Amendment 36C26223R0068 0001 Final.pdf

36C26223R0068

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 7

0001 05-18-2023

None

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

05-18-2023

X

X

This amendment is issued to answer questions received in response to the solicitation. See pages 2 through 7.

Due date and time for proposal submission remains June 2, at 11AM Pacific Time.

Alice McGruder, Contracting Officer

Questions and Answers for Solicitation 36C26223R0068 – VASDHS Nurse Staffing Services

The following are the questions and answers received to Solicitation 36C26223R0068, several questions were similar and were answered.

1) Question: I just wanted to clarify that this solicitation for San Diego is PRN as needed?

Answer: Per paragraph 1, 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.

2) Question: I see attachment D.4 that asks specifically for VA experience and wanted to learn more if not having VA staffing experience would disqualify an organization from winning a bid if they submitted a proposal?

Answer: A proposal will not be acceptable unless it meets the acceptability criteria: Per

E.3, Reference Page 58.

STEP 1: Acceptability of Proposals. The Government will first evaluate proposals to determine the acceptability of each proposal. The Government will evaluate proposals on an “Acceptable/Not Acceptable” basis using the acceptability criteria provided below.

An Offeror who fails to meet the following acceptability criteria will be determined to have submitted a proposal that is “Not Acceptable” and will not have its proposal considered further for contract award.

Acceptability Criteria – Experience Providing Nurse Staffing Services to the

Department of Veterans Affairs. To be considered “Acceptable,” the proposal must demonstrate experience providing nurse staffing services to the Department of Veterans

Affairs for each of the nurse specialties required for this procurement (nurse practitioner, registered nurse-general, registered nurse-specialty, licensed vocational nurse, and certified nurse assistant).

3) Question: Could you please provide me with a breakdown of the budget for this project?

Specifically, I would like to know the total budget for the project as well as the budget allocation for each of the different elements of the project.

Answer: The estimated hours listed in D.2 Price Worksheet attachment provides an estimated representation of hours required for nurse services for each of the 5-year period of performance. The Governments budget will not be disclosed.

4) Question: I would appreciate any guidance or advice on any specific areas where costs tend to be higher or lower than expected? Are there any particular cost-saving measures that you would recommend?

Answer: This information is not available.

5) Question: We are requesting that the Step 1, Acceptability of Proposals, Acceptability criteria be changed to read as follows: To be considered “Acceptable,” the proposal must demonstrate experience providing nurse staffing services to Federal, State, or

Local Government Agencies for each of the nurse specialties required for this procurement (nurse practitioner, registered nurse-general, registered nurse-specialty, licensed vocational nurse, and certified nurse assistant).

Answer: There will be no changes to the evaluation criteria.

6) Question: We are requesting that Attachment D.4, Reference Contract Worksheet

Demonstrating VA Experience, be revised to eliminate the need for this experience to have been provided to the VA only.

Answer: There will be no changes to the evaluation criteria.

7) Question: We have VAMC specific experience in all but one of the Nurse Specialties

(NP) but have placed dozens of NPs outside of the VAMC space. Would our lack of

VAMC specific experience with the Nurse Practitioner specialty alone make our proposal

Unacceptable or would our NP experience outside the VAMC space count in some way towards consideration?

Answer: A proposal will not be acceptable unless it meets the acceptability criteria: Per

E.3, Reference Page 58.

STEP 1: Acceptability of Proposals. The Government will first evaluate proposals to determine the acceptability of each proposal. The Government will evaluate proposals on an “Acceptable/Not Acceptable” basis using the acceptability criteria provided below.

An Offeror who fails to meet the following acceptability criteria will be determined to have submitted a proposal that is “Not Acceptable” and will not have its proposal considered further for contract award.

Acceptability Criteria – Experience Providing Nurse Staffing Services to the

Department of Veterans Affairs. To be considered “Acceptable,” the proposal must demonstrate experience providing nurse staffing services to the Department of Veterans

Affairs for each of the nurse specialties required for this procurement (nurse practitioner, registered nurse-general, registered nurse-specialty, licensed vocational nurse, and certified nurse assistant).

8) Question: Are these PRN positions or will these all be full-time contracted positions?

Answer: Per paragraph 1, 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.

9) Question: By job category, approximately how many contracted staff are needed for this solicitation?

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

5-year period of performance.

10) Question: Does the VA intend to make this a sole source award or award it to multiple vendors?

Answer: Per Section E.2, the Government anticipates making multiple awards in response to this solicitation.

11) Question: Will the Government consider equally evaluating similar past performance performed for other Government agencies, such as the Department of Defense?

Answer: Please reference Sections E2 and E3 (Page 55-58) for information regarding evaluation proposals.

12) Question: Will the Government accept and evaluate past performance executed by our key personnel and company leadership that was not necessarily performed under the auspices of the bidding organization IAW FAR 15.305?

Answer: Past Performance is not an evaluation factor, please reference Sections E.2 and E.3 (Page 55-58) for information regarding evaluation proposals.

