepted by the Government to form a binding contract. This notice is issued solely for information and planning purposes and does not constitute a solicitation or a guarantee to issue a solicitation in the future. This notice does not commit the Government to contract for any supply or service. All information submitted in response to this announcement is voluntary; the Government will not pay for information requested nor will it compensate any respondent for any cost incurred in developing information provided to the Government. Not responding to this notice does not preclude participation in any future solicitation, if issued. This announcement is based on the best information available at this time and is subject to future amendment.

The Department of Veterans Affairs, Network Contracting Office 4, is conducting a market survey to identify potential sources to perform a firm fixed price contract for procurement of Scrub Dispensing Services for the Wilmington VA Medical Center, 1601 Kirkwood Highway, Wilmington, DE 19805:

DRAFT REQUIREMENTS DESCRIPTION (NOT COMPREHENSIVE)

The Wilmington VA Medical Center is seeking to procure a contract for Scrub Dispensing Services to cover a five-year period.

DESCRIPTION

The Wilmington Veterans Affairs Medical Center (WVAMC), located at 1601 Kirkwood Highway, Wilmington, DE 19805, has a requirement for a firm fixed price five-year IDIQ contract for automated scrub dispensing machines.

The Contractor shall provide all resources necessary to install and maintain three automated scrub dispensing machines, two automated return units, and all scrub rentals to include a loss/replacement program, laundering, and restocking of the dispensers. The automated dispensing machines and automated return units shall be located throughout the WVAMC.

The Contractor shall provide all labor, equipment, tools, materials, supervision, and technical expertise necessary to maintain a properly managed automated dispensing and scrub rental program.

PLACE OF PERFORMANCE

Department of Veterans Affairs Wilmington VA Medical Center 1601 Kirkwood Highway Wilmington, DE 19805

PERIOD OF PERFORMANCE

Estimated period of performance:

SERVICES

Contractor shall provide the Wilmington VA Medical Center with Surgical Scrub services. All personnel, equipment, tools, materials, supervision shall be provided by the Contractor. Contractor shall provide, install, and maintain three automated scrub dispensing machines, two automated return units, along with all scrub rentals to include an auto-loss replacement program, laundering and restocking the dispensers. Each machine shall accommodate up to 280 pieces. The Contractor shall furnish everything needed to perform this contract according to all its terms.

All automated dispensing and return units shall adhere to the provided size restraints annotated herein, and all scrubs shall be laundered, folded and tracked in accordance with this Statement of Work.

PERFORMANCE REQUIREMENTS

The Contractor shall provide, install, and maintain to ensure proper operations of:

3 automated scrub dispensers:

Dispensers shall fit into the dimensions of 78” H x 52” W x 17” D.

2 automated scrub return units:

Return units shall fit into the dimensions of 78”H x 52” W x 17” D.

The Contractor shall provide, stock, collect, transport, hygienically launder, fold, individually package in poly wrap, and maintain stock of Contractor-owned scrubs of various sizes with estimated:

Minimum annual order of 11,000 scrubs Maximum annual order of 15,000 scrubs

The Contractor shall have the ability to track weekly use of garments via an electronic monitoring system and provide a report of items serviced upon request. The Contractor shall provide a rental program for scrub pants, shirts and jackets and provide the WVAMC with an auto-loss replacement policy to replace any scrubs that may become damaged or deemed no longer usable.

DETAILED PERFORMANCE REQUIREMENTS

Automated Scrub Dispensers

Contractor shall deliver all automated scrub dispensers to proper locations, install, program, stock and insure proper operations of every system.

The dispensing machine units shall be provided by the Contractor on a rental basis for as long as the contract is in place. The machines shall be installed, serviced, and maintained by the Contractor as well as be fully functional. If a machine has any technical difficulties and/or malfunctions, the Contractor shall make every effort to properly resolve the issue by coming on site as needed, as well as maintaining open communication with the Program Point of Contact (POC) during this process. The Contractor may leave a key to the dispensing machines with the POC in case of a malfunction, requiring them to be opened for simple fixes.

