RFP Amendment - 36C26223R0067 0002 - Nurse Staffing Services - VALLHS.pdf

5. PROJECT NUMBER (if applicable)

CODE 7. ADMINISTERED BY

2. AMENDMENT/MODIFICATION NUMBER

CODE

6. ISSUED BY

8. NAME AND ADDRESS OF CONTRACTOR

4. REQUISITION/PURCHASE REQ. NUMBER 3. EFFECTIVE DATE

9A. AMENDMENT OF SOLICITATION NUMBER

9B. DATED

PAGE OF PAGES

10A. MODIFICATION OF CONTRACT/ORDER NUMBER

10B. DATED

BPA NO. 1. CONTRACT ID CODE

FACILITY CODE CODE

Offers must acknowledge receipt of this amendment prior to the hour and date specified in the solicitation or as amended, by one of the following methods:

The above numbered solicitation is amended as set forth in Item 14. The hour and date specified for receipt of Offers

E. IMPORTANT:

is extended,

(a) By completing Items 8 and 15, and returning __________ copies of the amendment; (b) By acknowledging receipt of this amendment on each copy of the offer submitted; or (c) By separate letter or electronic communication which includes a reference to the solicitation and amendment numbers. FAILURE OF YOUR

ACKNOWLEDGMENT TO BE RECEIVED AT THE PLACE DESIGNATED FOR THE RECEIPT OF OFFERS PRIOR TO THE HOUR AND DATE SPECIFIED MAY is not extended.

12. ACCOUNTING AND APPROPRIATION DATA

(REV. 11/2016)

is required to sign this document and return ___________ copies to the issuing office. is not, A. THIS CHANGE ORDER IS ISSUED PURSUANT TO: (Specify authority) THE CHANGES SET FORTH IN ITEM 14 ARE MADE IN THE CONTRACT ORDER NO. IN ITEM 10A.

15C. DATE SIGNED

B. THE ABOVE NUMBERED CONTRACT/ORDER IS MODIFIED TO REFLECT THE ADMINISTRATIVE CHANGES

SET FORTH IN ITEM 14, PURSUANT TO THE AUTHORITY OF FAR 43.103(b).

RESULT IN REJECTION OF YOUR OFFER. If by virtue of this amendment you desire to change an offer already submitted, such change may be made by letter or electronic communication, provided each letter or electronic communication makes reference to the solicitation and this amendment, and is received prior to the opening hour and date specified.

C. THIS SUPPLEMENTAL AGREEMENT IS ENTERED INTO PURSUANT TO AUTHORITY OF:

D. OTHER

Contractor

16C. DATE SIGNED

14. DESCRIPTION OF AMENDMENT/MODIFICATION

16B. UNITED STATES OF AMERICA

Except as provided herein, all terms and conditions of the document referenced in Item 9A or 10A, as heretofore changed, remains unchanged and in full force and effect.

15A. NAME AND TITLE OF SIGNER 16A. NAME AND TITLE OF CONTRACTING OFFICER

15B. CONTRACTOR/OFFEROR

STANDARD FORM 30 PREVIOUS EDITION NOT USABLE

Prescribed by GSA - FAR (48 CFR) 53.243

(Type or print) (Type or print)

(Organized by UCF section headings, including solicitation/contract subject matter where feasible.)

(Number, street, county, State and ZIP Code)

(If other than Item 6)

(Specify type of modification and authority)

(such as changes in paying office, appropriation date, etc.)

(If required)

(SEE ITEM 11)

(SEE ITEM 13)

(X)

CHECK

ONE

13. THIS ITEM APPLIES ONLY TO MODIFICATIONS OF CONTRACTS/ORDERS,

IT MODIFIES THE CONTRACT/ORDER NO. AS DESCRIBED IN ITEM 14.

11. THIS ITEM ONLY APPLIES TO AMENDMENTS OF SOLICITATIONS

AMENDMENT OF SOLICITATION/MODIFICATION OF CONTRACT

(Signature of person authorized to sign) (Signature of Contracting Officer)

1 3

06-08-2023

36C262

Department of Veterans Affairs

Network Contracting Office 22

4811 Airport Plaza Drive

Suite 600

Long Beach CA 90815

36C262

Department of Veterans Affairs

Network Contracting Office 22

4811 Airport Plaza Drive

Suite 600

Long Beach CA 90815

To all Offerors/Bidders

36C26223R0067

06-01-2023

X

X X

X 1

The purpose of this amendment is to answer the questions received in response to Solicitation 36C26223R0067.

Please see pages 2-3.

The due date and time for proposal submission remains June 29, 2023, at 11:00AM PST.

Alice McGruder, Contracting Officer

The following are the Questions and Answers received in response to Solicitation

36C26223R0067. Several questions were similar, duplicate questions were only answered once.

1) Question: Can you tell me if these services are currently being performed by a contractor? If so, can you please provide the incumbent’s name as well as the contract number?

Answer: Associated Health Professionals, Inc. is the incumbent contractor; Contract # VA262-

16-A-0071.