13) Question: Are you able to confirm if RFP 36C26223R0068 (Registered and Specialty

Nursing for San Diego VAHCS) is related to Sources Sought 36C26223Q0220

(Registered Nursing Staff Including Specialty Nursing for the VA Long Beach, VA Loma

Linda, and VA San Diego Healthcare Systems. Sources Sought / RFI Notice.)? Can we expect the Loma Linda and Long Beach requirements to potentially come out separately?

Answer: Sources Sought 36C26223Q0220 is related to RFP 36C26223R0068, however, there will be separate RFPs posted in contract opportunities (SAM.gov) for VA

Loma Linda and VA Long Beach Healthcare Systems.

14) Question: When is the response due by?

Answer: Per Section E.2, please reference Page 56.

h. Proposal Submittal. Proposals shall be emailed to Rafael.Cervantes@va.gov by

11AM Pacific Standard Time by June 02, 2023.

15) Question: Are we able to ask fact finding questions, if so when are those due by?

Answer: The time period for submitting questions has passed, please reference Section

E2, Page 55.

16) Question: Are the listed hours the minimum required clinician hours or maximum number of hours we would be required to staff?

Answer: Per Section B2, the guaranteed minimum amount for this contract is $1,000.00.

The estimated hours listed in D.2 Price Worksheet attachment, represents the government’s estimated needs.

17) Question: Page 11, section 1 – Is it anticipated that the awarded companies would have a pool of full credentialed PRN nurses ready to work at any given time?

Answer: Per paragraph 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.

18) Questions: What is the anticipated response time for awardees of the IDIQ to respond to any TOPRs?

Answer: Per paragraph 2 (Page 11),

2. 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.

19) Questions: Page 11, sections 3.1.2 -3.1.3. Page 13, sections 3.4.2 – 3.4.3 & 3.5.2 –

3.5.3. – CPR by an American Health Association Vender is required as well as a BLS. Is it agreed that the CPR and BLS are equivalent and that having both certifications would be redundant?

Answer: BLS and CPR are required. The Contractor shall provide all required certifications per the performance work statement (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.

20) Question: Is this an existing requirement? If so, can you please prove the incumbent contractors contract numbers?

Answer: The current contract numbers are VA262-16-A-0071 and VA262-16-A-0079.

The incumbents are Associated Health Professionals, Inc. and AB Staffing, respectively.

21) Question: As required in the proposal, we are unable to locate attachment SF30s in the provided documentation. Can you please share the required SF30s document so that we can attach it in the proposal.

Answer: Section g. Offerors Shall Complete and Provide the Following Documents: ii Signed SF30s - is in reference to amendment document(s) to RFP 36C26223R0068.

22) Question: How many references are required to be submitted with the proposal using Reference Contract Worksheet Nurse Staffing Services using attachment D.1 to satisfy the requirement mentioned under EVALUATION FACTORS AND CRITERIA, FACTOR 1

– Experience.

Answer: Per Section E.2, reference Page 57.

The proposal submittal requirement in Attachment D.1 for STEP 2 of proposal evaluations is different from the information and format required in Attachment D.4 for STEP 1 of proposal evaluations. Offerors may identify one or more reference contracts for consideration for STEP 2 of proposal evaluations, but must complete a separate Attachment D.1 for each reference contract the Offeror wishes to have considered for STEP 2 of proposal evaluations. No other format shall be used.

23) Question: To be a responsible bidder, do we need to submit only the mentioned volumes and respective attachments mentioned under Section h. Proposal Submittal with the proposal?

Question: Please reference Section E.2 for proposal submittal instructions.

24) Question: On the Price Worksheet, the portion for OT, is it after 8 hours or after 12 hours?

Answer: Per Section B.2 and D.2 Price Worksheet Attachment, overtime line items are for over 12 hours.

25) Question: Please identify how many hours are in each shift for each classification; e.g.

CNA – 12 hours/shift, LVN – 12 hours/shift, RN – 12 hours/shift; NP – 8 hours/shift.

Answer: Line items for all non-overtime nurse services are for up to and including a 12-hour shift.

26) Question: May we add another line for Crisis Bill Rate? Will the VASDHCS allow Travel

Assignments and Rates for this contract?

Answer: There will be no changes to the Schedule of Services and Price.

27) Question: Is there an expected annual spend for this contract?

Answer: This information is not available. Please see D.2 Price Worksheet Attachment for estimated hours required for each nurse specialty for each contract year.

28) Question: We plan on submitting a bid for Q401-Veteran Affairs San Diego Healthcare

System (VASDHS) Nurse Staffing Services and I would like to request for the previous bidder rates. Please let me know what the procedure of requesting is.

Answer: You would have to file a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request.

29) Question: Can you please clarify for me when the RFP is coming out and if a particular vehicle is being utilized to procure this opportunity?

Answer: 36C26223R0068 constitutes the only solicitations for this Government requirement and was released on May 5, 2023. This is an open market opportunity set-aside 100% for SDVOSBs.