Contractor shall gather usage data through input collected at each station. The collected data will not require any medical staff PHI/PII information. Contractor shall have no need to connect to the WVAMC network. At no time will patient or employee information be shared with the Contractor.

Contractor shall train all necessary staff on how to properly use the dispenser/return units.

Dispenser locations:

• Dispenser #1 shall be housed within Building 1 Operating Room, Men’s locker room.

• Dispenser #2 shall be housed within Building 1 Operating Room, Women’s locker room.

• Dispenser #3 shall be housed within Building 1 Sterile Processing Service. The hallway between the locker rooms.

Automated Scrub Returns

Contractor shall deliver all automated scrub returns to proper locations, install, program, stock and insure proper operations of every system.

The return machine units shall be provided by the Contractor on a rental basis for as long as the contract is in place. The machines shall be installed, serviced, and maintained by the Contractor as well as be fully functional. If a machine has any technical difficulties and/or malfunctions, the Contractor shall make every effort to properly resolve the issue by coming on site as needed, as well as maintaining open communication with the POC during this process. The Contractor may leave a key to the return machines with the POC in case of a malfunction and the machine would need to be opened for simple fixes.

Contractor shall gather usage data thru input collected at each station. The collected data will not require any medical staff PHI/PII information. Contractor shall have no need to connect to the WVAMC network. At no time will patient or employee information be shared with the Contractor.

Contractor shall train all necessary staff on how to properly use the return units.

Return locations:

• Return unit #1 shall be housed within Building 1 Operating Room Locker Rooms

• Return unit #2 shall be housed within Building 1 Sterile Processing Services, between the locker rooms

Scrubs

The Contractor shall be capable of providing hygienically clean scrubs individually folded and in individually poly-wrapped packages. The Contractor shall have a management system that uses barcoded garments to determine lifecycle of the garments for replacement and be capable of delivering disinfected, sterilized, and cleaned scrubs within 24 hours to the facility.

Contractor shall barcode each item to maintain precise management of rental garments in accordance with Contractor’s regular business practices. Contractor shall sort and stock/restock clean scrubs into dispensing machines in designated areas of the medical center. Contractor shall empty out soiled items from the return units located in designated areas of the medical center. Contractor shall launder scrubs to infection control standards as well as the removal of foreign material (e.g., soil, and organic material) from scrub supply using high-level disinfection and sterilization process. Contractor shall also provide cleaned scrubs with no stained, marked, tinted, or any other foreign material that did not come with the original fabric of the surgical scrubs. All scrubs shall be cleaned within Hohenstein and CDC approved standards.

Each item shall be individually folded and individually poly-wrapped prior to delivery. Each item shall be loaded individually as to allow for mix matching of sizes to be dispersed as needed.

Contractor shall track the weekly use of garments and provide a report of what items have been serviced to the POC upon request.

Contractor shall have the ability to custom tailor garments to fit staffing sizing needs and requirements. Each dispenser is to stock complete sizes of scrub sets, i.e. extra small, small, medium, large, extra-large, 2 extra-large, 3 extra-large, 4 extra-large etc. Request for more or less of certain sizes due to employee needs and/or new sizes of scrubs, due to change of employees, shall be communicated on a written request through the POC. Contractor shall fill the dispensers to their full capacity on each visit. Sizes for each dispenser shall be adjusted based on the average weekly demand history after the contract is awarded. The contractor shall establish, track, and modify distribution based on demand history.

The contractor shall provide all personnel, rental equipment, tools, materials, supervision, other items and services necessary to manage the required garments for pick-up three times per week (Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays), cleaning, drop-off three times per week (Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays) and restocking of cotton/polyester blend scrub uniforms/scrub jackets for the Wilmington VA Medical Center as defined in this Statement of Work.

The following scrub colors and sizes shall be available for the Operating Room and shall include a jacket to match:

Ceil Blue XS – 2 sets SM top – 2 M – 22 sets L – 8 sets 2XL – 8 sets

The following scrub colors shall be available for Sterile Processing Services and shall include a jacket to match:

Grey M – 10 sets L – 10 sets XL – 10 sets 2XL – 10 sets 3XL – 10 sets

Hours of Operation

The Contractor shall perform the tasks as required by the SOW under this contract during the following hours: Monday, Wednesday, and Friday between 5:00am, ET, and 7:00am, ET, unless other time is specified.

