36C24918Q9417-000.docx

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* = Required Field FedBizOpps Sources Sought Notice Rev. March 2010 Censitrac for VISN 9 Facilities 37129 36C24918Q9417 06-05-2018 N 518210 Department of Veterans Affairs Network Contracting Office 9 1639 Medical Center Parkway Suite 400 Murfreesboro TN 37129 Crystal Baird Contract Specialist crystal.baird@va.gov VISN 9 Facilities crystal.baird@va.gov Request for Information/Sources Sought 36C24918Q9417 Industry Input Needed This is a Request for Information (RFI) to conduct market research to determine the availability of vendors capable of providing the requirement for Censitrac solutions to serve as a VISN-wide Sterile Processing Inventory Tracking and Workflow Management Solution (ITS) for the Veterans Integrated System Network (VISN) 9 as described in detail in the attached DRAFT Statement of Work (SOW). This RFI does not guarantee the issuance of an RFQ. VA currently intends to solicit this requirement as Sole Source because the availability for resellers of the product is unknown. If you have the ability to provide the Censitrac software and services outlined in the SOW, please respond to this RFI with a statement of capabilities. Further, if you have a similar software/service, please respond to this RFI with a capabilities statement and supporting documentation capable of validating the equivalent product/service capabilities. If the entire Censis’ Censitrac requirement, or an equivalent, outlined in the SOW is available from your company under a General Services Administration (GSA) contract or other contract vehicle, please let us know in your response.

This RFI is issued solely for information and planning purposes it does not commit the Government to contract for any supply or service whatsoever. The VA is not, at this time, seeking proposals and will not accept unsolicited proposals. Responders are advised that the U.S. Government will not pay for any information or administrative costs incurred in response to this RFI; all costs associated with responding to this RFI will be solely at the interested vendor's expense. Not responding to this RFI does not preclude participation in any future RFQ, if any is issued. Any information submitted by respondents to this RFI is strictly voluntary. All submissions become Government property and will not be returned.

Requirement

The VISN 9 Network is responsible for providing health care to Veterans throughout the Midsouth region. VISN 9 is a health care system that includes 6 Medical Centers, and 40+ Community Based Outpatient Clinics, all working together to provide efficient, accessible health care to Veterans in their areas.

Like all health care facilities, VISN 9 faces numerous clinical and business challenges, including inventorying, monitoring and distributing high-level disinfected (HLD) and sterilized reusable medical equipment (RME). These challenges can be met through the implementation of a Sterile Processing Inventory and Workflow Management Solution. In doing so, VISN 9 plans to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of patient care, with reductions in staff hours spent searching for medical, surgical, and dental devices while maintaining more efficient (i.e. less expensive, utilization tailored) inventory levels.

VISN 9 intends to implement a Sterile Processing Inventory and Workflow Management Solution as a means of achieving the aforementioned benefits.

This requirement establishes for Contractor provided solutions for the Sterile Processing Inventory and Workflow Management Solution implementation in VISN 9. The Contractor shall provide a fully integrated, seamless, turnkey solution encompassing hardware, software, and incidental services to VISN 9 facilities comprising this requirement.

Please note that requirements defined to date may change before a final solicitation is released. RFI requirements are as follows:

1. Please review the Draft Statement of Work for product specifications and requirements.

2. Please acknowledge if your company is a certified authorized provider of Censis software and maintenance support services.

3. Submit responses and related information via email to: crystal.baird@va.gov by 12:00 P.M. Central Standard time, June 5, 2018. Proprietary/company confidential material shall be clearly marked on every page that contains such. Include the name, phone number, and email address of the lead from your organization. VA reserves the right to not respond to any or all emails or materials submitted.

Statement of Work VISN 9 Instrument Tracking Acquisition

1. Project Scope Tracking enhances the ability of VA to ensure patient and staff safety by providing reasonable assurance that instruments have been processed in accordance with regulatory guidelines and individual instrument manufacturer’s Instructions for Use (IFU) for reusable medical equipment (RME) and dental/medical-surgical instrumentation.

The Sterile Processing Inventory and Workflow Management Solution shall establish a solid foundation of enterprise-wide compliance with generally accepted recommendations from the World Health Organization (WHO), Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Association of periOperative Registered Nurses (AORN), The Joint Commission (TJC), International Organization for Standardization (ISO), International Association of Healthcare Central Service Materiel Management (IAHCSMM), Association for the Advancement of Medical Instrumentation (AAMI), and applicable VA Directives and Handbooks.

