36C25623R0009 0005.pdf

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 NUMBERED 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 amendment, 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)

1 5

0005 05-31-2023

36C256

Department of Veterans Affairs Network Contracting Office 16 5075 Westheimer Rd. Suite 750

Houston TX 77056

36C256

Department of Veterans Affairs Network Contracting Office 16 5075 Westheimer Rd. Suite 750

Houston TX 77056

To all Offerors/Bidders

36C25623R0009

03-13-2023

X x x

Due 06/02/2023 at 12:00 PM CST x 1 (one)

The purpose of this amendment is to post questions and answers.

A. See attached questions and answers starting on page 2.

B. Any and all references to Internal Medicine (IM) or Family Practice (FP) physicians are not applicable.

C. The hour and date specified for receipt of Offers remains unchanged.

D. This amendment will need to be signed and returned with proposal submission to be eligible for award.

Christopher D. Vu Contracting Officer

VA-VHA-SAOC-2018-E8E15CC2

Amendment: 0005 Questions and Answers (additional) Solicitation: 36C25623R0009 Onsite ER Physician Services

Question: PWS 2.1.6: In section 2.1.6 it references requirements for physicians who are Board Certified/ Board Eligible in Internal Medicine (IM) or Family Practice (FP). Will the VA be accepting Board Certified/ Board Eligible IM or FP physicians for this opportunity?

Answer: No. Internal Medicine (IM) or Family Practice (FP) physician references are not applicable and shall be removed.

Question: D.8: In lieu of the D.8 Past Performance Questionnaire, will the VA accept CPARS or previously completed Past Performance Questionnaires?

Answer: No.

Question: PWS 4.4.3: Due to the limited number of Emergency Department (ED) Physicians available nationally, is the VA willing to accept ED Physicians with experience providing emergency care outside of the VA, using systems similar to the Computerized Patient Records System (CPRS) and Emergency Department Integration Software (EDIS) system?

Answer: Yes.

Question: Instructions to Offerors 3.c, Prior experience: With the removal of the original Factor 4, will the VA also remove the VA ER prior experience special responsibility standard detailed on pages 79 and 80 of the solicitation?

Answer: No. Factor 4 Veteran participation of the evaluation criteria was removed as this is already a SDVOSB set aside. ER Prior Experience is not an evaluation factor.

Question: What is the annual volume?

Answer: 13709 in 2022

Question: What are the number of beds in the ED?

Answer: 15

Question: What are the shift times?

Answer: 7am, 7am, 8am, 10am, 12 noon, 2pm, 6pm, 7pm; 76 hours weekday/ 50 hours weekend

Question: Who creates the schedule?

Answer: ED Director and Contract company representative

Question: When are the instances of single and double physician coverage?

Answer: Single coverage from 12 midnight to 7am

Question: When are the APC staff scheduled?

Answer: One day shift that also covers telemedicine

Question: Is there a fast track / urgent care? If so, will the physicians cover?

Answer: No fast track yet.

Question: What nursing and support staff coverage is available?

Answer: Recently hired full contingency of RNS

Question: confirming this is an open solicitation and not sources sought?

Answer: Confirmed and corrected.

Question: Would you be open to providers who are ABPS or BC/BE in Internal Medicine or Family Medicine with Emergency Medicine experience?

Answer: Yes.

Question: For attachment D.13, can Medicus attach our approved subcontract plan rather than filling this out?

Answer: Please follow the instructions. You are free to submit both.

Question: Can you point me in the right direction of provision 52.204-24?

Answer: Although the full text clause was inadvertently left out and it is required, please see the link at E.2 (top of page 77) to retrieve the clause.

Question: A question regarding the Prior Experience Specialized Standard… we are a locum tenens medical staffing agency with experience providing a pool of Emergency Medicine Physicians to staff emergency departments 24/7 for both government and commercial facilities. We do not have VA experience within the last 3 years. Would our other experience suffice for the Prior Experience Specialized Standard, or must it unequivocally be VA experience to qualify?

Answer: The response to your question is to please follow the instructions of the solicitation.

Please allow me to expound on the response.

Pardon me if the response is short and not a detailed response that you may be seeking—it is not my intent to be curt.

