36C25621Q1046 0002.docx

5. PROJECT NUMBER (if applicable)

CODE

7.

ADMINISTERED BY

2. AMENDMENT/MODIFICATION NUMBER

CODE

6. ISSUED BY

8. NAME AND ADDRESS OF CONTRACTOR

4. REQUISITION/PURCHASE REQ. NUMBER

3. EFFECTIVE DATE

9A. AMENDMENT OF SOLICITATION NUMBER

9B. DATED

PAGE OF

PAGES

10A. MODIFICATION OF CONTRACT/ORDER NUMBER

10B. DATED

BPA NO.

1. CONTRACT ID CODE

FACILITY CODE

CODE

Offers must acknowledge receipt of this amendment prior to the hour and date specified in the solicitation or as amended, by one of the following methods:

The above numbered solicitation is amended as set forth in Item 14. The hour and date specified for receipt of Offers

E. IMPORTANT:

is extended,

(a) By completing Items 8 and 15, and returning __________ copies of the amendment; (b) By acknowledging receipt of this amendment on each copy of the offer submitted; or (c) By separate letter or electronic communication which includes a reference to the solicitation and amendment numbers. FAILURE

OF YOUR

ACKNOWLEDGMENT TO BE RECEIVED AT THE PLACE DESIGNATED FOR THE RECEIPT OF OFFERS PRIOR TO THE HOUR AND DATE SPECIFIED MAY is not extended.

12. ACCOUNTING AND APPROPRIATION DATA

(REV. 11/2016)

is required to sign this document and return ___________ copies to the issuing office.

is not, A. THIS CHANGE ORDER IS ISSUED PURSUANT TO: (Specify authority) THE CHANGES SET FORTH IN ITEM 14 ARE MADE IN THE CONTRACT ORDER NO. IN ITEM 10A.

15C. DATE SIGNED

B. THE ABOVE NUMBERE

D CONTRACT/ORDER IS MODIFIED TO REFLECT THE ADMINISTRATIVE CHANGES

SET FORTH IN ITEM 14, PURSUANT TO THE AUTHORITY OF FAR 43.103(b).

RESULT IN REJECTION OF YOUR

OFFER. If by virtue of this amendment you desire to change an offer already submitted, such change may be made by letter or electronic communication, provided each letter or electronic communication makes reference to the solicitation and this amendmen t, and is received prior to the opening hour and date specified.

C. THIS SUPPLEMENTAL AGREEMENT IS ENTERED INTO PURSUANT TO AUTHORITY OF:

D. OTHER

Contractor

16C. DATE SIGNED

14. DESCRIPTION OF AMENDMENT/MODIFICATION

16B. UNITED

STATES OF AMERICA

Except as provided herein, all terms and conditions of the document referenced in Item 9A or 10A, as heretofore changed, remains unchanged and in full force and effect.

15A. NAME AND TITLE OF SIGNER

16A. NAME AND TITLE OF

CONTRACTING OFFICER

15B. CONTRACTOR/OFFEROR

STANDARD FORM 30

PREVIOUS EDITION NOT USABLE

Prescribed by GSA - FAR (48 CFR) 53.243 (Type or print) (Type or print) (Organized by UCF section headings, including solicitation/contract subject matter where feasible.)

(Number, street, county, State and ZIP Code) (If other than Item 6) (Specify type of modification and authority) (such as changes in paying office, appropriation date, etc.)

(If required)

(SEE ITEM 11)

(SEE ITEM 13)

(X)

CHECK

ONE

13. THIS ITEM APPLIES ONLY TO MODIFICATIONS OF CONTRACTS/ORDERS,

IT MODIFIES THE CONTRACT/ORDER NO. AS DESCRIBED IN ITEM 14.

11. THIS ITEM ONLY APPLIES TO AMENDMENTS OF

SOLICITATIONS

AMENDMENT OF SOLICITATION/MODIFICATION OF CONTRACT

(Signature of person authorized to sign) (Signature of Contracting Officer) Department of Veterans Affairs for SLVHCS - New Orleans LA Network Contracting Office 16 400 Veterans Avenue Biloxi MS 39531 Department of Veterans Affairs Network Contracting Office 16 400 Veterans Avenue Biloxi MS 39531 To all Offerors/Bidders

36C25621Q1046 07-15-2021

X X X

X Amendment herein is to provide some additional changes and to respond to other questions received and are provided in the next few pages. Offerors shall either sign and return this amendment with offer or acknowledge on pages 4-5.

Electronic offers/proposals are due to CO by 12 August. 2 pm Central. (Question/Response #7)

Melanie Hawley Contract Specialist

VA-VHA-2020-AC34AE75

Questions continued from Amendment #1:

Question #3 -Which wage determination codes are for each position?

Response #3: Not Applicable (N/A) for Optometrist as they are Professional. For the Ophthalmology Health Technician/Certified Ophthalmic Assistant (COA) please refer to Attachment D4- Wage Determination 2015-5177 Rev 13 Dated 5-19-2021 for instructions under “Conformance Process”.

