36C25918R0608-0003003.docx

Intraoperative Neuromonitoring Services

5. PROJECT NUMBER (if applicable)

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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

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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 ITE M 10A.

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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 r eference 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:

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Contractor

16C. DATE SIGNED

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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.

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(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.)

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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) 10-05-2018 36C259 Department of Veterans Affairs Network Contracting Office

NCO 19

6162 South Willow Drive, Suite 300 Greenwood Village CO 80111 36C259 Department of Veterans Affairs Network Contracting Office

NCO 19

6162 South Willow Drive, Suite 300 Greenwood Village CO 80111 To all Offerors/Bidders

36C25918R0608 10-05-2018

X X X October 31, 2018 3:00 PM MST This Amendment is issued to accomplish the following:

1. Extend the proposal due date to October 31, 2018 at 3:00 PM MST.

2. Extend Questions and Past Performance Questionnaire's to October 18, 2018 at 3:00 PM MST.

3. See Questions/Answers and Revised PWS on the following pages.

4. All other itens remain unchanged.

Terry Whitfield Contracting Officer Questions and Answers Solicitation: 36C25918R0608

1. Question: Is the contractor required to provide more than one? Reference: “The following employees of the contractor serve as the contractor’s program manager for this contract.”

Answer: The language has been update, see 3. Contractor Representatives.

2. Question: The price schedule does not include CLIN for instrumentation, is this required? If so please revise Price schedule. Reference: “Contractor shall provide qualified intraoperative neurophysiologic monitoring services and instrumentation for the beneficiaries of the Rocky Mountain Regional VA Medical Center for a base year plus four option years.”

Answer: The contractor will provide their own instrumentation and the cost should be included in your price proposal, there is not a separate CLIN.

3. Question: The CLIN is labeled 180 “each” should this be 180 “calls”?

Answer: The current language will stay as “each”.

4. Question: What are the Page Constraints and format requirements?

Answer: There are no page constraints or format requirements.

5. Question: PWS 6.1 does not address Invoicing, please provide invoicing requirements.

Answer: See Revised PWS – 6.2.1 Invoice requirements.

6. Question: 1: Can the Government please advise if this should be submitted as an individual file? Q Question: 2: Is the Resume required to be sanitized or un-sanitized?

Reference: Resume Packet

Answer: The government has no preference as how it is sent, it is up to the Offeror.

7. Question: There are no references to “sub-factors” in the Technical Capability or Past Performance, can the Government please clarify what sub-factors are and how they will be evaluated?

Reference: “All evaluation factors and any significant sub-factors that will affect contract award and their relative importance shall be clearly stated in the solicitation.”

Answer: See Evaluation Factors, Sub-factors are removed.

8. Question: There are none provided – can the Government please provide?

Reference: Section 1.3 DEFINITIONS/ACRONYMS

Answer: See Revised PWS, Definitions included.

9. Question: No requirements or details have been provided – can the Government please provide this information?

Reference: 2.4 KEY PERSONNEL AND EMERGENCY SUBSTITUTIONS

Answer: See Revised PWS under 2.4.1

10. Q: There is no Section 4.5.1.1 within the PWS can the Government please provide?

Reference: Performance Table, PWS Reference 4.5.1.1

Answer: See Revised PWS-table has been updated to 4.3.1 Patient Safety.

11. There is no Section 4.7 within the PWS can the Government please provide?

Reference: Performance Table, PWS Reference 4.7

Answer: See Revised PWS-table has been updated to 4.3.3 Patient Complaints.

12. Question: Will there be instances of multiple technicians required?

Reference: “and the ability to ensure that the requirement for the number of staff is requested and met at all times

Answer: There may be instances when additional technicians is needed but it is not a regular occurrence.

13. Question 1: Capability Statement – what requirements make up the capability statement?

Question 2: Resume packets for nominees – how many nominees are required?

Question 3: Is the Government requesting the actual contract documents for the (3) past performances required?

Reference: “Name and address of company, direct point of contact, Dun & Bradstreet number, business size, capability statement, copy of this solicitation with the proposed pricing filled in, resume packets for nominees, and three (3) existing or completed government contracts that demonstrates the firms’s ability to meet the above requirement along with any other pertinent information.”

Answer: Q1 Normally a capability statement includes your company business objectives, capabilities and Mission statement.

