36C25018B0582-002.docx

Quality Assurance Surveillance Plan Veterans Health Indiana (VHI) Ambulance Services

1. PURPOSE

This Quality Assurance Surveillance Plan (QASP) is a Government developed and applied document used to make sure that systematic quality assurance methods are used in the administration of the Performance Based Acquisition (PBA) standards included in this contract. The intent is to ensure that the Contractor performs in accordance with performance metrics set forth in the contract documents, that the Government receives the quality of services called for in the contract and that the Government only pays for the acceptable level of services received.

2. SCOPE

To fully understand the roles and the responsibilities of the parties, it is important to first define the distinction in terminology between the Quality Control Plan and the Quality Assurance Surveillance Plan. The Contractor, and not the Government, is responsible for management and quality control actions necessary to meet the quality standards set forth in the contract. The Contractor develops and submits his/her Quality Control Plan (QCP) for Government approval in compliance with his contract deliverables. Once accepted, the Contractor then uses the QCP to guide and to rigorously document the implementation of the required management and quality control actions to achieve the specified results. The QASP on the other hand, is put in place to provide Government surveillance oversight of the Contractor’s quality control efforts to assure that they are timely, effective and are delivering the results specified in the contract. The QASP is not a part of the contract nor is it intended to duplicate the Contractor’s QCP. The Government is providing the Contractor an information copy of the QASP as an Attachment to the solicitation to support the Contractor’s efforts in developing a QCP that will interrelate with the Government’s QASP.

3. GOVERNMENT RESOURCES/RESPONSIBILITIES

The following personnel shall oversee and coordinate surveillance activities.

a. CONTRACTING OFFICER: The Contracting Officer (CO), ensures performance of all necessary actions for effective contracting, ensures compliance with the terms of the contract and safeguards the interests of the United States in the contractual relationship. It is the CO that assures the Contractor receives impartial, fair, and equitable treatment under the contract. The CO is ultimately responsible for the final determination of the adequacy of the Contractor’s performance.

Assigned CO: Kristina L. Gandy Organization or Agency: Department of Veterans Affairs, Network Contracting Office 10

b. Contracting Officer’s Representative (COR) - The COR provides detailed technical oversight of the Contractor’s performance and reports his or her findings to the CO in a timely, complete and impartial fashion. The COR is not empowered to make any contractual commitments or to authorize any contractual changes on the Government’s behalf. Any changes that the Contractor deems may affect contract, price, terms, or conditions shall be referred to the CO for action.

Assigned COR: Erich Orrick, Patient Mobility Supervisor.

4. METHODS OF QA SURVEILLANCE

The below listed methods of surveillance shall be used in the administration of the QASP. In addition to specific instructions that may be mentioned, the appropriate and standardized form that is to be used for documentation of QA surveillance is the Surveillance Activity Checklist, in table below.

Customer Feedback – Customer feedback may be obtained either from the results of formal customer satisfaction surveys or from random customer complaints. Customer complaints, to be considered valid, must set forth clearly and in writing the detailed nature of the complaint, must be signed and forwarded to the COR. The COR shall maintain a summary log of all formally received customer complaints as well as a copy of each complaint in a documentation file. The COR shall also keep the tabulated results of all customer satisfaction surveys on file and shall enter the summary results into the Surveillance Activity Checklist. (Copies of all records shall be submitted to the CO upon receipt for placement in the official contract file, and when necessary, determination of actions.)

100% Inspection – The COR shall monitor each patient delivery and enter performance results into the Surveillance Activity Checklist.

Periodic Inspection - Periodic inspections shall be conducted when specified in the contract/PWS. For the potential tasks that have been identified so far and included in this QASP, the COR performs the periodic inspection on a monthly basis.

Random Surveillance - Random surveillance shall be conducted as deemed necessary by the CO or COR. For the potential tasks that have been identified so far and included in this QASP, the random surveillance shall be performed by the COR.

5. PERFORMANCE STANDARDS

The Performance Work Statement (PWS) includes performance standards to be met by the Contractor. The Government shall use these standards to determine contractor performance and shall compare contractor performance to the Acceptable Quality Level (AQL), and determine incentives, in this case ratings within the Contractor Performance Assessment & Reporting System (CPARS).

Required Services (Tasks)

Personnel Requirements/ Licensure

Unscheduled: Contractor shall have the patient loaded and ready for transport within one (1) hour of the request being received.

Customer Complaint record Negative Past Performance ratings in CPARS if performance drops below AQL.

Not Terminating at VHI- Next Day

Invoices: Submitted weekly with required information

6. INCENTIVES

The Government shall use positive/negative ratings in the CPARS as incentives for Contractor to maintain acceptable performance level. Incentives shall be based on exceeding, meeting, or not meeting performance standards.

The CO and COR shall have quarterly progress meetings to assess performance and shall provide a written assessment. Should the CO experience marginal or sub-standard performance, they should consider more frequent progress meetings.