The Sterile Processing Inventory and Workflow Management Solution workflows shall be based on the CDC Spaulding Classification, which has been used to categorize RME, surgical instruments, and patient care equipment (items) for over 40 years (See Section 3.3.4 for specific items.) This classification is based on the degree of risk for infection involved in the use of these items, which are categorized as Critical, Semi-Critical, and Non-Critical devices. “Items” will be used when referencing surgical / medical / and dental instruments throughout this document.

· Critical items are those that come into contact with sterile tissue and must be sterilized prior to use. This category includes surgical instruments, dental instruments, emergency procedure trays, loaner instruments, and implant sets. The category may include endoscopes that enter a sterile body cavity or items used on a sterile field.

· Semi-Critical items contact mucous membranes or non-intact skin. Examples of Semi-Critical items include, but are not limited to, flexible endoscopes and ultrasound transducers that enter an intact body cavity.

· Non-Critical items are those that come in contact with intact skin only.

The Sterile Processing Inventory and Workflow Management Solution shall record the location, time stamp, and the status of a device/instrument/surgical container (set), etc. as it goes through the Sterile Processing System (SPS) reprocessing workflow. Locations to be scanned include, but may not be limited to Decontamination, Assembly and Preparation, Sterilization, Quality Assurance (QA), and Storage areas. Within these locations, there will be at least one scan point where work instructions are needed, a work step needs to be recorded, and/or a location update is required. Facility processes, number of stations, physical layout, and the complexity of the workflow in a facility may increase the number of scan points in each area.

The Sterile Processing Inventory and Workflow Management Solution shall capture the movement of VAMC’s Critical and Semi-Critical RME, and Non-Critical RME that have or shall receive an electrochemical or similar supplemental mark. It is assumed that any Non-Critical RME reprocessed by a VAMC Sterile Processing Services (SPS) will have or shall generally receive a linear barcode or 2-dimensional electrochemical mark that can be scanned into the solution.

Some individual items, as well as instrument baskets and packages, cannot be marked electrochemically. These items shall be affixed with a linear barcode label which allows a handheld scanner to read and identify these items as they are inventoried, assembled, disinfected/sterilized, and prepared for distribution or storage.

Under this requirement the Contractor shall provide the solution to serve as a VISN-wide Sterile Processing Inventory Tracking and Workflow Management Solution (ITS). The Contractor shall ensure the system is deployed to meet the needs of each unique VA facility based on their current business processes that will be impacted by the new technology. The Contractor shall provide hardware and software components as described in section 2 Hardware/software.

As part of this effort, the Contractor shall conduct site assessments, update facility drawings, develop implementation plans, document system configuration unique to each site, install, configure and test hardware and software, provide pre-testing training to VA staff, provide roles-based training, warranty overview, and facility transition support.

2. Hardware/Software

Lexington Instrument Tracking System Service Option Year 1 September 1, 2019 – August 31, 2020

Lexington Instrument Tracking System Service Option Year 2 September 1, 2020 – August 31, 2021

Lexington Instrument Tracking System Service Option Year 3 September 1, 2021 – August 31, 2022

Lexington Instrument Tracking System Service Option Year 4 September 1, 2022 – August 31, 2023

Louisville Instrument Tracking System Service Option Year 1 September 1, 2019 – August 31, 2020

Louisville Instrument Tracking System Service Option Year 2 September 1, 2020 – August 31, 2021

Louisville Instrument Tracking System Service Option Year 3 September 1, 2021 – August 31, 2022

Louisville Instrument Tracking System Service Option Year 4

Memphis Instrument Tracking System Service Option Year 1 September 1, 2019 – August 31, 2020

Memphis Instrument Tracking System Service Option Year 2 September 1, 2020 – August 31, 2021

Memphis Instrument Tracking System Service Option Year 3 September 1, 2021 – August 31, 2022

Memphis Instrument Tracking System Service Option Year 4

Mountain Home Instrument Tracking System Service Option Year 1 September 1, 2019 – August 31, 2020

Mountain Home Instrument Tracking System Service Option Year 2 September 1, 2020 – August 31, 2021

Mountain Home Instrument Tracking System Service Option Year 3 September 1, 2021 – August 31, 2022

Mountain Home Instrument Tracking System Service Option Year 4

Murfreesboro Instrument Tracking System Service Option Year 1 September 1, 2019 – August 31, 2020

Murfreesboro Instrument Tracking System Service Option Year 2 September 1, 2020 – August 31, 2021