Answer: Q2: There is no quantity required, just list the qualified staff who would be working on the contract.

Answer: Q3: No, the contract is not needed, just the Questionnaire completed.

14. Question: Can the Government please clarify whom the contractor/Technicians will report to?

Reference: 2.1.5 The Requesting Surgeon is the Supervisor. 2.2.1 Contractors will report directly to the Chief, Surgical Services.

Answer: The Contractor/Technicians would report to the Chief of Surgery.

15. What is the revised due date for the Past Performance Questionnaires?

Answer: October 18, 2018 at 3:00 PM MST.

16. Regarding the proposed pricing worksheet for all (4) different Periods of Performance, the collective CLINs are structured in the following manner:

0001 - Baseline - 180 each 0002 - Intraoperative Monitoring - 800 hours Can you please elaborate on the 5 different CLINs that are labeled and structured as "Baseline - 180 each"? What does "Baseline" mean in this RFP?

Answer: The baseline is every time they come in for a procedure…they get $250 (baseline) + the hours they performed; so, 2.5 hours X 230 (per hour) = 250+575=$825.

We are anticipating 180 times to be called and the number of hours we anticipate, which equates to 800. This was also answered in Amendment 1.

17. Price Schedule: With a "Firm fixed price" if the quantity of unit’s changes, either greater or lesser than the estimated amount, does the price per unit still apply? Or does the "Firm Fixed Price" indicate a total cost for each year, regardless of the amount of Units (#cases)?

Answer: 1. If there are cases that go above the projected annual cases, the VA would re-evaluate the work load and could process a modification increasing services.

18. Call Obligations: Hour of Operation (section 3.1.1.1.), for the purposes of providing the right amount of "Standby" services available for urgent needs. Will the VA Hospital have surgeons assigned to take "Emergency Call" for urgent/emergency spine and Neurosurgery, in addition to performing urgent surgery based on the needs of already admitted patients, or post-op revisions?

Answer: Yes, as needed.

19. Professional Services: The Work Performance Statement describes the qualifications of the Technician, although I have not seen anything mentioned about the Neurology Oversight of the Technical Services. Will the VA Hospital provide Neurology oversight of the Technical staff? If not, is it assumed that the VA will grant privileges to our Neurology staff that provides off-site supervision of our Technical staff?

Answer: The VA Staff provides oversight.

21. Can the Government please advise if this requirement should be submitted as an individual file?

Reference: Past Performance Reference

Answer: The past performance questionnaire is a separate form that should be sent directly to susan.protho@va.gov by your reference.

22. I noticed that this Solicitation has been removed from www.fbo.gov. Has the solicitation been canceled?

Answer: The Solicitation has not been canceled. If the put in the Solicitation number it comes up in the system.

* If your question(s) was not listed, please re-submit to susan.protho@va.gov.*

Neuromonitoring Services

Performance Work Statement Intraoperative Neurophysiologic Monitoring Services Revised 10/4/2018

1. GENERAL

SERVICES REQUIRED: Contractor shall provide qualified intraoperative neurophysiologic monitoring services and instrumentation for the beneficiaries of the Rocky Mountain Regional VA Medical Center for a base year plus four option years. Neurophysiologic monitoring is the use of electrophysiological methods such as electroencephalography (EEG), electromyography (EMG), and evoked potentials to monitor the functional integrity of certain neural structures (e.g., nerves, spinal cord and parts of the brain) during surgery. The purpose of IONM is to reduce the risk to the patient of iatrogenic damage to the nervous system, and/or to provide functional guidance to the surgeon and anesthesiologist.

1.1. PLACE OF PERFORMANCE: The Rocky Mountain Regional VA Medical Center located at 1700 N. Wheeling St., Aurora, Colorado, 80045.

1.2. AUTHORITY: Public Law 104-262 and 38 USC 8153

1.3. DEFINITIONS/ACRONYMS- Terms used in this contract shall be interpreted as follows unless the context expressly requires a different construction and/or interpretation. In case of a conflict in language between the Definitions and other sections of this contract, the language in this section shall govern.

ACLS: Advanced Cardiac Life Support

BLS: Basic Life Support

CDR: Contract Discrepancy Report

CEU: Certified Education Unit

CME: Continuing Medical Education

Contracting Officer (CO) – The person executing this contract on behalf of the Government with the authority to enter into and administer contracts and make related determinations and findings.

