36C24818Q0830-005.pdf

B.5 STATEMENT OF WORK (SOW)

A. GENERAL GUIDANCE

1. Title of Project: Online Continuing Education to be accessed by Nursing, Physicians, and other Allied Health Professionals.

2. Background:

The James A. Haley VA Medical Center has utilized a continuing education online database since 2014 for physicians, nurses, and other allied health staff. Physicians, Nurses, and Allied Health personnel shall be accredited by premier organizations. Courses offered will continue to augment James A. Haley VAMC clinicians’ continuing education course offerings.

3. Scope of Work:

The contractor shall provide all resources necessary to accomplish the deliverables described in this statement of work (SOW), except as may otherwise be specified. This is a request for the procurement of a continued subscription for 3,000 users.

• The contractor shall provide all Florida licensed Continuing Education requirements to include, but not limited to: Audiologists, Dietitians, Diet Technicians, Dentist, Dental Assistants, Emergency Medical Services, Health Educators, Health Technicians, Kinesitherapies, Marriage and Family Therapist, Medical Technologists, Medical Technicians, Mental Health Counselors, Nuclear Medicine Technologists, Nursing, Occupational Therapists, Occupational Therapy Assistant, Ophthalmologists, Pharmacists, Pharmacy Technician, Phlebotomists, Physical Therapy, Physical Therapy Assistant, Physician Assistants, Physicians, Psychology, Quality Management, Radiology, Radiology technicians, Respiratory, Social Work, Speech Language Pathology, and Surgical Technician CME’s. Examples of courses required by the state of Florida are Medical Errors, Domestic Violence, Laws and Rules for Nurses, HIV, and Ethics.

• Courses shall be 508 compliant.

• Provide 24/7 access to entire content library on and off-site.

• Healthcare continuing education library with over 2,300 unique courses.

• Test preparation materials with 600 plus (+) contact hours.

• Online clinical textbook featuring 600 plus (+) nursing topics.

• Healthcare continuing education content libraries, test preparation materials, online clinical textbook featuring nursing topics.

• Cohort-style virtual learning.

• Live webinar training and independent self-study coursework.

• Provide multiple cohort enrollment opportunities, offered monthly.

• Content delivery methods to provide an intuitive online learning system.

Statement of Work

• Audio courses available within the system or on mobile devices.

• Webinar courses presented by learning industry experts.

• All courses shall be accessible to our employees on the day contract is awarded.

• If new courses become mandated by any Florida board, there will only be a one-month lag period for course development.

• Database with administrator functionality to allow to create, update, and assign access to users.

• Integrated reporting tool for managers to generate usage/compliance reports and user transcripts.

Self-registration, log on permission and technical support for staff managed by the company.

(link available in the intranet)

• Provide certificate with Florida approval number.

• Report daily completion of Continuing Education (CE’s) into the Florida CE Broker electronic system.

• Prompt learners to evaluate the course prior to award of completion.

• Provide necessary software/permissions to access the CE educational programs.

• Courses shall be updated with the latest evidence based practice and discipline board approval.

• Remove expired continuing education courses and replace with current version at least monthly.

• Provide training and online support for end user and administrators.

4. Performance Period: This contract will be for the purchase of a continuing on-line subscription for one base plus (+) four (4) option years as follows:

5. Type of Contract: This is a firm-fixed-price agreement.

B. CONTRACT AWARD MEETING

This contract would not require an award meeting. Contract is for the purchase of training and related materials.

C. GENERAL REQUIREMENTS

Contractor shall be qualified and have all required levels of professional and technical experience and necessary resources to perform the work required by this statement of work. The contractor shall provide all resources necessary to accomplish the deliverables described in this statement of work (SOW), except as may otherwise be specified.

