36C25923Q0287.docx

SUBJECT*

Inpatient Dialysis Services

GENERAL INFORMATION

SET-ASIDE

Network Contracting Office

NCO 19

6162 South Willow Drive, Suite 300 Greenwood Village CO 80111

POINT OF CONTACT*

Jim Lewis james.lewis114fbb@va.gov

PLACE OF PERFORMANCE

921 NE 13th St.

Oklahoma City OK

SOURCES SOUGHT SYNOPSIS ONLY

1. The Department of Veterans Affairs, Network Contracting Office 19, is seeking sources for a potential agreement to provide Inpatient Dialysis treatments in the Oklahoma City VAMC, Oklahoma City, OK. See the attached abridged Performance Work Statement (PWS) for more details.

2. The purpose of this synopsis is to gain knowledge of potential qualified sources and their size classification (HUBZone, 8(a), small, small disadvantage, service-disabled veteran owned small business, veteran owned small business or large business) relative to NAICS 561320 – Temporary Help Services ($34.5 Million size standard). Responses to this synopsis will be used by the Government to make appropriate acquisition decisions. After review of the responses to this Sources Sought synopsis, a solicitation announcement may be published on Contract Opportunities or GSA. Responses to this Sources Sought synopsis are not considered adequate responses to the solicitation announcement.

Company Name:

Address:

GSA/FSS contract number:

SAM Unique Entity ID Number:

Contact Name:

Phone No.:

Email:

3. Notice to potential offerors: All offerors who provide goods or services to the United States Federal Government must be registered in the System for Award Management (SAM) located at https://sam.gov. Additionally, all Service-Disabled Veteran Owned Small Businesses or Veteran Owned Small Businesses who respond must be registered with the U.S Small Business Administration VetCert Registry located at https://veterans.certify.sba.gov.

4. This is a Sources Sought announcement ONLY and is NOT a request for proposals or quotes.

5. In response to this announcement, please provide the following information:

6. This notice is neither a request for competitive proposal nor solicitation of offerors. This notice is to assist the VA in determining sources only and a solicitation is not currently available. If a solicitation is issued it will be announced later, and all interested parties must respond to that solicitation announcement separately from this response. Responses to this Sources Sought is not a request to be added to a prospective bidders list or to receive a copy of the solicitation. Information received as a result of this notice will normally be considered solely for the purpose of determining whether to conduct a competitive procurement. This notice does not represent a commitment by the Government to pay for costs incurred in the preparation and submission of information or any other costs incurred as a response to this announcement. Inquiries will only be accepted in writing via email to james.lewis114fbb@va.gov on or before March 10, 2023 by 4:00 pm MST.

Performance Work Statement

This contract is effective one year from date of award plus four (4) one-year options that may be exercised by the VA. The contract is subject to the availability of funds.

3. QUALIFICATIONS:

Personnel assigned by the Contractor to perform the services covered by this contract shall be licensed in a State, Territory, or Commonwealth of the United States or the District of Columbia. All licenses held by the personnel working on this contract shall be full and unrestricted licenses. The qualifications of such personnel shall also be subject to review by the VA Associate Director of Patient Care Services (ADPCS) and approval by the VA Facility Director. Each person assigned to work under this contract shall be licensed by the State of Oklahoma.

any other day specifically declared by the President of the United States to be a national holiday.

The contractor shall be responsible for protecting the personnel furnishing services under this contract. To carry out this responsibility, the contractor shall provide the following for these personnel:

The parties agree that the contractor, its employees, agents and subcontractors shall not be considered VA employees for any purpose.

6. CONTRACT PERFORMANCE MONITORING:

The Contracting Officer Representative (COR), shall be the VA official responsible for verifying contract compliance. After contract award, any incidents of contractor noncompliance as evidenced by the monitoring procedures shall be forwarded immediately to the Contracting Officer (CO).

7. KEY PERSONNEL AND TEMPORARY EMERGENCY SUBSTITUTIONS:

The Contractor shall assign to this contract the following key personnel:

The contractor shall provide inpatient dialysis including, but not limited to hemodialysis, Continuous Ambulatory Peritoneal Dialysis (CAPD), and Continuous Renal Replacement Therapy (CRRT) treatments, Continuous Veno-Venous Hemodialysis (CVVHD) treatments, Continuous Cyclical Peritoneal Dialysis (CCPD) treatments, and additional clinical treatments related to dialysis patients (CRRT line change, declotting of tunnel caths, etc.) for the Oklahoma City Veterans Administrations Medical Center’s (OKC VAMC) inpatients and outpatients (when clinically indicated) as required. Operating hours will be 8:00 AM to 8:00 PM, Monday through Saturday. All treatments outside of these hours will be provided on a call back basis to include federal holidays. The Contractor will make available a sufficient number of licensed nurses trained in extracorporeal therapy, including acute dialysis treatments, necessary to provide scheduled and emergency dialysis services at the OKC VAMC seven days a week, 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. The Contractor will provide appropriate contact information for emergent, immediate and routine services provided to the OKC VAMC. The acceptable response time is within one (1) hour of being contacted. The Contractor’s staff will notify the Clinical Liaison, Nurse Supervisor, or designee of their arrival at and departure from the location where the procedure is performed.

