Beneficiary Lodging SOW FY26.pdf

B.2 STATEMENT OF WORK

Veteran Self-Care Lodging Services

Social Work Service VA Portland Health Care System (VAPORHCS)

3710 NW US Veterans Hospital Road Portland, OR 97239-2999

1. GENERAL

The contractor shall provide hotel services for patient lodging for an estimated daily twenty

(20) pre-approved patients Sunday through Thursday and an estimated daily six (6) pre-approved patients for Friday and three (3) for Saturday for the VA Portland Health Care System (VAPORHCS). The rooms shall be fully furnished. If additional rooms are authorized and available, they shall be provided at the same rate. The number of rooms required during the contract period may be subject to increase and/or decrease, as the need arises. Veterans, as well as significant others, shall be referred to the contractor's facility for lodging. Contractor shall be obligated to hold the rooms for patients until at least 6 pm every evening, Sunday through Saturday.

2. CONDITIONS

Only the cost of the daily room rate shall be the responsibility of VAPORHCS. All other costs for meals, incidentals, telephone calls and other amenities available at or delivered to the Veteran beneficiary, shall be the sole responsibility of the Veteran beneficiary at the time of checkout. These charges shall be paid for by the Veteran providing a credit card at time of check-in or by other methods of payment approved by the contractor.

3. ROOM RATES

Room rates offered shall be single occupancy (1 bed) or double occupancy (2 beds), depending on the presence of a spouse, significant other and/or caregiver for each individual patient. Contractor shall provide a minimum of twenty-seven (27) standard rooms Sunday through Thursday, and three (3) standard rooms Friday through Saturday.

Insomuch as possible, the rooms shall be in a reasonably quiet, tranquil location within the facility or facilities. Contractor shall allow the caregiver, driver, and/or attendant to stay with the Veterans, at no additional cost to the Veteran beneficiary or the Government.

Daily room rates will include all applicable taxes, fees, and any other no-charge services offered to guests of the hotel/motel. Contractor will offer one and only one room rate.

The room rate will cover reservations for SINGLE OCCUPANCY and for DOUBLE OCCUPANY. The room rate will cover rooms with one (1) bed of queen size or larger or two (2) queen size beds. The Veteran will be allowed their caregiver, driver, and/or attendant to stay in the same room with them. Any additional rooms for caregivers, drivers, and/or attendants are the sole responsibility of the Veteran or the caregiver, driver, and/or attendant.

A. Daily room rates will include daily changes of linens and toiletries and daily maid service, unless contractor offers opt in/out for deferred maid/room service

B. Daily room rates will include free parking.

C. Daily room rates will include free wireless internet access.

D. Daily room rates will include, at least, one touch tone telephone (no deposit required). Telephone service will be capable of long-distance calls when long distance calls are placed using a telephone calling card or other telephone charge method. Any long-distance charges are the responsibility of the occupant and not of VAPORHCS. Telephone service will be equipped with voice messaging system or front desk message service.

E. Daily room rates will include, at the minimum, a complimentary continental breakfast.

F. Daily room rates will include 24-hour front desk coverage.

4. FACILITY

VAPORHCS requires approximately twenty (20) hotel/motel rooms be held per day for Veteran beneficiaries from Sunday through Thursday, approximately six (6) hotel/motel rooms per day on Friday and three (3) rooms on Saturday. At least half of these rooms must be DOUBLE OCCUPANCY.

• Rooms shall be wheelchair accessible. In no case shall there be interior or access stairs in any of the rooms assigned to Veteran beneficiaries.

Wheelchair accessible rooms must be available and comply with Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) guidelines. All ADA rooms must be located on the ground floor or accessible by an ADA compliant elevator.

• All rooms shall be non-smoking rooms.

• All rooms shall be fully furnished and shall include vendor-provided utilities, customary room amenities, and other specified services in this contract.

• All rooms shall be in a single hotel or motel property.

• All communal areas, such as lobbies, hallways, restrooms and laundry rooms, must be wheelchair accessible.

5. SAFETY

Buildings in which space is offered shall be evaluated in accordance with the latest editions of the National Fire Codes and the Uniform Building Codes.

Maintenance by the vendor of vendor-owned fire extinguisher(s) shall be in accordance with the (NFPA) Standard No. 101.

Smoke detectors shall be installed in each guestroom, office/storage area, hallway and other communal areas -in accordance with the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) standard 72.

