Solicitation Questions and Answers (36C26121Q0716) Rev2.docx

36C26121Q0716 Solicitation Questions and Answers Solicitation 36C26121Q0716 Radiology Technologist and Medical Support Assistant Temporary Staffing Services

1. Referencing 79 of 97 of the solicitation, E.8 VAAR 852.223-70: This VAAR instructs Offerors to include a Sustainable Acquisition Plan in their technical proposal in accordance with FAR subpart 23.1. FAR subpart 23.1 indicates that the intent of this FAR is to advance sustainable acquisition for the supply of products or acquisitions of services (including construction) that require products. (Link to FAR reference: https://www.acquisition.gov/far/23.103). Since this solicitation does not require the Offeror to provide products, only staffing services, will the government consider removing this VAAR?

0. Solicitation 36C26121Q0716 has been amended to remove VAAR 852.223-70.

1. Referencing Wage Determination Compliance: The solicitation provides both an even numbered and odd numbered WD for this requirement. The fringe benefit requirements for these two WDs are different and will affect proposed pricing. Can the government please clarify which WD is applicable to the requirement?

1. Solicitation 36C26121Q0716 has been amended to replace both WD 2015-5593 Rev 14 Dated 12-21-2020 and WD 2015-5594 Rev 15 Dated 07-02-2020 with WD 2015-5593 Rev 15 Dated 06-03-2021.

1. Is it too late to request a set side to be put in place for WOSB?

2. Yes. Department of Veterans Affairs has set aside this requirement for SDVOSBs.

1. The IDIQ is for 7 million. Is that per year or total term for the 5 years.

3. The IDIQ ceiling is the maximum amount for all 5 years.

1. We are interested in receiving an "expedited public record" for the last award-winning bid for the most recent task order 36C26121N0049.

4. The information may be obtained through FPDS.gov

1. Will the VA accept ARMIT certification for MRI instead of ARRT?

5. No.

1. Please see B2 Price/cost sheet. Regular hours for yearly term is listed as 4000 hours, should that be 2000 hours as it’s only 2080 work hours per year?

6. No. The requirement is for two temporary staff for each listed position. As a result, there is an estimate need for 4000 hours per year.

1. Are the candidate resumes being requested meant to be examples of candidates which we would submit for the roles, or should the candidates be ready and able to work?

7. The candidates should be ready and able to work.

Additional Questions:

1. For this RFP, only Disabled Veteran-Owned Small Businesses can apply to the RFP?

8. Yes.

1. RE: Medical Assistant position description (pg. 13 of 97), “…may cover a range of services that are normally but not limited to services provided in a similar civilian healthcare facility…” RE: Response to WD crosswalk as “Medical Assistant.” Question: Will the government please clarify that the Medical Support Assistant described in the solicitation is expected to be a healthcare position (i.e. a Certified Medical Assistant) or whether the position can be filled by a non-healthcare support person (i.e. a clerical position)?

9. The Medical Support Assistant is an administrative position. More like a receptionist, but one who can schedule medical appointments and has a working knowledge of the medical field.

1. Referencing the Business Associate Agreement on 63 - 67 of 97 of the solicitation: Will the government please clarify if this form is intended to be filled out by the Offeror and returned with the proposal submission or completed upon award?

10. The Business Associate Agreement is intended to be completed upon award.

1. For the Medical Support Assistant positions, are those positions on site or can it be done by telecommuting. Is the main objective of the role to manage the contract making sure short notice shifts are filled?

11. The Medical Support Assistant positions are on-site as they will be checking in veterans for their appointments at the front desk. Please review section 5.5 on page 35 for the specific tasks of a Medical Support Assistant.