Holidays: Delivery of scrubs shall not occur on Federal holidays. Should a delivery be regularly scheduled on a holiday, the delivery shall occur on the workday prior to the holiday. The observed Federal Government holidays are: New Year’s Day, Martin Luther King Jr. Day, Presidents Day, Memorial Day, Juneteenth, Independence Day, Labor Day, Columbus Day, Veterans Day, Thanksgiving Day, and Christmas Day. When such holiday falls on first non-workday, the preceding workday shall be considered a holiday. When such holiday falls on the second non- workday, the next workday shall be considered a holiday.

A special event or adjusted work hours: If circumstances should arise wherein the Contractor desires a different work schedule as required, the Contractor shall request this in writing. Submit a written request to the Government POC a minimum of 72 hours before the requested adjusted work schedule, to include inclement weather.

GENERAL INFORMATION

Quality Control

The Contractor shall monitor its employees' performance and based upon the results of such monitoring, shall establish performance improvement activities to assure employee efficiency and knowledge meets standards. Contractor shall ensure employees are performing their duties in a manner consistent with all federal, state, and local rules and regulations as set forth by applicable regulatory agencies and this contractual agreement. One copy of the Contractor’s basic Quality Control Program shall be available for review by the POC. Subsequent changes to the approved Quality Control Program must also be reviewed and approved by the POC. The program shall include, but not be limited to the following:

Quality Assurance

If the Government performs inspections or tests on the premises of the Contractor, the Contractor shall furnish, without additional charge, all reasonable facilities and assistance for the safe and convenient performance of these duties.

Infection Control

All laundering employees, including truck drivers, shall be educated as well as practice proper hand-washing techniques and shall also participate in educational programs to learn about blood borne-pathogen management and the use of personal protective equipment (PPE). Care shall be taken to contain pathogens during transport (separation of clean from soiled), efforts to avoid cross contamination between soiled and clean items and use of a consistent thorough wash process. A quality assurance program shall be used to ensure life of textile is not exceeded per manufacture recommendations. Transportation of any scrubs shall be covered with heavy plastic prior to leaving the plant to avoid any pathogen contamination and handled in accordance with industry best practice to ensure that they remain hygienically clean. This includes the use of a truck dedicated to healthcare transport and proper use of Personal Protective Equipment (PPE).

Inspections

The Government, at all reasonable times, shall have access and permission to inspect the delivery truck and carts.

Deliveries

Deliveries shall be made in a clearly marked contractor vehicle. Contractor employees shall wear a uniform marked with the contractor’s name. Contractor employees shall be required to check in at the Wilmington VA Police Department, located at the Emergency Room Entrance, and with the POC at each visit.

Contractor Staff Information

The Contractor shall provide a contract manager who shall be responsible for the performance of the work. The name of this person, and an alternate or alternates, who shall act for the Contractor when the manager is absent, shall be designated in writing to the Contracting Officer. The contract manager or alternate shall have full authority to act for the Contractor on all contract matters relating to daily operation of this contract. The contract manager and alternate or alternates shall be able to read, write, speak, and understand the English language.

Uniforms

All employees shall wear contractor provided uniforms (contractor code of dress), which include pants, shirts or blouses, and protective clothing which are clearly distinguishable from other WVAMC uniforms currently in use. The uniform shall be worn as designed by the manufacturer. Open toe shoes or sandals shall not be worn. A basic leather shoe covering the entire foot is recommended. All personnel shall display identification badges on their uniforms, which will show the employee’s last name and the Contractor’s full name.

Personal Hygiene

Contractor’s personnel shall be clean, bathe daily (including hair), and wear a clean uniform daily. Fingernails shall be clean and free of dirt. Hair shall be neatly trimmed and combed.