Question #4 Ref PWS Paragraph 2.1.1 - Please confirm any state license is sufficient. I was confused by the purpose of the last sentence in the same paragraph versus the first sentence.

Response #4: PWS states any state. Refer to Question #12 also.

2.1.1 License: Contractor’s provider(s) assigned by the Contractor to perform the services covered by this contract shall have a current license to practice medicine in any State, Territory, or Commonwealth of the United States or the District of Columbia) when services are performed on-site on VA property. All licenses held by the personnel working on this contract shall be full and unrestricted licenses. Contractor’s provider(s) who have current, full and unrestricted licenses in one or more states, but who have, or ever had, a license restricted, suspended, revoked, voluntarily revoked, voluntarily surrendered pending action or denied upon application will not be considered for the purposes of this contract. The State included in this contract is Louisiana.

Question #5 Question refers to PWS Paragraph 2.9.3 - This is an unrealistic and cost-prohibitive requirement to meet. We would have to pay an additional three providers to be on-call during business hours in case this should ever happen....one Optometrist in each location and a COA in Baton Rouge. If we did price the contract to meet this requirement, we would not win due to our pricing being out of scope. Would the VA consider deleting the requirement in bold?

Response #5: and also refer to response #8 below.

CHANGE from:

2.9.3 The Contractor shall be responsible for providing coverage to the VA during periods of vacancies of the Contractor’s personnel due to sick leave, personal leave, vacations, and additional coverage as required. In the event scheduled personnel is/are unable to complete an assigned shift, the contractor shall provide replacement personnel coverage within 2 hours and notify the Contracting Office Representative (COR) at the SLVHCS immediately of the schedule change.

CHANGE to: (removed 2 hours):

2.9.3 The Contractor shall be responsible for providing coverage to the VA during periods of vacancies of the Contractor’s personnel due to advance sick leave, personal leave, and vacations. The Contractor shall notify the Contracting Office Representative (COR) at the SLVHCS immediately of the schedule change. The Contractor’s replacement must adhere to the qualifications and approval processes. SLVHCS clinic cancellation policy requires a 45-day notification to cancel the clinic for all annual leave requests.

Question #6 Ref PWS Paragraph 3.2 Federal Holidays - I believe Juneteenth needs to be added now Response #6: This holiday has already been included Paragraph 3.2- page 22.

Questions #7 - Block 8 indicates the quote is due 08/12/2021; however, in the FAR Addendum 52.212-1, the date for proposal submission is August 19, 2021 at 2:00PM Central Standard Time (CST), please clarify the date for quote submission.

Response #7: Refer to Amendment #1 CHANGE #1. DUE 8-12-2021 As stated in Addendum to 52.212-1 paragraph 2.4, offers/proposals shall be submitted via email. It is noted that there is no paragraph 2.2.

Question #8 – Refers to PWS, Page 20, Paragraph 2.9.3. In order to replace the full-time optometrist and COAs, the replacements would have to be vetted, cleared, credentialed, and maintained on staff. As the replacements would only be working on an as-needed basis to cover sick or vacation time, it would be difficult to hire/recruit/retain an optometrist and COA for replacement coverage only. In consideration of this difficulty:

Question 8a - Would the Government consider rephrasing the replacement coverage to apply only for long-term absences?

Response: Refer to response #5 for 2.9.3 and key personnel section 2.9.4 below

2.9.4 Personnel Substitutions: During the first ninety (90) calendar days of performance, the Contractor shall make NO substitutions of key personnel unless the substitution is necessitated by illness, death, or termination of employment. The Contractor shall notify the CO, in writing, within fifteen (15) calendar day(s) after the occurrence of any of these events and provide the information required below. After 90 days, the Contractor shall submit the information required below to the CO at least 60 calendar days prior to making any permanent substitutions.

2.9.4.1 The Contractor shall provide a detailed explanation of the circumstances necessitating the proposed substitutions, complete resumes for the proposed substitutes, and any additional information requested by the CO. Proposed substitutes shall have comparable qualifications to those of the persons being replaced. The CO will notify the Contractor within 60 calendar days after receipt of all required information of the decision on the proposed substitutes. The contract will be modified to reflect any approved changes of key personnel.

CHANGE from:

2.9.4.2 For temporary substitutions where the key person shall not be reporting to work for three (3) consecutive workdays or more, the Contractor shall provide a qualified replacement for the key person. The substitute shall have comparable qualifications to the key person. Any period exceeding two weeks will require the procedure as stated above.

CHANGE TO (REMOVED Last sentence):

2.9.4.2 For temporary substitutions where the key person shall not be reporting to work for three (3) consecutive workdays or more, the Contractor shall provide a qualified replacement for the key person. The substitute shall have comparable qualifications to the key person.

Question 8b - The full-time COAs are under DOL SCA and are allowed up to 56 hours of sick leave and 80 hours (minimum) of vacation, would replacements be required if a COA called in sick or went on scheduled leave?