1. Reference: SECTION E - SOLICITATION PROVISIONS, Page 79-80, E.10 VAAR 852.273-73 EVALUATION - HEALTH-CARE RESOURCES (JAN 2003) (a) The Government will award a contract resulting from this solicitation to the responsible offeror whose offer, conforming to the solicitation, will be most advantageous to the Government, price and other factors considered. In accordance with FAR 13.106-2(b)(3), the quotes will undergo a comparative evaluation to determine which vendor provides the best value to the government in terms of the information provided in response to past performance and other non-priced factors while also providing a competitive price. Moreover, the Government is not assigning weight to the factors or listing them in any particular order. The following information or factors shall be used to evaluate offers:

1. Staffing Service Plan

2. Candidate Resumes

3. Quality Assurance Surveillance Plan (QASP)

4. Past Performance

5. Price Does this mean all five (5) factors are valued equally and/or carry the same weight?

12. All factors will go through a comparative evaluation.

1. Reference: E.10 VAAR 852.273-73 EVALUATION - HEALTH-CARE RESOURCES (JAN 2003), Pages 79-80, The evaluation factor narratives associated with 1. Staffing Service Plan, 2. Candidate Resumes and 3. Quality Assurance Surveillance Plan (QASP) indicates what is considered recent and relevant thus warranting a more, or less, favorable rating. This is very helpful, and we very much appreciate it. Will each evaluation factor be assigned a score, Go/No Go, or some other Adjectival or Color Rating i.e. Outstanding, Good, Acceptable, Marginal and Unacceptable? If so, what qualifies for each rating? Please provide a description of each.

13. Proposals will undergo a comparative evaluation to determine which vendor provides the best value to the Government in terms of the information provided in response to past performance and other non-priced factors while also providing a competitive price. Please review VAAR 852.273-73 for how the Government will evaluate the offers.

1. Reference: Part 4, page 22, Paragraph 4.6 Drug Screening: The Contractor is required to randomly drug test its workers. Besides, pre-employment screening, is there a minimum number of contractor drug tests to be conducted annually?

14. Per the performance work statement, there is no minimum number of times the contractor is required to drug test its employees on an annual basis.

1. Reference: Part 4, page 22, Paragraph 4.8 Personal Hygiene and Clothing: “Appropriate and professional attire shall always be worn.” Are uniform scrubs considered appropriate and professional for all technologists and the medical support assistant?

15. Technologists must wear scrubs and Medical Support Assistants must wear business casual attire.

1. Reference: B.3 PERFORMANCE WORK STATEMENT (PWS), PART 1, Page 14, Paragraph 1.7 Recognized Holidays: Will Juneteenth be added to this list of Federal holidays and may contracted personnel be require to work some or all, including Juneteenth?

16. Juneteenth will be added to the list of Federal holidays. Contracted personnel may be required to work on some or all holidays depending on the Radiology Department’s need.

1. Reference: B.3 PERFORMANCE WORK STATEMENT (PWS), PART 1, Page 17, Paragraph 1.22 Phase In/Phase Out Period: To minimize any decreases in productivity and to prevent possible negative impacts on additional services, the Contractor shall have personnel on board, during the 30-day phase in/ phase out periods. During the phase in period, the Contractor shall become familiar with performance requirements in order to commence full performance of services on the contract start date. Should there be a separate CLIN for the 30-day phase in or does phase in run concurrent with the first month of the period of performance?

17. There is not a separate CLIN for the 30-day phase in. The Contractor is responsible for reviewing the performance requirements prior to contract start date.

1. Reference: B.3 PERFORMANCE WORK STATEMENT (PWS), PART 1, Page 16, Paragraph 1.16 Key Personnel: The contract manager or alternate shall be available between 07:30am – 4:30pm and any such last-minute days and time depending on the necessity and nature of an emergent issue, Monday thru Friday except Federal holidays or when the government facility is closed for administrative reasons. Is 7:30 am – 4:30 pm based on Pacific time and/or local time in Las Vegas?

18. The time is based on the local time in Las Vegas.

1. Reference: B.3 PERFORMANCE WORK STATEMENT (PWS), PART 1, Page 15, Paragraph 1.13, Record Keeping System: The VA has established and will maintain a record keeping system for verification of actual hours worked by the Contractor’s employees. Will the contractor’s key personnel, Contract Manager and Alternate, have access to this system to help simplify and ensure the accuracy of the invoicing process?

19. No.

1. Reference: PART 2, Page 20, Paragraph 3.1 Services: The VA will provide a briefing to familiarize contract personnel on the policies and procedures on the first scheduled duty day. The Contractor shall ensure that all contracted personnel attend Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) Privacy Policy Training, and Information Security Awareness, as well as any other training that, from time to time the CO identifies as necessary under this contract. An identification (ID) badge will be issued by the VA to contracted Imaging Staff rendering services at the VA. The appropriate ID badge shall be worn at all times while on Government facility grounds, clearly displayed on the outermost garment (i.e. coat, jacket, sweater, shirt, blouse, lab coat and etc.). How many hours should be allocated to training and ID badge issue? Will this be accomplished as an entire group or on an individual basis as part of normal work hours on first scheduled duty day?