2) Question: Are these nursing services PRN?

Answer: Per Section 1, of the PWS (page 11), The Contractor shall provide contract nurse staffing services on an as needed basis to meet VA staffing shortages for varying periods of time, from one day to several months. Services may be requested on short notice. The Contractor is responsible for providing the requested nursing staff per the terms and conditions of this contract within twenty-four (24) hours from the pool of the Contractor’s credentialed nursing staff.

3) Question: Do you happen to know how many health care providers are needed? It’s not included in the presolicitation.

Answer: The number of hours listed in attachment D.2 Price Worksheet, provides an estimated representation of hours required for nurse staffing services in each contract year.

4) Question: On page 24 of the RFP, specifically Article 11.4, it states that “The Contractor shall provide the Government with all the information necessary to ensure that Government records are maintained correctly and in compliance with The Joint Commission (TJC), OSHA, and the

Center for Disease Control health records requirements, for all contract nursing staff”.

We would like to see clarification on whether this requirement mandates that our entity must hold a Joint Commission certification in order to be considered for this opportunity.

If having a Joint Commission certification is indeed a prerequisite for consideration, we would like to inquire whether there are any alternative certifications or standards that could fulfill the requirement or if obtaining such certification during the contract period would be acceptable.

Answer: The Awarded Contractor(s) are NOT required to hold a Joint Commission Certification.

5) Question: Is it a requirement that proposals must demonstrate their experience of providing nurse staffing services to the US Department of Veterans Affairs for each of the nurse specialties required in this procurement? Instead, can we demonstrate our experience of providing each of the nurse specialties required in this procurement though other government clients or commercial clients?

Answer: Please refer to Amendment 0001, posted 06/07/2023, which revised Section D.4 –

REFERENCE CONTRACT WORKSHEET-NURSE STAFFING SERVICES EXPERIENCE

and Section E.2 – INSTRUCTIONS TO OFFERORS – PROPOSAL SUBMISSION.

6) Question: As the attachment D.4 Reference Contract Worksheet has been changed as per the latest amendment, kindly clarify if we provide the same references that we will use in the amended D.4 Reference Contract Worksheet in the attachment D.1 – Reference Contract

Worksheet still holds the same clause of VA experience?

Answer: Per Amendment 0001, experience providing all five (5) labor categories to the U.S

Department of Veterans Affairs is no longer required; however, experience providing all five (5) labor categories is still required to advance to Step 2 of Proposal Evaluations.

7) Question: Section B.3 PWS- Page 11, Section 1- is it anticipated that the awarded companies would have a pool of full-credentialled prn nurses ready to work at any given time?

Answer: Per Section 1, of the PWS (page 11), Services may be requested on short notice. The

Contractor is responsible for providing the requested nursing staff per the terms and conditions of this contract within twenty-four (24) hours from the pool of the Contractor’s credentialed nursing staff.

8) Question: What is the anticipated response time for awardees of the BPA to respond to any

TOPRs?

Answer: Per Section 2 of the PWS (page 11), Task Order Ordering Procedures- Task orders shall be issued against this IDIQ contract. Each IDIQ contract holder will be provided a fair opportunity to be considered for each task order exceeding the micro-purchase threshold, unless one of the exceptions at FAR 16.505(b)(2) applies. Evaluation criteria used to determine the task order awardee will be included in the task order RFP. The Contractor may propose to provide the requested services at less than the Schedule price, but the Contractor shall not propose prices that exceed the Schedule price applicable to the dates that apply to the task order period of performance. Each task order RFP and resulting task order issued shall identify the specific staffing requirements.

9) Question: Is it anticipated that the nursing staff we provided within 24 hours of the Task Order

Award?

Answer: Per Section 1, of the PWS (page 11), Services may be requested on short notice. The

Contractor is responsible for providing the requested nursing staff per the terms and conditions of this contract within twenty-four (24) hours from the pool of the Contractor’s credentialed nursing staff.

10) Question: Page 11, Sections 3.1.2-3.1.3, sections 3.4.2-3.4.3 & 3.5.2-3.5.3 – CPR by an

American Health Association Vendor is required as well as a BLS. Is it agreed that the BLS supersedes CPR and that having both certifications would be redundant?

Answer: BLS and CPR are required. The Contractor shall provide all required certifications per the PWS.

CPR is a method for manually pumping blood to a person’s vital organs and breathing air into their lungs when their heartbeat or breathing has stopped. BLS includes CPR and AED training, as well as how to treat foreign-body airway obstruction (choking) and is taught from the perspective of providing care in a medical setting.

11) Question: Regarding 12-hour shifts, will the Government honor CA OT labor laws of any hours worked over eight in a day will be considered overtime both payable and billable?

Answer: Per section B.2, Schedule of Services and section D.2 Price Worksheet, there are only two-line items for each nurse specialty for each contract year. One line item is for all shifts up to and including a 12-hour shift; and one line item is for Overtime for hours worked over 12-hours.