Murfreesboro Instrument Tracking System Service Option Year 3 September 1, 2021 – August 31, 2022

Murfreesboro Instrument Tracking System Service Option Year 4

Nashville Instrument Tracking System Service Option Year 1 September 1, 2019 – August 31, 2020

Nashville Instrument Tracking System Service Option Year 2 September 1, 2020 – August 31, 2021

Nashville Instrument Tracking System Service Option Year 3 September 1, 2021 – August 31, 2022

Nashville Instrument Tracking System Service Option Year 4

a. Marking and Commissioning

i. Contractor shall provide marking and commissioning services to include labor, travel, data management, project management and expenses for the following instrument quantities and labor weeks:

(1) Lexington – 25,000 instruments; 25 labor weeks

(2) Louisville – 20,000 instruments; 20 labor weeks

(3) Memphis – 30,000 instruments; 30 labor weeks

(4) Mountain Home – 20,000 instruments; 20 labor weeks

(5) Nashville – 20,000 instruments; 20 labor weeks

(6) Murfreesboro – 5,000 instruments; 5 labor weeks

ii. Instruments will be marked and commissioned in compliance with EDA Standard 2.0 descriptions.

iii. VISN 9 is responsible for reprocessing all instruments within 24 hours following the recommended processes and procedures as outlined by the instrument manufacturer.

iv. Instruments will be reviewed for legible catalog number and will have NMN and the stencil number entered as the catalog number. Instruments without a vendor name will have NVN entered as the vendor name. the marking technician will enter a description of the instrument based on their knowledge and experience.

v. Instruments that are of an odd size, shape or configuration that prevent them from being electrochemically marked, as determined by the contractor, shall be returned to the sterile processing unit as unable to mark.

vi. If the instrument material is not conducive to receiving an electrochemical mark as determined by the contractor, the instrument shall be returned to the sterile processing unit as unable to mark.

vii. QUALITY CONTROL The following Quality Control (QC) requirements have been developed to ensure that all site implementations are provided an appropriate level of monitoring. These activities should afford the VISN 9 team with a reasonable and achievable level of activity intended to assure and/or improve the quality of the marking and commissioning. This approach evaluates both the physical and data characteristics, identifies concerns or shortcomings in the delivery of services, provides the ability to overcome any identified deficiencies, and monitors the effectiveness of any required corrective actions.

(1) After 2D mark application, the contractor will immediately QC the item to ensure it scans easily into the instrument tracking system. Marks that do not read within 3-5 seconds will be assessed for re-application prior to commissioning.

(2) VISN 9 staff will perform QC on the contractor-performed work on a contractor provided workstation, which permits access to the instrument database. This access will allow VISN 9 staff to evaluate the quality of the mark and that the instrument scanned is the one displayed in the instrument tracking system. It’s important that the product name corresponds to the instrument being scanned.

(3) The QC of the instruments by VISN 9 should be performed daily on at least 10% of the instruments which have been marked that day. Successful QC results will be considered as acceptance of the work.

(4) Should VISN 9 not perform the QC check it will be considered that the work is accepted

3. Project Management, Implementation and Marking Services

a. Implementation

i. Provide a project plan and manage the implementation.

ii. Install and manage the on-site server software.

iii. Convert and load count sheet data into the application prior to on-site implementation.

iv. Provide on-site training for hospital staff in the effective use of the application.

v. Provide on-site training for the instrument marking process.

vi. Provide on-going support for the application to include travel and expenses.

b. Marking Services

i. Overall execution of the marking process to include management of equipment/personnel and communication and reporting to each VA facility.

ii. Tasks include management of the marking operation, mobile marking system technical administration and marking and commissioning of instruments at each facility.

iii. Travel and expenses included.

4. Place of Performance:

VISN 9 Facilities

1. 596 Lexington VA Medical Center 2250 Leestown Rd Lexington, KY 40511-1093

2. 603 Robley Rex VA Medical Center 800 Zorn Avenue Louisville, KY 40206

3. 614 Memphis VA Medical Center 1030 Jefferson Avenue Memphis, TN 38104

4. 621 James H. Quillen VA Medical Center Corner of Lamont and Veterans Way Dogwood Avenue, Building 205 Mountain Home, TN 37684

5. 626 Alvin C. York VA Medical Center 3400 Lebanon Pike Murfreesboro, TN 37129

6. 626 Nashville VA Medical Center 1310 24th Avenue South Nashville, TN 37212