36C24820R0020-0001027.docx

QUESTIONS AND ANSWER TO CONTRACTORS QUESTIONS

1. B.3 State of Work Paragraph III Delivery: States in the last sentence “The contractor shall provide all manpower, equipment, materials…” And Paragraph XI. AMBULANCE MEDICAL EQUIPMENT/MEDICATION: States “ Every ambulance in service under this contract shall be equipped as required by the State of Florida and carry at least the minimal equipment and medication necessary for the type of service to be provided, as determined by standards adopted by the State of Florida.” Attached is a copy of the Florida State ALS-Inspection listing the requirements for licensure as described. Please note that the Florida State standards don’t account for Specialty Care Transports that requires additional equipment and medications. Will there be a mechanism to work with the Medical Director/Pharmacy at the VA to review and update protocols, medications and equipment to ensure best level of care possible?

See XI. Ambulance Medical Equipment/medication for update. Additionally, the COR will monitor the contract to update protocols, medications and equipment as needed.

2. Paragraph XIV. RESPONSE TIME: subparagraph A. Does the receipt of the telephonic request start at the beginning or the end of the phone call? If there are 2 or more trips given on the same phone call, then when does the start time begin for the 2nd trip? This is needed to ensure we respond within the designated response times.

Included the end of the phone call.

3. Paragraph XIV. RESPONSE TIME: subparagraph B. Please define a non-medical transport. Is this for a Baker Act that is in the ER waiting to go to a hospital where they have been admitted?

Corrected to read:

A. Response times will be based upon whether the transportation requested is Standard or STAT. Unless otherwise agreed upon, a Standard response time is within 30 minutes. And a STAT time is within 15 minutes of scheduled pick-up time.

4. Paragraph XVI. WAIT TIME: States “Patient waiting time shall not exceed 15 minutes. There shall be no payment or reimbursement for “waiting time” and the contractor shall not invoice for such.” However, the Clin Item 005 etc. allows wait time to be billed in 15-minute increments. No limit is stated in the Clin item. Are we allowed to bill wait time?

Statement updated to read. “Unless prior approval by the COR, Supervisor or Budget Technician.”

5. Paragraph XXVII. INFECTION CONTROL: subparagraph B. States “The contractor shall delay using drivers and or attendants who have the cold, flu, chickenpox, measles, or have been around someone who is sick on trips until well or no longer symptomatic” Since EMT’s are transporting sick people to and from medical facilities the highlighted area is of concern. Every provider would have to be pulled after every trip for an observation period to ensure they did not become sick during their last trip. Our employees are trained to utilize PPE and universal precautions. Can this be removed?

This statement does not imply that they must be evaluated after every trip, but if it’s known that a driver/attendant is sick with the above illnesses, an alternate driver/attendant should be used.

6. Paragraph XXX. MISCELLANEOUS: subparagraph B. State “VA Vehicles transporting VA beneficiaries…” Shouldn’t that be contractor vehicles?

This should say “Contractor vehicles”.