20. The training and badge issuance is part of a normal work day. This will be accomplished on an individual basis as part of normal work hours for the Technologists and on a group basis as part of normal work hours for Medical Support Assistants.

1. Page 72, Submission Instructions, states that proposal response should be submitted in two parts – (1) Price Quote and (2) Technical Proposal. Should these be in separate volumes (e-files) or can they be included as separate sections in the same document?

21. The Offeror must submit two separate volumes, one for the price quote and the other for the technical proposal.

1. The proposal outline (page 72) for Part (2) Technical Proposal, item 3 references inclusion of the Quality Assurance Surveillance Plan. Please clarify if you require Offeror to provide an amended/signed copy of the QASP document provided with the solicitation or a discussion of the Offeror’s Quality Control Plan to meet the QASP requirements?

22. The Offeror is required to discuss how the Offeror plans to achieve the Government performance standards as stated in the QASP.

1. Page 80, Item 4, Past Performance, ask Offerors to identify three current/recently completed contracts relevant to the requirements of the solicitation. It states “The Government shall review available past performance data in the Federal Awardee Performance and Integrity Information System (FAPIIS) found in the Contractor Performance Assessment Reporting System (CPARS) found at https://www.cpars.gov/.” In Offeror’s response, will a list of the three relevant contracts with names, dates, and POCs provide sufficient information for the reviewer or is a more detailed summary of the contract required?

23. Contract name (including company name & contract number), dates of performance, and point of contact information (telephone & email) is sufficient. The Government will review CPARS based on the information provided.

Additional Questions

1. Are the sources sought (36C26121Q0561) and the solicitation 36C26121Q0716 for the same requirement, but different solicitation numbers?

24. A sources sought notice is for market research purposes only and is not a solicitation. The offeror must respond to the solicitation to be considered.

1. Could you clarify the expectations of “Call Back (minimum 2 hours)” – 60 hours and “Call Pager” – 1,000 hours?

25. For Call Back (minimum 2 hours), the technologist is expected to return to the facility and perform required service and the Government will pay a minimum of 2 hours. For Call Pager, there is an estimate need for the technologist to be on call for 1,000 hours per year in the event the facility needs to call back the technologist.

1. Is “Call Back” referring to after standard shift being called back in?

26. Yes.

1. Is “Call Pager” on call? If it is, would that be restricted or non-restricted hours?

27. Call pager is scheduled on-call outside the regular scheduled work hours.

1. Is the radiology department already staffed with CT, MRI, U.S and MSA staff?

28. Yes.

1. Will the contractors be replacing staff?

29. No. The contractor’s employees are supplementing vacant FTEE.

1. Will these 8 FT contractors that's requested for this solicitation be the only staff in the department for the term of this contract?

30. No. Both Government employees and contractor employees are assigned a tour and schedules may vary as the VA Southern Nevada Health Care System is a 24/7 hospital.

1. Will contactors be trained upon arrival or are they expected to know Siemen's equipment?

31. Clinical contractors must already know how to perform CT/MRI/US, but will be trained to use the equipment if they do not already know how. MSA contractors will be trained to use our administrative equipment.

1. Will it be department coverage during contractor vacations?

32. The Radiology Department will either be covered by a Government employee or patient schedules will be altered to match remaining staffing levels.

1. How many techs per machine, and are on duty at once per each modality?

33. We are unable to provide an exact number as schedules vary based on time of day and day of the week.

1. Is the stipend included in IDIQ?

34. No.

1. When will the contactor need to be in Vegas?

35. The contractor’s employees must be ready to start by October 1, 2021.

1. Can the contractor handle on boarding, background investigation from the state they reside in?

36. The contractor can submit the onboarding documents from the state they reside in.

1. For travel techs, how soon before can we move them into Vegas to prepared for contracting assignment that will be paid by the stipend?

37. The contract does not include a stipend.