Facility shall comply with all City, County, State and Federal Building Codes and ordinances applicable to ownership and operation of the building in which the rooms are located.

Facility must meet the minimum fire safety requirements. Facility shall be incompliance with the Hotel and Motel Fire Safety Act of 1990 (PL 101-3) Facility must be professional clean and sanitary

Facility shall have an automatic sprinkler system, with a sprinkler head in each guestroom in compliance with the (NFPA) standards 13 or l 3R. Properties three stories or lower in height are exempt from the sprinkler requirement.

6. RESERVATIONS

A. Hotel/motel rooms are to be held for reservation by authorized VAPORHCS staff for eligible Veteran beneficiaries until 6 pm. If no reservation has been made by 6 pm on that day, the hotel/motel rooms are released for use. If a reservation has been made, the room must be held until 6 pm to allow time for the lodger to check-in. If the lodger does not check-in or notify the hotel by 6 pm of a late arrival, the vendor may release the reserved room for that night. If the lodger arrives late without notifying the vendor and the reserved room was released and provided to another client, the vendor is authorized to lodge the Veteran in comparable room, as available.

B. The vendor shall allow occupancy of the room covered by this contract for the specific individual referred by authorized VAPORHCS personnel using a signed reservation and authorization form. VAPORHCS will inform the vendor of each Veteran’s name, date of arrival, and duration of stay.

C. Services shall be performed seven days a week. General check-in time may begin at 2 pm and general check out time will be at 11:00 a.m. Early and late check-in and check-out times may be arranged by authorized VAPORHCS personnel or the Veteran with hotel/motel staff.

i. Authorized VAPORHCS personnel are available at a minimum during the time period 7:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. on normal business days (Monday through Friday). They can be reached at (503) 220-8262 ext. 58200.

After hours, during weekends, and on holidays, the Administrative Officer of the Day (AOD) is authorized to attend to self-care lodging issues and can be reached at (503) 220-8262 ext. 55424. The VAPORHCS operator can be reached at (503) 220-8262 and may be able to locate self-care lodging staff or to page the AOD as needed;

ii. An authorization form will be sent by VAPORHCS self-care lodging staff or the Administrative Officer of the Day (AOD) to the vendor via secure electronic means. The authorization form will be signed by an approving official. Any authorization forms other than an original one provided to the Contractor via secure electronic means will not be accepted by VAPORHCS for payment of room rental;

iii. The authorized dates and length of stay will be documented on the authorization form.

D. Hotels/motels reserve the right to deny lodging services to a VAPORHCS Veteran beneficiary on the basis of disruptive or inappropriate behavior by the beneficiary or the beneficiary’s companion, or due to flagrant disregard for hotel/motel property, policy, or personnel by the beneficiary Veteran or the beneficiary Veteran’s companion(s). Hotel/motel staff are to notify Self- Care Lodging staff, in writing via letter or email, of the Veteran’s name and the date and description of the incident.

7. RESTAURANT/CONTINENTAL BREAKFAST

Lodging facility shall be within walking distance of a reasonably priced restaurant.

Vendor shall provide menus and/or listing of restaurants that are nearby to the hotel. The vendor shall allow food to be delivered to their facility for the Veteran if the Veteran cannot go get their own food.

Lodging facility shall provide a daily continental breakfast available for the Veteran.

8. CHECK-IN I CHECK-OUT

The Self-Care Lodging staff, or other authorized VA personnel shall inform the vendor of the name and time each specific, VA-referred occupant is expected to be checking in/out of the hotel/motel via faxed voucher. In the event a VA-referred occupant refuses to leave the room, the vendor shall immediately notify the Self- Care Lodging staff or other authorized VA personnel. For the purposes of this contract, the vendor shall use existing check-in/check-out times.

9. EXTENTIONS I CANCELLATIONS

Self-Care Lodging staff or other authorized VA personnel shall have the option of extending VA patient stays at the agreed upon rate as indicated.

In the event that the requested rooms are not needed and/or required, Self-Care Lodging staff or other authorized VA personnel shall have the option to request same day cancellations at no additional cost to the government.The Self-Care Lodging staff, or other authorized VA personnel shall cancel the rooms before 6 pm each day if possible. VAPORHCS shall not be charged for the rooms unless they are utilized.

10. DAMAGES

The room occupant shall be liable for any damages occurred during occupancy.

VAPORHCS shall not assume any liability for such damages or theft of property.