Contracting Officer’s Representative (COR) – A person appointed by the CO to take necessary action to ensure the Contractor performs in accordance with and adheres to the specifications contained in the contract and to protect the interest of the Government. The COR shall report to the CO promptly any indication of non-compliance in order that appropriate action can be taken.

COS: Chief of Staff

CPARS: Contractor Performance Assessment Reporting System Credentialing: Credentialing is the systematic process of screening and evaluating qualification and other credentials, including licensure, required education, relevant training and experience and current competence and health status.

HHS: Department of Health and Human Services

HIPAA: Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act

PPD: Purified Protein Derivative

PWS: Performance Work Statement Privileging (Clinical Privileging): Privileging is the process by which a practitioner, licensed for 8independent practice; e.g., without supervision, direction, required sponsor, preceptor, mandatory collaboration, etc.; is permitted by law and the facility to practice independently, to provide specific medical or other patient care services within the scope of the individual’s license, based upon the individual’s clinical competence as determined by peer references, professional experience, health status, education, training and licensure. Clinical privileges must be facility-specific and provider-specific.

QASP: Quality Assurance Surveillance Plan

Veterans Health Administration (VHA): The central office for administration of the VA medical centers through throughout the United States. The VHA is located in Washington, D.C.

Veterans Integrated Services Network (VISN): The regional oversight for the VA medical centers in Michigan and Indiana.

VISTA (Veterans Integrated Systems Technology Architecture): A PC based system that will capture and store clinical imagery, scanned documents and other non-textual data files and integrates them into patient’s medical record and with the hospital information system.

Veterans Affairs Medical Center (VAMC): Unless identified with the name of a different VA medical Center, for purposes of this contract, this term shall mean the VA Eastern Colorado Health Care System, Denver VA Medical Center.

2. QUALIFICATIONS

3. Hours of Operation:

3.1.1.1. Contracted services must be available 24/7.

4.1.2.7. Instrumentation for spinal instability (to include pedicle and

4.2 MEDICAL RECORDS: Patient medical records are confidential and are protected by the Privacy Act of 1974, 5 U.S.C. 552a; VA Claims Confidentiality Statute, 38 U.S.C. 3301 and Drug/Alcohol Abuse Confidentiality Statute, 38 U.S.C. 4132 [Authority: Drug/Alcohol Reg. 42 C.F.R. 2.11(p)(2)]. Any breach of confidentiality and/or unauthorized release of information is subject to monetary penalty. Any individual making unauthorized disclosures may be criminally liable for violations of the Act.

4.2.1 Authorities

4.2.2 HIPAA: The contractor must adhere to the provisions of 45 C.F.R. Parts 160, 162, and 164 and Public Law 104-191, Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) of 1996 and 18 U.S.C. 1347.

4.2.3 HHS/OIG: To ensure that the individuals providing services under the contract have not:

engaged in fraud or abuse regarding Sections 1128 and 1128A of the Social Security Act regarding federal health care programs, the contractor is required to check the Health and Human Service – Office of Inspector General, List of excluded individuals/entities on the OIG Website (www.hhs.gov/oig) for each person providing services under this contract.

Further the contractor is required to certify in its proposal that all persons listed in the contractor’s proposal have been compared against the OIG list and are not listed. During the performance of this contract the Contractor is prohibited from using any individual or business listed on the List of Excluded Individuals/Entities. National Standards to protect the Privacy and Security of Protected Health Information (PHI).

4.2.4 Disclosure

4.2.5 Professional standards for documenting care

4.2.6 Release of Information: The Contractor and contract physicians shall only release medical information obtained during the course of this contract to those ECHCS staff member involved in the necessary care and treatment of that individual patient. Contractor shall provide Anesthesiology Health Care to ECHCS patients. As such, Contractor is considered part of the Department health care activity for purposes of the following statutes and the VA regulations implementing these statutes: the Privacy Act, 5 U.S.C. § 552a, and 38 U.S.C. §§ 5701, 5705, and 7332. Contractor and its employees may have access to ECHCS patient medical records to the extent necessary for the Contractor to perform this contract.