MANDATED TRAINING:

The Nursing Service COR will present and document work site orientation before the commencement of work on-site. Contractors are required to also complete and provide documentation of additional mandated training to include, but not limited to the courses below.

VA Rules of Behavior *Including: Fit Testing, TB, BLS, ACLS, and Safe Patient Handling Additional trainings may be added throughout contract.

All staff will be issued computer access codes and PIV cards.

Computerized Patient Record System (CPRS) Training: Prior to commencement of work under this contract, the COR will ensure the Contractor’s employee receives proper access to the VA computer systems. The COR will coordinate the training with staff.

DOCUMENTATION:

Dialysis staff performing the service shall document all patient interventions in CPRS, including all progress notes, orders, and consults. Computerized templates shall be used when available. All documentation shall be entered and signed within the established timeframes and guidelines. Clinic visits encounters shall be completed at the time of the visit using CPRS.

MINIMUM DOCUMENTATION STANDARDS:

The Contractor is responsible for utilizing the CPRS in VISTA. The Contractor will attend CPRS training prior to providing any patient care services, including on-call/emergency coverage at the OKCVAHCS. The Contractor will document patient care in CPRS to comply with all VA and TJC requirements.

Unapproved abbreviations, as listed in Center Memorandum 136-10 “Unapproved Abbreviations and Symbols for Medical Record Use,” will not be used.

CONTRACTOR MONITORING BY SERVICE:

At the time of contract award, the Contracting Officer will appoint a COR to assist with the contract monitoring requirements. The COR will monitor such items as quality of service, timeliness of performance, customer service, cost control, and business relations. The Contractor will participate in all Nursing Service quality performance tracers and environment of care rounds, if not meeting compliance standards Contractor will correct deficiencies. The Contractor will make corrections as needed to comply with the OKCVAHCS policies, TJC standards, and additional accrediting bodies.

The COR for Nursing Service is responsible for monitoring the services provided under this contract.

The COR will ensure that services are performed and be responsible for handling service-related requirements necessary for patient care.

The services provided will be monitored through a variety of mechanisms, including but not limited to:

The Government may evaluate the quality of professional and administrative services provided; but retains no control over the medical, professional aspects of services rendered (e.g., professional judgments, diagnosis for specific medical treatment), in accordance with FAR 37.401(b).

The delegated COR will notify the Contracting Officer of any non-compliance immediately upon his/her gaining knowledge of any such situation or incident. Initial communication may be communicated by telephone. After such communication, the COR will provide a written/electronic statement to the contracting officer along with any supporting documentation regarding the performance failure noted.

A summary evaluation of the contractor performance will be forwarded to the contracting officer annually prior to exercising any option year.

The COR and/or Clinical Liaison will maintain a competency folder for each contractor employee throughout the contract period in accordance with OKCVAHCS and TJC requirements. The contractor will assist in maintaining the folder. This will include documentation on an annual basis and upon initial start date for core competency (OKCVAHCS form), Licensure, role-specific competency (OKCVAHCS form), age/population competency (OKCVAHCS form), performance evaluation and performance standards, job description, supervisor 90 day checklist (OKCVAHCS form), orientation skills checklist (OKCVAHCS form) must be completed and provided to the COR upon request/after completion.

ADDITIONAL CONTRACT MONITORING:

OKCVAHCS will monitor mortality/morbidity; clinical outcomes; access and timeliness of care; patient satisfaction; regulatory and accrediting standards, reporting adverse events; and access to patient records.

The Contracting Officer shall arrange for periodic audits of the level of service, in addition to utilizing the Quality Assurance Surveillance Plan herein. This documentary audit may include records of procedures performed, patient records, time and attendance logs or documentation mechanism, sign in/sign out sheets or other appropriate records that verify services called for under the contract have been performed by the Contractor.

It is the intention of both parties to conduct joint reviews prior to the expiration date of the contract to determine and evaluate if services being provided are in accordance with the contract terms, payments and billings are being properly handled and to jointly determine if this agreement is satisfactory to both parties in terms of services provided and consideration being received. This review may include, but not be limited to analyze all billings, payments, costs, administrative issues, patient satisfaction, quality of care and other related documentation that identifies that services has been received.

Upon conclusion of the initial contract period, and in coordination with the Contracting Officer, the using service shall provide a statement to the Contracting Officer providing a summary of contractor actions and a statement that all requirements of the contract were fulfilled as agreed. This information shall be forwarded by the COR to the Contracting Officer at least 90 days prior to contract expiration.

QUALITY ASSURANCE SURVEILLANCE PLAN:

2 - Quality Care

RATINGS:

Metrics and methods are designed to determine rating for a given standard and acceptable quality level. The following ratings shall be used:

The contractor is responsible for performance of all terms and conditions of this contract.

