Questions - FE.docx

1. What EMR system do you use, is it EPIC or Cerner, etc.? In house system

2. Who administers (do you use a third-party, i.e.: Press Ganey) to conduct your CAHPS survey? VA Central Office

3. Are you the responsible party who acquires the preview reports from CMS? Yes

4. Do you provide a four-year data trend to interested parties? No

5. I reviewed your CY2021 public data and looked at a compare this group:

Would you say this is the appropriate compare group? Yes, and include Tulane Medical Center

6. If so, what would you say is the most significant missed opportunity within the pay-for-performance you focus on? n/a

7. Can HCAHPS expertise be substituted for SAIL, AES, and SHEP? No

8. How long should the trainings be? The training is goal oriented, and not driven by time.

9. Can trainings be for frontline managers only, as this would allow frontline employees freedom of expression? We are not interested in changing the requirement.

10. How many students will be trained using our model? Perform math using the table in the PWS.

11. Can we include Licensing fee per hospital employee in Pricing (for future utilization of our proprietary model)? Feel free to add fees but be aware that this is a Lowest Priced Technically Acceptable evaluation. You could price yourself out of contention.

12. Is there currently an incumbent? If so, what is their name? What is their contract number? What is the contract value? There is no incumbent. No

13. How many facilities will be involved in this work? Just one health care system

14. How many employees are in the Southeast Louisiana Veterans Health Care System? approximately 3400 to include part time

15. How many leaders are in the Southeast Louisiana Veterans Health Care System? Approximately 500

16. Under 1.0 Description of Services (page 5 of 63), there is a table that outlines two types of training. Is this listed as a requirement, or is this provided as an example of how you’d like us to present our recommendations for training in our response to the solicitation? This is the requirement.

17. Does the New Orleans VA do any other type of patient experience surveys that are accessible to the successful contractor for assessment purposes? Yes, although PHI would need to be redacted but Patient Advocate Tracking System and V-signals data can be provided to assist contractor.

18. For the four option years, does SLVHCS want the contractor to repeat all activities included in the first year of the engagement (including quarterly assessments, training and coaching), or is SLVHCS looking for recommendations on how to proceed in subsequent years? recommendations on how to proceed in subsequent years. Future years should focus on weak areas from previous years/ratings.

19. Under 1.0 Description of Services, item #13 states that contractor shall provide metrics on number of staff trained. For tracking purposes, what methodology is preferred to account for tracking participation in training workshops? (e.g., facilitator attendance, workshop sign-in sheet, badge scanning, etc.) workshop sign-in sheet is preferred, but all suggestions are acceptable

20. Under 1.0 Description of Services, item #2 is a requirement for quarterly follow-up assessments. Will lead and lag measures and/or process audits for the implementation of recommendations that result from the baseline evaluation be acceptable? Yes

21. What methods are currently employed to measure staff engagement and culture? All Employee Survey (AES) Responses which can be broken down by department.

22. What existing KPI’s are in place? Unsure of what a KPI is

23. Is subcontracting for technical requirements allowed? Subcontracting is allowed, but you must comply with subcontracting requirement provisions and clauses, and your subcontracting plan and the subcontractor must meet Factors A and B of Volume I.

24. Is there a preferred submission format, e.g., MS Word, Power Point, etc.? Word or PDF are preferred.

25. If respondents don’t use any subcontractors, will they receive a “fail” evaluation for Factor 3: Subcontracting Plan? FAR 19.702(a)(1)(i) says, “In negotiated acquisitions, each solicitation of offers to perform a contract that is expected to exceed $750,000 ($1.5 million for construction) and that has subcontracting possibilities, shall require the apparently successful offeror to submit an acceptable subcontracting plan.” Just state, in your Volume III, that you do not have subcontracting possibilities, and the requirement will not apply to you.

26. Can you provide a general estimate of number of leaders from frontline supervisors to SLVHCS Leadership Council as we look to estimate coaching and mentoring? Approximately 500 (with approximately 50 on Leadership Council and 450 frontline)

27. Verbiage in 1.0 Description of Services, #6 (pages 6-7), including a – d, is specific to one vendor’s tools. Can you remove to not limit competition to one vendor or be a name brand requirement? New PWS is attached with revised verbiage.

28. Verbiage in 1.0 Description of Services, second paragraph (AIDET), is specific to one vendor’s tools. Can you remove to not limit competition to one vendor or be a name brand requirement? New PWS is attached with revised verbiage.