Notwithstanding any other provision of this contract, Contractor and its employees may disclose patient treatment records generated by the Contractor under this agreement only pursuant to explicit disclosure from ECHCS.

Contractor and its employees are subject to the penalties and liabilities provided in the statutes and regulations mentioned in this paragraph for unauthorized disclosures of such records and their contents. Records created by the Contractor in the course of treating ECHCS patients under this agreement are the property of the ECHCS and shall not be accessed, released, transferred or destroyed except in accordance with applicable federal law and regulations.

Subject to applicable federal confidentiality laws, Contractor or its designated representatives may have access to ECHCS records at ECHCS's place of business on request during normal business hours where necessary to perform the duties under this agreement. If this agreement is terminated for any reason, the Contractor will promptly provide the ECHCS with the individually identified patient treatment records. The Privacy Act applies to certain information about healthcare providers who are subcontractors.

If data is retrieved by the names of the individual healthcare professionals, the data the VHA receives is protected by the Privacy Act.

Accordingly, the VHA Privacy Officer should be consulted to ensure that ECHCS has a published system of records notice that will cover these records. If not, the Privacy Act requires that such notice be published prior to the maintenance of the records.

4.2.7 Automated Data Processing (ADP) Security: The ECHCS will provide the contract Otolaryngology physician(s) with the same access to Veterans Health Information and Technology Architecture (VISTA) as the ECHCS Otolaryngology personnel. All Contractors' Otolaryngology physicians accessing the VISTA system will be required to sign and abide by all VA security policies, and applicable VA confidentiality status, 38 U.S.C. 5701, 38 U.S.C 7332, and the Privacy Act, 5 U.S.C. 552a. These policies may be viewed in the office of the Director, IRMS. In addition, each individual working under this contract shall be required to sign and adhere to the items shown in the Statement of Commitment and Understanding for VA Contractor Employees, A copy of this signed statement shall be provided to the Contracting Officer.

4.3 PERFORMANCE STANDARDS, QUALITY ASSURANCE AND QUALITY IMPROVEMENT

4.3.1 Patient Safety Compliance and Reporting: Contractor’s physician(s) shall follow all established patient safety and infection control standards of care. Contractor’s physician(s) shall make every effort to prevent medication errors, falls, and patient injury caused by acts of commission or omission in the delivery of care. All events related to patient injury, medication errors, and other breeches of patient safety shall be reported to the COR VA Safety Policy. As soon as practicable (but within 24 hours) Contractors shall notify COR of incident and submit to the COR the Patient Safety Report, following up with COR as required or requested.

4.3.2 Quality Management/Quality Assurance Surveillance: Contractor physician(s) shall be subject to Quality Management measures, such as patient satisfaction surveys, timely completion of medical records, and Peer Reviews. Methods of Surveillance: Focused Provider Practice Evaluation (FPPE) and Ongoing Provider Practice Evaluation (OPPE). Contractor performance will be monitored by the government using the standards as outlined in this Performance Work Statement (PWS) and methods of surveillance detailed in the Quality Assurance Surveillance Plan (QASP). The QASP shall be attached to the resultant contract and shall define the methods and frequency of surveillance conducted.

4.3.3 Patient Complaints: The CO will resolve complaints concerning Contractor relations with the Government employees or patients. The CO is final authority on validating complaints. In the event that The Contractor is involved and named in a validated patient complaint, the Government reserves the right to refuse acceptance of the services of such personnel. This does not preclude refusal in the event of incidents involving physical or verbal abuse.

4.3.4 Methods of Surveillance: Contractors will sign in at the OR office upon arrival/departure for cases. Invoices will specify date/case/number of hours for each service performed.

4.3.5 Quality Assurance will be monitored in accordance with VHA Directive 2007-008 dated February 8, 2007, “Quality Reviews and Surgical Outcomes,” a copy of which shall be maintained in the Surgical Service Office.

4.3.6 Performance Standards: The QASP outlines required standards and will be a part of the resultant contract.

4.3.7 REQUIRED REGISTRATION WITH CONTRACTOR PERFORMANCE ASSESSMENT REPORTING SYSTEM (CPARS) As prescribed in Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) Part 42.15, the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) evaluates contractor past performance on all contracts that exceed $100,000, and shares those evaluations with other Federal Government contract specialists and procurement officials. The FAR requires that the contractor be provided an opportunity to comment on past performance evaluations prior to each report closing. To fulfill this requirement VA uses an online database, the Contractor Performance System (CPS), which is maintained by the National Institutes of Health (NIH). The CPS database information is shared with the Past Performance Information Retrieval System (PPIRS) database, which is available to all Federal agencies.