DOCUMENTING PERFORMANCE:

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 must present this corrective action plan to the CO. The Government shall review the contractor's corrective action plan to determine acceptability. The CO shall also assure that the contractor receives impartial, fair, and equitable treatment. The CO is ultimately responsible for the final determination of the adequacy of the contractor’s performance and the acceptability of the Contractor’s corrective action plan.

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

INSURANCE:

The Contractor will provide a certificate of insurance providing evidence of liability coverage including the name of the insurance carrier, limits of liability and type of coverage. Contractor must provide evidence of coverage within two weeks of request.

HEALTH INSURANCE PORTABILITY AND ACCOUNTABILITY ACT (HIPAA) COMPLIANCE:

The Contractor must adhere to the provisions of Public Law 104-191, HIPAA of 1996 and the National Standards to Protect the Privacy and Security of Protected Health Information (PHI).

LIABILITY:

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

MEDICAL RECORDS:

The Contractor will provide health care to patients seeking such care from or through VA. As such, the Contractor is considered part of the Nursing Service health activity for purposes of the following statues and the VA regulations implementing these statues: The Privacy Act, 5.U.S.C. § 552a, and 38 U.S.C. §s 5701, 7705 and 7332. The Contractor and its employees may have access to VA patient medical records to the extent necessary for the contract or to perform this contract. Notwithstanding any other provision of this contract, contractor and its employees may disclose patient treatment records only pursuant to explicit disclosure authority from VA. The Contractor and its employees are subject to the penalties and liabilities provided statutes and regulations for unauthorized disclosures of such records and their contents. Records created by the Contractor in the course of treating VA patients under this agreement are the property of the VA and shall not be accessed, released, transferred or destroyed except in accordance with applicable federal law and regulations. Upon the expiration of this contract or termination of the contract, the Contractor will promptly provide the VA with the individually identified VA patient treatment records.

CONTACT POINTS:

Overall contract responsibility: The Contracting Officer that awards this agreement is the responsible party for conducting all of the requirements outlined in this contract. The Contracting Officer may designate another Contracting Officer to administer functions during the contract administration of this agreement. If the contracting officer determines that this is necessary, the delegation will be in writing and outline the specific duties and limitations accordingly.

Both the VA and Contractor will provide the necessary contact points for those individuals that will interface with each other during the life of the contract. The Contracting Officer will coordinate the review of the payment submitted by the contractor, review the payment for accuracy; ensure proper and timely certification by the authorized individuals;

The contractor will be required to provide their key personnel/contact points to ensure a smooth flow between the departments in their facility and VA. A listing of contact points will be provided to the VA within 30 days after execution of this agreement.

CONFLICT OF INTEREST:

Under the performance of this contract, a Government employee who is employed by the Contractor is prohibited from participating on behalf of the Government through decision, approval, disapproval, recommendation, rendering of advice, certifying for payment or otherwise in that contract. No VA Employee who is an employee, director or trustee of an affiliated university, or who has a financial interest in the contract, may lawfully participate in a VA contract or any other Government contract with this contractor.

In relation to the contract monitoring procedures, a Government employee who is employed by the contractor may not certify bills for payment. This requirement shall be performed by an employee who is not employee, officer, director or trustee of the contractor, and who does not have a financial interest in the contract.

OTHER SPECIAL REQUIREMENTS:

The Contractor will be responsible to ensure that employees performing services under this contract are fully trained and completely competent to perform the required work. The Contractor’s employee will undergo verification of licensure and credentials, as appropriate, including the supervision, training and ongoing competency assessment of the employee on an annual basis.

The Contractor and OKCVAHCS are required to maintain records that document the competency/performance level of Contractor’s employee working under this contract in accordance with VA medical center policies and higher headquarter procedures and directives. The Contractor will provide a current copy of the competency assessment checklist and annual performance evaluation to the COR for the employee working under this contract.

COR will monitor the Contractor employee’s work to ensure contract compliance with all applicable medical center policies and procedures. All information required by the Food & Drug Administration (FDA) for the tracking of devices implanted during surgery shall be included in the patient’s medical record.

Notwithstanding other contract requirements, upon request of the Contracting Officer, the Contractor will remove from the work site any Contractor employee who does not comply with medical center policies and procedures, regulatory and accrediting standards or is believed to have compromised patient care.

If there is a need to change personnel during the performance of this contract, the Contractor will promptly notify the contracting officer of their intent to do so. The new individual will be subject to the qualifications, credentials, security and all other terms and conditions of this contract.

Contracting Officials need to work with the COR and the ISO to:

BILLING:

VA will be the only entity that will make payments for services rendered under this contract. The contractor will not bill any third party, insurance carrier, Medicare, or Medicaid. The VA or a patient beneficiary will not be billed for any co-payments under this agreement.

All billing will be contingent on the service being documented in CPRS.

PRICING SCHEDULE:

Attached herein under Schedule of Services and Costs

INVOICES:

GOVERNMENT INVOICE ADDRESS:

a. Invoices shall be certified by the COR. Payment will be made upon certification of invoice. All invoices from the Contractor shall be mailed to the following address:

Department of Veterans Affairs

FMS-VA-2(101)

Financial Services Center PO Box 149971 Austin TX 78714-8971