These charges shall be paid for by the Veteran providing a credit card at time of check-in or by other methods of payment approved by the Contractor.

11. EMERGENCIES

VA-referred occupants are afforded no special emergency privileges and shall be instructed to utilize local 911emergency services in the event of an emergency. If the Contractor becomes aware that a VA-referred occupant appears to be involved in an emergency of any kind, the Contractor shall contact local 911 emergency services and the Self-Care Lodging staff or other authorized VA personnel.

12. INSPECTION AND ACCEPTANCE

The hotel/motel facility shall be inspected by VA staff cognizant with the requirements and appropriate standards prior to award of this contract or the exercise of any option periods. The Contracting Officer shall notify the Contractor COR or POC prior to the inspections and set-up the date, times and decide with the Contractor POC, COR and/or his/her designee to inspect the Contractor facility.

13. CONTRACTING OFFICERS REPRESENTATIVE (COR)

Delegation of Authority letters shall be forwarded to the using service and the Contractor after agreement has been signed, identifying the individual(s) as the COR(s). No service shall be provided without the approval of the COR or his/her designee of this contract. The Contractor shall not accept any instructions issued by any other person(s) other than the Contracting Officer or his/her delegated representative acting within the limits of his/her authority.

14. HOURS OF SERVICE

Except by special alternative arrangement, VAPORHCS holds the following business hours. Business Hours/Days are defined as the time of 7:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., Monday through Friday, excluding Federal holidays:

• New Year's Day (January 1)*;

• Martin Luther King's Day (third Monday in January);

• President's Day (third Monday in February);

• Memorial Day (last Monday in May);

• Juneteenth June 19

• Independence Day (July 4)*;

• Labor Day (first Monday in September);

• Columbus Day (second Monday in October);

• Veteran's Day (November 11);

• Thanksgiving Day (fourth Thursday in November);

• Christmas Day (December 25)*.

* If the date falls on a Saturday, the Government holiday is the preceding Friday. If the date falls on a Sunday, the Government holiday is the following Monday.

In addition to the designated holidays, the Government observes the following days:

• Any other day designated by Federal Statute;

• Any other day designated by Executive Order;

• Any other day designated by the President's Proclamation.

Should contractor have any date(s) in which they are not able to provide the set aside number of rooms identified in section 1 of this document, contractor will notify Self-Care Lodging staff immediately. Should the lodging provider be unable to lodge eligible beneficiaries as specified in the contract, the Contactor shall provide alternate lodging accommodations for the eligible beneficiary at no additional cost to the veteran or the Government.

VA hours of operation are defined as the time of 7:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., Monday through Friday. Off hours include evenings after 430 p.m. and all day Saturday, Sunday and Federal holidays.

15. BILLING PROCEDURES

The Contractor shall fax the monthly invoices in arrears to the VAPORHCS self-care lodging staff for review at the end of each month to the fax number listed below. After review and approval of the invoices the COR shall contact the Contractor and advise them, to go ahead and submit the invoices to the address listed below for payment.

VAPORHCS will only pay for authorized rooms and nights of lodging. If a Veteran or a person accompanying the Veteran elects to remain in the hotel/motel room beyond the authorized time period, payment for the additional nights will be the sole responsibility of the Veteran or the Veteran’s companion. In the event a VA referred occupant checks out of the hotel/motel before completing an authorized stay, the Contractor will notify Self-Care Lodging Program staff. If the Veteran checks in and occupies the room the VA will pay for the room.

Contractor shall charge no fees to VAPORHCS or the Veteran for Veteran’s with registered service animals.

Contractor shall limit pet fees to no more than $25 per day, per pet for any non-registered, non-service animal. Pets must be declared to the Contractor prior to the Veteran occupying the room. Contractor retains the right to charge additional fees or fines for non-declared pets. Lodgers are responsible for paying for pet fees directly to Contractor. VAPORHCS will not accept billing for pet fees or fines.

The Veteran lodging with the Contractor is responsible for all additional amenities, to include, but not limited to room service, pay-per-view movies, or meals not included in the basic room rate. VAPORHCS will not accept billing for any associated lodging amenities.

VAPORHCS will not pay for any alcoholic beverages.

Veterans and/or their companion are responsible for any damages to rooms or property due to their actions or inactions or the actions of their pets. Hotels/motels may charge lodgers directly for such damages. VAPORHCS will not accept billing for any damages to rooms or property.