4.3.7.1 Each contractor whose contract award is estimated to exceed $100,000 is required to register with the NIH CPS database at the following web address: https://cpscontractor.nih.gov.

Help in registering can be obtained by contacting CPS Support E-mail (cps-support-@list.nih.gov ) or by calling (301) 451-2771.

Registration should occur no later than thirty days after contract award, and must be kept current should there be any change to the contractor’s registered representative.

4.3.7.2 For contracts with a period of one year or less, the contracting officer will perform a single evaluation when the contract is complete. For contracts exceeding one year, the contracting officer will evaluate the contractor’s performance annually. Interim reports will be filed each year until the last year of the contract, when the final report will be completed. The report shall be assigned in CPS to the contractor’s designated representative for comment. The contractor representative will have thirty days to submit any comments and re-assign the report to the VA contracting officer.

4.3.7.3 Failure to have a current registration with the NIH CPS database, or to re-assign the report to the VA contracting officer within those thirty days, will result in the Government’s evaluation being placed on file in the database with a statement that the contractor failed to respond.

4.3.8 Contractor Certification

4.3.8.1 The Contractor certifies that the Contractor shall comply with any and all legal provisions contained in the Immigration and Nationality Act of 1952, As Amended; its related laws and regulations that are enforced by Homeland Security, Immigration and Customs Enforcement and the US Department of Labor as these may relate to non-immigrant foreign nationals working under contract or subcontract for the Contractor while providing services to Department of Veterans Affairs patient referrals.

4.3.8.2 While performing services for the Department of Veterans Affairs, the Contractor shall not knowingly employ, contract or subcontract with an illegal alien; foreign national non-immigrant who is in violation their status, as a result of their failure to maintain or comply with the terms and conditions of their admission into the United States.

4.3.8.3 If the Contractor fails to comply with any requirements outlined in the preceding paragraphs or its Agency regulations, the Department of Veterans Affairs may, at its discretion, require that the foreign national who failed to maintain their legal status in the United States or otherwise failed to comply with the requirements of the laws administered by Homeland Security, Immigration and Customs Enforcement and the U.S. Department of Labor, shall be prohibited from working at the Contractor’s place of business that services Department of Veterans Affairs patient referrals; or other place where the Contractor provides services to veterans who have been referred by the Department of Veterans Affairs; and shall form the basis for termination of this contract for breach.

4.3.8.4 The Contractor agrees to obtain a similar certification from its subcontractors.

Typed Name and Title: ______________________________________ Company Name: ______________________________________

This certification concerns a matter within the jurisdiction of an agency of the United States and the making of a false, fictitious, or fraudulent certification may render the maker subject to prosecution under 18 U.S.C. 1001.

5. GOVERNMENT RESPONSIBILITIES

5.1 Oversight of Service/Performance Monitoring in accordance with the QASP.

PATIENT BILLING: VA beneficiaries shall not under any circumstances be charged nor their insurance companies charged for services rendered by the contractor even if the VA does not pay for those services. This provision shall survive the termination or ending of the contract.

6.1.1 Invoice requirements and supporting documentation: Supporting documentation and invoice must be submitted no later than the 20th workday of the month.

Subsequent changes or corrections shall be submitted by separate invoice. In addition to information required for submission of a “proper” invoice in accordance with FAR 52.212-4 (g), all invoices must include:

6.1.1.1. Name and Address of Contractor

6.1.1.2. Invoice Date and Invoice Number

6.1.1.3. Contract Number and Purchase/Task Order Number

6.1.1.4. Date of Service

6.1.1.5. Contractor’s physician(s)/nurse practitioner(s) (Name of Contractor’s employee)

6.1.1.6. Hourly Rate

6.1.1.7. Quantity of hours worked

6.1.1.8. Total price

Quality Assurance Surveillance Plan (QASP)

The contractor will be evaluated in accordance with the following:

1. PURPOSE

This Quality Assurance Surveillance Plan (QASP) provides a systematic method to evaluate performance for the stated contract. This QASP explains the following:

This QASP does not detail how the contractor accomplishes the work. Rather, the QASP is created with the premise that the contractor is responsible for management and quality control actions to meet the terms of the contract. It is the Government’s responsibility to be objective, fair, and consistent in evaluating performance.