Response: Refer to response #8a

Question #9 -Solicitation, Page 78, Paragraph 3.4 states, “The Offeror shall provide three (3) Contractor Performance Assessment Reporting System (CPARS) reports from previous or ongoing contracts, for the same or similar services called for in this solicitation, provided to the Department of Veterans Affairs or other Federal agencies, performed within the past five (5) years…” Question 9a - How will an offeror be rated if they provide two recent CPARS for the same or similar services provided to the VA or other Federal Agencies?

Response: Refer to FAR 15.305(a)(2)(iv)

Question 9b - Will an offeror be penalized if they do not provide three CPARS or would the Government consider rephrasing to “up to” three (3) CPARS?

Response: Refer to Response #9a above. However, if 3rd not available then considered neutral.

Question #10 - FAR Addendum 52.212-2, Page 85, Paragraph 2.1 states, “Clinical Experience of contractor personnel will be looked at more favorably as stated below. Similar experience with the Department of Veteran’s Affairs will be looked at most favorably for both contractor and contractor personnel.”

Question 10a - It is unclear what is meant by “clinical experience of contractor personnel will be looked at more favorably…” Request further definition of “clinical experience” for favorable evaluation.

Response 10a: Evaluation Team will follow FAR 13.106-2 (b)(3) – comparative evaluations of offers. The more qualified the candidate the higher they may be rated.

Question 10b - As this is a trade-off scenario, how will an offeror be rated on clinical experience (e.g., how do you get to a favorable rating)? For example, five years is “satisfactory/acceptable”, 10 years is “favorable,” and 15 years is “very favorable.”

Response 10b: Same response as #10a.

Question 10c - As this is a trade-off scenario, how will an offeror be rated on similar experience (e.g., how do you get a favorable rating?) with Department of VA for contractor and contractor personnel? For example, no experience in VA is “satisfactory/acceptable;” five years is “favorable;” and ten years is “very favorable.”

Response 10c: Same response as #10a.

Question #11 - FAR Addendum 52.212-2, Page 87, Paragraph 2.1.2, second bullet states, “The Offeror must demonstrate at least a minimum of five (5) years of experience in providing and managing on-site staffing services. Demonstrating capabilities and experience in providing staff to other VA Medical Centers will be rated more favorably. Demonstrating experience of providing Optometrist(s) and Ophthalmology Health Technician/Certified Ophthalmic Assistant (COA) staffing services will be rated most favorably.”

Question 11a - As this is a trade-off scenario, how will an offeror be rated on demonstrating capabilities and experience in providing staff? It appears an offeror will be penalized (e.g., unacceptable) if they do not have experience in providing staff to the VA Medical Center.

Response 11a: Evaluation Team will follow FAR 13.106-2 (b)(3) – comparative evaluations of offers. The more experience/capable the company the higher the company may be rated. Will not be penalized or unacceptable.

Question 11a.1- For example, an offeror without experience in providing staff to the VA Medical Centers but demonstrates capabilities and experience in other federal medical treatment facilities is “unsatisfactory” or “satisfactory?”

Response 11a.1: Same as response #11a Question 11a.2- An offeror with one (1) year capabilities and experience in providing staff to VA Medical Center is “favorable?”

Response: One year is acceptable as stated in PWS.

Question 11a.3-An offeror with five (5) years capabilities and experience in providing staff to VA Medical Center is “very favorable?”

Response 11a.3 : One year is acceptable- however – this is best value/trade-off and refer to response of 11a. More years MAY be given higher rating.

Question 11b- As this is a trade-off scenario, how will an offeror be rated on demonstrating experience of providing Optometrist(s) and Ophthalmology Health Technician/Certified Ophthalmic Assistant (COA) staffing services? How does an offeror receive a “favorable” rating?

Response 11b: Refer to response of 11a.

Question #12: For Optometrist: Louisiana State License is required. Can candidates use ANY state license?

Response #12: Refer to Response #4.

Question #13: For Health Technician (ophthalmology)/Certified Ophthalmic Assistant: will you accept candidates with more advanced certifications such as Certified Ophthalmic Technician or Certified Medical Ophthalmic Technologist? Both the COT & CMOT are more advanced than the COA with their own certification (but not a COA). I take it you would if it's through (JCAHPO) but want to make sure. On the Health Technician (ophthalmology)/Certified Ophthalmic Assistant; we have spoken with multiple candidates with the experience, but they are not certified (COA), as the state of Louisiana doesn't require certification, so most are not.

Response #13: Revision of Addendum to 52.212-2 section/paragraph 2.1.1.2 Advance certifications such as Certified Ophthalmic Technician or Certified Medical Ophthalmic Technologist are/is acceptable.

Proposed/Offered Certified Ophthalmic Assistant (COA), Certified Ophthalmic Technician (COT), and/or Certified Medical Ophthalmic Technologist (CMOT) shall have the required certification and provide proof of certification along with other applicable requested items in Paragraph 2.1.1.2 with offer REMINDER – redact personal information such as DOB and SS#s.

End of Document