This is a request for the procurement of a continued subscription for 3,000 users. The contractor shall provide all Florida licensed Continuing Education requirements to include, but not limited to:

Audiologists, Dietitians, Diet Technicians, Dentist, Dental Assistants, Emergency Medical Services, Health Educators, Health Technicians, Kinesitherapies, Marriage and Family Therapist, Medical Technologists, Medical Technicians, Mental Health Counselors, Nuclear Medicine Technologists, Nursing, Occupational Therapists, Occupational Therapy Assistant, Ophthalmologists, Pharmacists, Pharmacy Technician, Phlebotomists, Physical Therapy, Physical Therapy Assistant, Physician Assistants, Physicians, Psychology, Quality Management, Radiology, Radiology technicians, Respiratory, Social Work, Speech Language Pathology, and Surgical Technician CME’s. Examples of courses required by the state of Florida are Medical Errors, Domestic Violence, Laws and Rules for Nurses, HIV, and Ethics. All courses shall be 508 compliant. The contractor shall provide 24/7 access to entire content library on and off-site. The contractor shall provide healthcare continuing education library with over 2,300 unique courses. The contractor shall provide test preparation materials with 600+ contact hours.

The contractor shall provide online clinical textbook featuring 600+ nursing topics. The contractor shall provide healthcare continuing education content libraries, test preparation materials, online clinical textbook featuring nursing topics.

The contractor shall provide cohort-style virtual learning. The contractor shall provide live webinar training and independent self-study coursework. The contractor shall provide multiple cohort enrollment opportunities, offered monthly. The contractor shall provide content delivery methods to provide an intuitive online learning system. The contractor shall provide audio courses available within the system or on mobile devices. The contractor shall provide webinar courses presented by learning industry experts.

All courses shall be accessible to our employees on the day contract is awarded. If new courses become mandated by any Florida board, there will only be a one-month lag period for course development. The contractor shall provide database with administrator functionality to allow to create, update, and assign access to users. The contractor shall provide integrated reporting tool for managers to generate usage/compliance reports and user transcripts. Self-registration, log on permission and technical support for staff managed by the company (link available in the intranet).

The contractor shall provide certificate with Florida approval number. The contractor shall report daily completion of continuing education (CE’s) into the Florida CE Broker electronic system. Each training will have an evaluation that the learn shall take prior to being awarded credit or completion of the course.

The contractor shall provide necessary software/permissions to access the CE educational programs. The contractor shall provide courses shall be updated with the latest evidence based practice and discipline board approval. The contractor shall remove expired continuing education courses and replace with current version at least monthly. The contractor shall provide training and online support for end user and administrators.

D. SPECIFIC MANDATORY TASKS AND ASSOCIATED DELIVERABLES

Shall meet all Florida licensed Continuing Education requirements for all Clinical Disciplines to include, but not limited to: Audiologists, Dietitians, Emergency Medical Services, Health Educators, Laboratory technician, Mental Health Counselors, Nursing, Occupational Therapy, Pharmacology, Pharmacy technician, Physical Therapy, Physician Assistants, Physicians, Psychology, Quality Management, Radiology, Radiology technicians, Respiratory, Social Work, Speech Language Pathology, and Surgical Technician. Shall load into CE Broker daily. Shall keep all Continuing Education courses current, and remove expired courses immediately. Vendor is expected to maintain State of Florida Standards for continuing education needs of all mandatory requirements for licensure renewals.

The program shall include, but not limited to the following:

A. Standardized monthly data feed of end user’s data to allow the administrator to create, update and assign access to users. Written work instructions/procedures, processes, and product description to implement contractual obligations. The preparation and maintenance of, and compliance with, these instructions shall be audited as a function of the Contractor Quality Program to assure compliance with or timely changes to the instructions.

Integrated reporting tool for managers to generate usage/compliance reports and user transcripts. Self-registration, log on permission and technical support for staff managed by the VA. (link available in the intranet)

E. EVALUATED OPTIONAL FEATURES

No requirements under this section.

F. SCHEDULE FOR DELIVERABLES

The implementation, activation and administrative process shall be completed and system available by or before 10/1/2018.

G. CHANGES TO THE STATEMENT OF WORK

Any changes to this SOW shall be authorized and approved only through written correspondence from the Contracting Officer (CO) through an SF30 modification. A copy of each change will be kept in a project folder along with all other products of the project. Costs incurred by the contractor through the actions of parties other than the CO shall be borne by the contractor.