This QASP is a “living document” and the Government may review and revise it on a regular basis. However, the Government shall coordinate changes with the contractor through contract modification. Copies of the original QASP and revisions shall be provided to the contractor and Government officials implementing surveillance activities.

2. GOVERNMENT ROLES AND RESPONSIBILITIES

The following personnel shall oversee and coordinate surveillance activities.

a. Contracting Officer (CO) – The CO shall ensure performance of all necessary actions for effective contracting, ensure compliance with the contract terms, and shall safeguard the interests of the United States in the contractual relationship. The CO shall also assure that the contractor receives impartial, fair, and equitable treatment under this contract. The CO is ultimately responsible for the final determination of the adequacy of the contractor’s performance.

Assigned CO: Terry Whitfield Assigned Contract Specialist: Susan M. Protho Organization or Agency: Department of Veterans Affairs

b. Contracting Officer’s Technical Representative (COR) – The COR is responsible for technical administration of the contract and shall assure proper Government surveillance of the contractor’s performance. The COR shall keep a quality assurance file. The COR is not empowered to make any contractual commitments or to authorize any contractual changes on the Government’s behalf.

Assigned COR Mary Ellen Winkler, Program Specialist, Surgical Service, VA Eastern Colorado Health Care System.

3. CONTRACTOR REPRESENTATIVES

The following employee and or employees of the contractor serve as the contractor’s program manager for this contract.

4. PERFORMANCE STANDARDS

Performance standards define desired services. The Government performs surveillance to determine if the contractor exceeds, meets or does not meet these standards.

The Performance Requirements are listed below in Section 6. The Government shall use these standards to determine contractor performance and shall compare contractor performance to the standard and assign a rating.

5. INCENTIVES/DEDUCTS

The Government shall use past performance as incentives. Incentives shall be based on exceeding, meeting, or not meeting performance standards.

6. METHODS OF QA SURVEILLANCE

Various methods exist to monitor performance. The COR shall use the surveillance methods listed below in the administration of this QASP.

Reference Performance Requirement

Method

(Deduct)

Other performance evaluation factors will be monitored that are not quantified by numerical measurements which include: no inappropriate prescriptions; patient customer service comments; provider and Contractor relationship with hospital staff/government contracting personnel; compliance with hospital policy and procedures.

The contractor is responsible for performance of ALL terms and conditions of the contract, the elements above represent those that will be subject to ongoing reporting by the COR in accordance with this plan.

a. DIRECT OBSERVATION. 100% surveillance

b. PERIODIC INSPECTION. Inspections scheduled annually or as needed. 10 randomly selected patient files per inspection period.

c. VALIDATED USER/CUSTOMER COMPLAINTS. Customer complaint data is compiled quarterly and reviewed by Service Chief – any validated complaints against a Contractor that are not resolved within the required seven-day period will be further investigated.

d. RANDOM SAMPLING. Patient treatment files to be reviewed will be randomly selected and cover the period of service.

e. Verification and/or documentation provided by Contractor.

7. RATINGS

Metrics and methods are designed to determine if performance exceeds, meets, or does not meet a given standard and acceptable quality level. A rating scale shall be used to determine a positive, neutral, or negative outcome. The following ratings shall be used:

8. DOCUMENTING PERFORMANCE

a. ACCEPTABLE PERFORMANCE The Government shall document positive performance. Any report may become a part of the supporting documentation for any contractual action.

b. When unacceptable performance occurs, the CO shall inform the contractor. This will normally be in writing unless circumstances necessitate verbal communication. In any case the CO shall document the discussion and place it in the contract file. When the CO determines formal written communication is required, the CO shall prepare a Contract Discrepancy Report (CDR), and present it to the contractor's program manager.

The contractor shall acknowledge receipt of the CDR in writing.

The CDR will specify if the contractor is required to prepare a corrective action plan to document how the contractor shall correct the unacceptable performance and avoid a recurrence. The CDR will also state how long after receipt the contractor has to present this corrective action plan to the CO. The Government shall review the contractor's corrective action plan to determine acceptability.