Security Requirements

The Contractor’s employees shall wear visible identification at all times while on the premises. It is the responsibility of the Contractor to park in the appropriate designated parking areas. The Department of Veterans Affairs shall not invalidate or make reimbursement for parking violations of the Contractor under any conditions. Smoking is prohibited on VA grounds. Possession of weapons is prohibited. Violations of VA regulations may result in citation answerable in the United States (Federal) District Court, not a local district, state, or municipal court. All Contractor employees performing tasks related to this SOW, while on WVAMC property, shall have proper valid identification. All applicable background checks shall be completed before Contractor employees may begin work. Badges after security clearances shall be worn at all times while on VA grounds.

Damage

Extreme caution shall be exercised to prevent damage to the building and its contents. Any damage shall be reported to the POC immediately for appropriate action. Any damage caused by the Contractor shall be repaired and or replaced to the satisfaction of the VA at the Contractor’s expense. Damage to the building, its contents or loss of Government property in excess of $100,000 shall require a Report of Survey or Investigation Report by the VACC. Appropriate Government personnel shall conduct the investigation. The responsible party shall be required to replace and/or submit payment for damage or loss.

Access (Keys)

If the POC provides keys for access, it shall be the Contractors responsibility to safeguard and control keys provided.

Capabilities Statement and Documentation:

Companies are invited to provide their capabilities, experience, and knowledge in the provision of Uniform Rental and Laundering Services. Sources are asked to provide information to demonstrate their answers to the following items of information:

1. General information about your company to include:

Company Name:

Company Address:

Socioeconomic Status:

GSA Contract Number covering these services and Expiration Date (if applicable):

Company Unique Equity Identifier (UEI):

Company NAICS Code(s):

Point of Contact Name:

Point of Contact Phone Number:

Point of Contact Email Address:

Company Website (if available):

2. The North American Industry Classification System Code (NAICS) is 812332 (Industrial Launderers), and the Small Business Size Standard is $47 million.

3. Based on market response, the following clauses may be included in a resulting solicitation, should one be issued:

VAAR 852.219-10, VA Notice of Total Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned Small Business Set-Aside.

VAAR 852.219-11, VA Notice of Total Veteran-Owned Small Business Set-Aside.

FAR 52.219-6, Notice of Total Small Business Set-Aside.

Accordingly, prospective contractors will be required at time of solicitation response to certify to the applicable limitation on subcontracting requirements in 13 CFR 125.6, with reference to the appropriate set-aside. Please include in the response to this sources sought notice your ability or inability to certify to the clause applicable to your organization.

4. Provide a summary of your firm’s ability to provide the services described in this announcement. In addition to a Capability Statement, submissions can include specifications, brochures, and manuals as attachments.

Submit responses via email only to Contracting Officer Stephanie McFadden at stephanie.mcfadden@va.gov, no later than 1:00 PM EST, Wednesday, April 9, 2025, with Sources Sought number 36C24425Q0452 in the subject line. Telephone responses shall not be accepted. The Government will not provide feedback in response to vendor questions about the requirement at this time. If you identify ambiguities or have concerns about anything in the description of the requirement, however, please include them with your response. Confirming receipt of the response is the responsibility of the contractor. Contact the Contract Specialist if the Government does not confirm receipt of the sources sought response within 2 business days.

Simply responding as an “interested party” does not constitute your company as a source. Prospective contractors must provide the above requested information. After review of the responses to this sources sought notice, a solicitation announcement may be published on the SAM, NASA SEWP V or GSA websites in the near future. Responses to this sources sought notice are not considered adequate responses to a solicitation announcement. All prospective contractors are required to respond to a solicitation announcement in addition to responding to this sources sought notice.

Prospective contractors are reminded that in accordance with FAR 4.11 they shall be registered in the System for Award Management (SAM) database and shall complete electronic annual representations and certifications in SAM prior to award of a contract. SAM is located at https://sam.gov/SAM/ and consolidated the capabilities of CCR/FedReg, ORCA, and EPLS. There is NO cost to use SAM.

No solicitation document is available at this time; this notice is to acquire information only.

End of Document

Sources Sought Notice