H. POTENTIAL REQUIREMENT GROWTH:

This requirement is for services in Network Contracting Office 8 (NCO8). The initial requirement may only include this station and the surrounding areas as stated in the Performance Work Statement (PWS) or the solicitation. However, the government reserves the right to increase the requirement area to include two (2) or more stations in the NCO8 or VISN 8 Area. The Government reserves the right to include services at a later date at additional locations within the VISN as required to meet the government’s needs. Additional locations may include VA facilities in and around; Bay Pines, Gainesville and North Florida/South GA, Miami, Orlando, Tampa, West Palm Beach FL, and San Juan, PR.

In accordance with Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR 52.212-4) any changes in the terms and conditions of this contract may be made only by written agreement of the Contractor and Government. The prices for services at additional locations will be based on the initial requirement prices and final pricing will be determined upon supplemental agreement between the Contractor and the Government. Any increased requirements are subject to the availability of funds.

I. TRAVEL

No travel is required for this contract.

J. CONTRACTOR EXPERIENCE REQUIREMENTS

1. Qualifications of Key Personnel (Standard mandatory language for all task orders)

2. The government will determine on a Status Request (SR) basis, what positions are considered key personnel. The contractor shall identify, by name, the key management and technical personnel who will work under this task order at the time the work is being negotiated. If a key person becomes unavailable to complete the SR, the proposed substitutions of key personnel shall be made only as approved directed by the Contracting Officer and the Contracting Officer Representative (COR).

The government will not dictate specific experience and education requirements of the employees initially proposed to perform the work stated herein. The contractor shall submit a resume of qualifications to the Contracting Officer Representative (COR) for key personnel and all other direct employees proposed for the project. All Contractor employees will be approved by the Contracting Officer Representative (COR) prior to bringing on duty. If, at any time from date of award to the end of the contract, non-key Contractor personnel are no longer available, HES/HIS reserves the right to review qualifications of proposed replacement personnel and to reject individuals who do not meet the qualifications set forth in the TLO. Team personnel proposed by the contractor should possess some of the following knowledge and/or skills:

3. The contractor shall notify the James A. Haley COR in advance and we will approve or reject proposed contractor key personnel for the performance of this contract. The contractor shall submit a resume of qualifications to the COR for key personnel and all other direct employees proposed for the project. All Contractor employees will be approved by the COR prior to bringing on duty. If, at any time from date of award to the end of the contract, Contractor personnel are no longer available, the VHA will approve the qualifications of proposed replacement personnel and will reject individuals who do not meet the qualifications set forth herein.

4. The contractor shall inform the VHA COR, Project Manager and/or Task Manager when personnel are removed from the contract for any reason. The Contractor shall remove any employee from the performance of this contract within five (5) workdays of receiving notice from the Contracting Officer that the employee's performance is unsatisfactory. All Contractor employees are subject to immediate removal from performance of this contract when they are involved in a violation of the law, VA security, confidentiality requirements and/or other disciplinary reasons.

• The contractor shall inform the VHA COR, and Project Manager/Task Manager when personnel are removed from the contract for any reason.

• If a key person becomes unavailable to complete the SR, the proposed substitutions of key personnel shall be made only if approved by the COR and Project Manager.

• The contractor shall submit a resume of qualifications to the COR for all direct employees proposed for the project. All Contractor employees will be approved by the COR prior to bringing on duty.

5. The VHA shall not be liable for further payment of any Contractor employee that VHA requires the Contractor to remove from the performance of this contract. VHA's payment liability, for unsuitable Contractor employees, ends five working days after Contractor's receipt of "removal request" for unsatisfactory performance and immediately for any violation of law, VA security, confidentiality requirements and/or other disciplinary action.

6. Time and Materials Task Orders

When anticipating a time and materials task order, describe the level of expertise that is required of contractor personnel. Take care only to require expertise that is commensurate with the current functional requirement. Also, ask the contractor to provide references of all work underway and completed over the last few years; that is of the same nature and level of effort as the anticipated work. Notice that it is recommended that references be sought for all work over the past few years. By requesting references from all of the contractor’s clients, past and present, you remove the contractor’s ability to eliminate bad references. This is a way to weed-out contractors who lack the needed expertise for your project.