The reason for the short response is that your question calls for a determination to be made now so that you have assurances that what you want to submit is acceptable despite the specific information requested of the specialized standard.

Therefore it is best that the response to your question is that you should following the instructions of the solicitation.

Question: Can we use Jackson as a reference?

Answer: With regards to performance, please review page 81 referencing the evaluation of past performance. Unfortunately I cannot instruct you on how to complete your proposal but every firm should err on the side of caution and submit their best offer.

Question: In the pricing section of the proposal rather than listing all proposed physicians by name and adding text boxes in the pricing section to do so, can I list “Jackson Proposed Providers” or “Proposed Medicus Roster”?

Answer: Unfortunately I cannot instruct you on how to complete your proposal but every firm should err on the side of caution and submit their best offer.

Question: So, to clarify, you want us to include a completed copy of D.7 with the bid, but then send you the exact same information on a separate document named “Prior Experience” NLT 5/24 noon cst. Do I have an accurate understanding of how you want this done?

Answer: To clarify this for you…the information is not exactly the same and will not be used the same. Please do not get hung up on the “same information”.

Prior experience is asking for “at least 3 years of prior experience in actually providing ER Physician Services for the VA Emergency Department, 24-hours a day, 7-days a week and will be considered for special responsibility purposes”. Reference FAR part 9.104-2(a)

Question/request: Also, please let me know how many client evaluations you want completed on attachment D.8. I still do not see that information identified in the Instructions to Offerors. Additionally, I don’t see that it says how far back can we go on past performance, references, and applicable contracts?

To narrow that all down, can I use contracts that are older than 3 years past end date, and if not, can I use contracts and references from other Federal Agencies to demonstrate our level of experience and experience as it applies to this requirement?

Answer: As far as past performance, you should complete the forms (entirely) and provide what you have with regards to past performance. I suggest that you completely review the solicitation (please take your time so you don’t overlook something—doing this generates questions that are not needed). Please review the information starting on page 81. You will find the answer to your Past Performance question there.

Question: Would the Government please consider granting an extension to the date due?

Answer: No.

Question: Has the Government established a ceiling contract value for this requirement?

Answer: Yes. The government’s independent estimates will not be disclosed.

Question: In the document titled 36C25623R0009 P00003, it states that “Factor 4 Veteran participation of the evaluation criteria was removed as this is already a SDVOSB set aside.” The set-aside was not noted on the Sam.gov announcement; would the Government please confirm? On Page 1 of the SF1449 (v2) it appears that there is an “X” in the box next to unrestricted?

Answer: Please re-read the instructions of the solicitation and 36C25623R0009 P00004.

Question: The RFP (Amend05) states on page 76 of 101 that, “All Offerors must provide at least 3 years of prior experience in actually providing ER Physician Services for the VA Emergency Department 24-hours a day, 7-days a week and will be considered for special responsibility purposes.”

a. Question: We possess more than 3 years of experience providing ER Physicians to complex hospital environments for the Department of Defense. Will the Government consider/accept/evaluate such Past Performance to meet the above requirement?

Answer: Please re-read the specialized standard carefully and please do not skim. Then consider the “note” following the specialized standard. “Note: Prior experience is not past performance. Prior experience refers to whether an offeror has done similar work before; whereas, past performance describes how well the offeror has done that work.”

Ref: FAR 9.104-2(a) Part 9 - Contractor Qualifications | Acquisition.GOV

Question: Regarding the Specialized Standard, which is outlined below for Solicitation No:

36C25623R0009 - Onsite Emergency Room Physician Services, Jackson, MS; would the Government consider prior experience performing these services for the Department of Defense as acceptable for meeting the standard?

Answer: The response to your question is to please follow the instructions of the solicitation.

Please allow me to expound on the response.

Pardon me if the response is short and not a detailed response that you may be seeking—it is not my intent to be curt.

The reason for the short response is that your question calls for a determination to be made now so that you have assurances that what you want to submit is acceptable despite the specific information requested of the specialized standard.

Therefore it is best that the response to your question is that you should following the instructions of the solicitation.

(End of Amendment 0005) https://www.acquisition.gov/far/part-9#FAR_9_104_1