16. MANDATORY ELECTRONIC INVOICING

VA published the final rule requiring vendors to submit invoices electronically to the Financial Services Center (FSC) in the November 27, 2012 Federal Register.

The rule became effective December 27, 2012. The rule includes a new contract clause to be inserted in all solicitations and contracts by the contracting officer (VAAR 852.232-72). Vendors can comply with the rule by using either of the two methods below. Facsimile, e-mail, and scanned documents are not acceptable forms of submission for payment requests. Electronic form means an automated system transmitting information electronically according to the accepted electronic data transmission methods below:

• VA’s Electronic Invoice Presentment and Payment System – The FSC uses a third-party contractor, Tungsten, to transition vendors from paper to electronic invoice submission. Please go to this website:

http://www.tungsten- network.com/US/en/Veterans-affairs/ to begin submitting electronic invoices, free of charge.

• A system that conforms to the X12 electronic data interchange (EDI) formats established by the Accredited Standards Center (ASC) chartered by the American National Standards Institute (ANSI). The X12 EDI Web site (http://www.x12.org).

Vendor e-Invoice Set-Up Information:

Please contact Tungsten at the phone number or email address listed below to begin submitting your electronic invoices to the VA Financial Services Center for payment processing, free of charge. If you have question about the e-invoicing program or Tungsten, please contact the FSC at the phone number or email address listed below:

• Tungsten e-Invoice Setup Information: 1-877-489-6135

• Tungsten e-Invoice email: VA.Registration@Tungsten-Network.com http://www.tungsten-network.com/US/en/veterans-affairs/ http://www.tungsten-network.com/US/en/veterans-affairs/ http://www.x12.org/ mailto:VA.Registration@Tungsten-Network.com

• FSC e-Invoice Contact Information: 1-877-353-9791

• FSC e-invoice email: vafsccshd@va.gov

17. RISK CONTROL

A. Patient Emergencies In the event a VA referred occupant is in an emergency of any kind, the Contractor will contact the 911 emergency medical services to respond to the emergency. The Contractor will also notify authorized VAPORHCS personnel of the situation.

B. Occupational Safety & Health Administration (OSHA) Compliance Contractor will comply with OSHA standards and share that information with employees who clean bathrooms and surrounding areas in order that they may take proper precautions when cleaning.

C. Room Maintenance Daily room maintenance will comply with all Federal, State, and local laws in compliance with FAR 52.212-4(q).

D. General Building Requirements and Specifications

i. The hotel/motel rooms will comply with all city, county, and state building codes and ordinances applicable to the ownership and operation of the building in which the rooms are located. Rooms will comply with the applicable and current National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) Life Safety Code and Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) guidelines.

ii. Heating and cooling requirements will be in compliance with ADA and State of Washington Laws. All cooling and heating devices and appliances, including, but not limited to, furnaces, fireplaces, electrical baseboard heaters, and water heaters, will be an approved type in good and safe working order and will meet all installation and safety codes. Contractor will maintain all appliances and utility systems in compliance with all installation and safety codes.

iii. Electrical and lighting requirements will be in compliance with ADA and State of Washington Laws. All electrical equipment, wiring, and appliances will be of an approved type, in good and safe working order, and will meet all installation and safety codes.

iv. Sanitation Requirements: All plumbing fixtures will be trapped and vented and connected to an approved sanitary sewer. All sanitary facilities, equipment, structures, and premises will be of an approved type, in safe and sanitary condition, and in good working order and meet all installation and safety codes.

v. Fire Safety:

a. Buildings in which space is offered will be evaluated in accordance with latest editions of the NFPA 101 LIFE SAFETY CODE and

ADA.

mailto:vafsccshd@va.gov

b. Equipment, services, or utilities furnished, and activities of other occupants will be free of safety, health, and fire hazards. When hazards are detected, the Contractor will promptly correct hazards.

c. Maintenance of Contractor owned fire extinguishers will be provided by the Contractor in accordance with NFPA Standard No.