K. PAYMENT:

1. The contractor will be paid each month, in arrears, upon receipt of a proper invoice. The contract number, purchase order number, and contractor name shall appear on each invoice or will be rejected and will not be paid.

2. The Department of Veterans Affairs published a final rule in the Federal Register on November 27, 2012 to require contractors to submit payment requests in electronic form in order to enhance customer service, departmental productivity, and adoption of innovative information technology, including the appropriate use of commercial best practices. The rule is effective December 27, 2012.

3. Vendor Electronic Invoice Submission Methods

Facsimile, e-mail, and scanned documents are not acceptable forms of submission for payment requests.

Electronic form means an automated system transmitting information electronically according to the accepted electronic data transmission methods below:

VA’s Electronic Invoice Presentment and Payment System – The FSC uses a third-party contractor, Tungsten, to transition vendors from paper to electronic invoice submission. Please go to this website:

http://www.tungsten-network.com/US/en/veterans-affairs/ to begin submitting electronic invoices, free of charge.

A system that conforms to the X12 electronic data interchange (EDI) formats established by the Accredited Standards Center (ASC) chartered by the American National Standards Institute (ANSI).

The X12 EDI Web site (http://www.x12.org).

4. Vendor e-Invoice Set-Up Information:

Please contact Tungsten at the phone number or email address listed below to begin submitting your electronic invoices to the VA Financial Services Center for payment processing, free of charge. If you have question about the e-invoicing program or Tungsten, please contact the FSC at the phone number or email address listed below:

1. Tungsten e-Invoice Setup Information: 1-877-489-6135.

2. Tungsten e-Invoice email: VA.Registration@Tungsten-Network.com.

3. FSC e-Invoice Contact Information: 1-877-353-9791

4. FSC e-invoice email: vafsccshd@va.gov http://www.tungsten-network.com/US/en/veterans-affairs/ http://www.x12.org/ mailto:VA.Registration@Tungsten-Network.com mailto:vafsccshd@va.gov

Firm-Fixed-Price Task Orders

1. Typically, the Government does not mandate a particular level of expertise for firm-fixed-price task orders. The reason is that the Government specifies a functional end result for which the contractor proposes a firm-fixed-price. The contractor assumes all risk to provide the specified deliverable by the due date, with the proposed technical team, or may be charged liquidated damages. The better approach is to require the contractor to provide details of the proposed personnel’s experience so that the Government can make a judgment as to whether the contractor has adequately staffed the project. Then, if the Government’s evaluation team has an issue with the proposed team, the issue can be raised with the contractor during the pre-award phase of the acquisition process. If the Government concludes that the contractor’s workforce is lacking the appropriate experience, we can reject the proposal.

L. CONTRACTOR PERSONNEL SECURITY REQUIREMENTS

1. New contractor personnel security requirements, which facilitate the security programs for computer systems and automated information systems implemented by the Office of Security and Law Enforcement and Veterans Health Administration.

2. Contractors, contractor personnel, subcontractors, and subcontractor personnel shall be subject to the same Federal laws, regulations, standards, and VA Directives and Handbooks as VA and VA personnel regarding information and information system security.

3. A contractor/subcontractor shall request logical (technical) or physical access to VA information and VA information systems for their employees, subcontractors, and affiliates only to the extent necessary to perform the services specified in the contract, agreement, or task order.

4. All contractors, subcontractors, and third-party servicers and associates working with VA information are subject to the same investigative requirements as those of VA appointees or employees who have access to the same types of information. The level and process of background security investigations for contractors must be in accordance with VA Directive and Handbook 0710, Personnel Suitability and Security Program. The Office for Operations, Security, and Preparedness is responsible for these policies and procedures.

5. If VA determines that the contractor has violated any of the information confidentiality, privacy, and security provisions of the contract, it shall be sufficient grounds for VA to withhold payment to the contractor or third party or terminate the contract for default or terminate for cause under Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) part 12.