Any CDRs may become a part of the supporting documentation for any contractual action deemed necessary by the CO.

9. FREQUENCY OF MEASUREMENT

a. Frequency of Measurement.

During contract performance, the COR will periodically analyze whether the negotiated frequency of surveillance is appropriate for the work being performed.

b. Frequency of Performance Assessment Meetings.

The COR shall meet with The Contractor semi-annually to assess performance and shall provide a written assessment.

SIGNED CONTRACTOR DATE

SIGNED COR DATE

The period of performance is from December 14, 2018 to December 13, 2023.

Delivery of services shall be provided on stated effective date of contract. The contractor shall deliver line item(s) 0001 through 4001 listed above under services to place of performance listed below.

Place of Performance

Rocky Mountain Regional VA Medical Center 1700 N. Wheeling St.

Aurora, Colorado, 80045

Award shall be made to the offeror whose proposal is determined to meet the needs of this requirement based on the best value to the government, considering technical capability, past performance, and price (SEE EVALUATION FACTORS BELOW). The government will evaluate information based on the evaluation criteria stated within this solicitation.

EVALUATION FACTORS:

This acquisition will utilize competitive procedures through the development of a source selection plan to select the proposal that represents the best value to the VA. All evaluation factors that will affect contract award and their relative importance shall be clearly stated in the solicitation. Through this competitive process, this will ensure the VA receives a fair and reasonable price and that we receive the best possible treatment for our patients requiring Neuromonitoring services. Evaluation factors in which submitted proposals will be evaluated are as follows:

Technical Capability: This factor covers the company’s ability to meet the needs of this requirement while managing critical elements that are associated with this requirement (i.e. scheduling and 24-hour coverage of required services, ensuring personnel meet all qualification, licensing, and credentialing requirements, and the ability to ensure that the requirement for the number of staff is requested and met at all times).

Past Performance: This factor will be evaluated at the factor level without sub-factors and will be used to assess an offeror’s likelihood of performing successfully on this contract. Past Performance will be assessed for relevancy and success. For this factor:

(1) The Government shall review available past performance data in the Federal Awardee Performance and Integrity Information System found in the Past Performance Information Retrieval System found at https://fapiis.ppirs.gov/.

(2) Offerors may identify three (3) current or recently completed (within the past three years) contracts that are similar in scope and dollar value to the contract being offered herein, to include contract names, dates of performance, point of contact, telephone number, and email address. Contracts listed may include those entered into with the Federal Government, State or local agencies, or commercial customers.

(3) Each offeror shall provide their references with a copy of the Past Performance Questionnaire (Attachment 1) and have it returned to Susan M. Protho by the response date listed on the questionnaire. Questionnaires shall be emailed to susan.protho @va.gov from the references only.

(4) The Government reserves the right to obtain past performance information from any available source and may contact customers other than those identified by the Offeror when evaluating past performance.

(5) In accordance with FAR 15.305(a)(2)(iv), if an offeror has no record of relevant past performance or for whom information is not available, they will not be rated favorably or unfavorably.

Cost/Price: The Government is anticipating that through solicitation of this requirement, a fair and reasonable price can be obtained from prospective offerors. However, when combined, Technical and Past Performance factors are more important than the price. All evaluation factors will be clearly stated in the solicitation.

Proposals received will be evaluated and rated in descending order reflecting the Governments assessment of solicitation compliance with an order of precedence as follows;

Excellent Proposal demonstrates superior understanding of requirements and approach that exceeds performance or capability standards. Has several strengths that will significantly benefit the Government. Risk of unsuccessful performance is minimal.

Good Proposal demonstrates a good understanding of requirements and approach that meets performance or capability standards. Has one or more strengths that will benefit the Government. Risk of unsuccessful performance is low.

Satisfactory Proposal demonstrates an acceptable understanding of requirements and approach that can meet performance or capability standards. Acceptable solutions are identified. No strengths are identified. Risk of unsuccessful performance is moderate.

Marginal Proposal demonstrates shallow understanding of requirements and approach that marginally meets performance or capability standards. Risk of unsuccessful performance is moderately high

Unsatisfactory Proposal fails to demonstrate an understanding of requirements or capability standards. Requirements can only be met with major changes to the proposal. Risk of unsuccessful performance is high.