10.

d. As required by code, smoke detectors/alarms will be installed in each room, office, storage area, hallways, and other common areas.

vi. Wheelchair Accessibility: Common areas such as hallways will provide for an accessible path of travel for wheelchairs.

vii. Elevators: If elevators are a part of the room complex, they will conform to the latest requirements of the American Society of Manufacturing Engineers (ASME)/American National Standards Institute (ANSI) A17.1 Safety Code for Elevators and Escalators, except for elevator emergency recall and will be inspected and maintained in accordance with ASME/ANSI A17.2 Guide for Inspection of Elevators, Escalators, and Moving Walks Includes Inspection Procedures for Electric Traction and Winding Drum Elevators, Hydraulic Elevators, and Escalators and Moving Walks, or equivalent local code. The elevators will also comply with all local codes and ordinances.

viii. Miscellaneous: No activity to the building and/or grounds that would cause an increase in dust, dirt, or spores to be airborne (i.e., renovation to the building, movement of earth on the grounds) will take place without the Contractor’s written notification to the VA at least fourteen

(14) calendar days in advance of the event.

ix. Inspection: The Government reserves the right, at any time before and after contract award and during the term of the contract, to inspect the rooms and all other areas of the Contractor facility as necessary to ensure a safe and healthy environment for the VA referred occupants.

19. LOCATION/PROXIMITY TO VA MEDICAL CENTER

Lodging facility shall be located within 10 miles from VAPORHCS, located at:

3710 NW US Veterans Hospital Road Portland, OR 97239-2999

This is for the convenience of the Veteran patient to proximity of the hospital.

20. SECURITY REQUIREMENTS

The contractor shall not have access to VA sensitive or computer information and will not require access to VA Facilities. The contractor shall require patient name length of stay and date of arrival only, no other sensitive information will be provided to the contractor by the VA. No background investigation is required for this contract.

Privacy Officer Language for Statement of Work (SOW) Information made available to the contractor or subcontractor by VA for the performance or administration of this contract or information developed by the contractor/subcontractor in performance or administration of the contract shall be used only for those purposes and shall not be used in any other way without the prior written agreement of the VA. This clause expressly limits the contractor/subcontractor's rights to use data as described in Rights in Data- General, FAR 52.227- 14(d) (1).

VA information shall not be co-mingled, with any other data on the contractors/subcontractor’s information systems or media storage systems in order to ensure VA requirements related to data protection and media sanitization can be met. If an exception to this co-mingling must be allowed to meet the requirements of the business need, the contractor must ensure that VA’s information is returned to the VA or destroyed in accordance with VA’s sanitization requirements. VA reserves the right to conduct on-site inspections of contractor and subcontractor IT resources to ensure data security controls, separation of data and job duties, and destruction/media sanitization procedures are in compliance with VA directive requirements.

Prior to termination or completion of this contract, contractor/subcontractor must not destroy information received from VA, or gathered/created by the contractor in the course of performing this contract without prior written approval by the VA. Any data destruction done on behalf of VA by a contractor/subcontractor must be done in accordance with National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) requirements as outlined in VA Directive 6300, Records and Information Management and its Handbook 6300.1 Records Management Procedures, applicable VA Records Control Schedules, and VA Handbook 6500.1, Electronic Media Sanitization. Self-certification by the contractor that the data destruction requirements above have been met must be sent to the VA Contracting Officer within 30 days of termination of the contract.

The contractor/subcontractor must receive, gather, store, back up, maintain, use, disclose and dispose of VA information only in compliance with the terms of the contract and applicable Federal and VA information confidentiality and security laws, regulations and policies. If Federal or VA information confidentiality and security laws, regulations and policies become applicable to the VA information or information systems after execution of the contract, or if NIST issues or updates applicable FIPS or Special Publications (SP) after execution of this contract, the parties agree to negotiate in good faith to implement the information confidentiality and security laws, regulations and policies in this contract.

The contractor/subcontractor shall not make copies of VA information except as authorized and necessary to perform the terms of the agreement or to preserve electronic information stored on contractor/subcontractor electronic storage media for restoration in case any electronic equipment or data used by the contractor/subcontractor needs to be restored to an operating state. If copies are made for restoration purposes, after the restoration is complete, the copies must be appropriately destroyed.

21. POINT OF CONTACT / CONTRACTING OFFICER REPRESENTATIVE

Contracting Officer Representative (COR). The COR for this contract is:

Theodore Alex Bailey LMSW

Portland VA Health Care System 3710 NW US Veterans Hospital Road Portland, OR 97239-2999 Theodore.bailey2@va.gov

SOW Task

Deliverable Title

Format

Number

Calendar Days After CO Start

Lodging Invoice

Contractor determined service report

1 emailed copy

Within 10 days after each billable month mailto:Theodore.bailey2@va.gov