36C26325Q0004 0002 SF30 QUESTION RESPONSES AND NEW PWS.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 7

36C263

Department of Veterans Affairs

NETWORK 23 CONTRACTING OFFICE

2501 W. 22nd St.

Sioux Falls SD 57105 Morgan Galer morgan.galer@va.gov

Department of Veterans Affairs

NETWORK 23 CONTRACTING OFFICE

2501 W. 22nd St.

Sioux Falls SD 57105

To all Offerors/Bidders

36C26325Q0004

09-25-2024

X

X X

October 9, 2024, 11:00 AM Central Time

X one (1)

The purpose of this solicitation amendment is to respond to solicitation questions.

The response date/time is not changed.

The PWS is replaced in its entirety. Offerors shall ensure they review the new PWS for requirements.

Please see attachment for response to questions.

John Becker Contracting Officer

VA-VHA-RPOC-2024-0074

SOLICITATION QUESTIONS

1. I wanted to follow up to see if you can provide insight on the B.2 Price Schedule and the CLINS. Can you provide insight on the added clin description AA, AB, AC, AD, and how you want the total added per the schedule?

GOVERNMENT RESPONSE: Offerors may place TBD or leave the sub-CLINS blank.

2. Can the government please clarify the credentials and experience required for candidates for the applicant profiles?

GOVERNMENT RESPONSE:

2.1.1. is correct however 2.1.2, 3 and 4 required the update below and is included in the attached updated PWS. Corrections made to 2.1.2.

Board Certification: Certification is preferred but not required. If certified, all contractor’s personnel shall be certified as a Certified Operating Room Technician or Surgical Technologist by the National Board of Surgical Technology and Surgical Assisting (www.nbstsa.org).

Contractor’s personnel shall be currently certified in Basic Life Support (BLS). All continuing education courses required for maintaining certification must be kept up to date at all times.

Documentation verifying current certification shall be provided by the contractor to the VA COR on an annual basis for each year of contract performance.

Key Personnel: Must have a minimum of 2 years current experience (within the last 6 months) in a busy operating room with experience scrubbing for complex cases to include:

Cardiothoracic, Colon Rectal, General Surgery, Neurosurgery, Ophthalmology, Orthopedic Surgery, Otolaryngology, Plastic Surgery, Urology, Vascular and including robotics.

The minimum number of Board Certified Surgical Technologist/Technicians required to be onsite daily is four (4) to be onsite as defined in paragraph Hours of Operation in this section. Unclear as to what the question is. We are seeking four (4) FTE.

On-call: Up to 1265 hours per FTE per Period of Performance. That works out to 105 hrs/mo. per each key personnel.

3. Can the government provide information as to whether budget limitations apply or if there are any budgetary restrictions the offeror should be aware of for this solicitation?

GOVERNMENT RESPONSE: To our knowledge, there are no budgetary restrictions at this time.

4. Given the closeness on the timeframe for question submittals and official offer due date, can the government please extend the solicitation due date by at least 1 week to allow for offerors to appropriately evaluate the government’s response to industry questions?

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GOVERNMENT RESPONSE: The solicitation due date will be extended to 10/2/2024, 11:00

AM CST.

5. Section 2.1.9. Surgical Technicians are not required to have NPIs. Can this be removed from the PWS?

GOVERNMENT RESPONSE:

Yes. Removed on attached update.

6. Other than Cost and Price Information Supporting Proposed Physician Rate (required for Affiliate onsite hourly remove if it does not apply)”. This RFP is not seeking physicians, so this does not apply. Can this requirement be removed?

Yes. Removed on attached update.

7. Can you clarify what candidate (key personnel) documentation needs to be submitted upon proposal?

GOVERNMENT RESPONSE: No candidate information is being requested to be submitted with the proposal.

8. Is this a new requirement or is there an incumbent?

GOVERNMENT RESPONSE: Current contract number is 36C26323C0042. Procurement history can be researched at www.fpds.gov

9. Referencing Price/Cost Schedule: Are candidates’ names required to be entered in the CLINS pre-award, or can the contractor insert TBD at the proposal stage?

GOVERNMENT RESPONSE: Offerors may place TBD or leave the sub-CLINS blank.

10. Referencing Report/Deliverables: Many items are requested upon proposal (such as licenses, price information supporting Physician Rates, Quality Control Plan, NPI, Licenses & Board Certifications) that either do not seem to be relevant based on the Qualification requirements listed on page 19 or part the evaluation factors on page 88-89. Please confirm that offerors are not required to provide this information with their responses.

GOVERNMENT RESPONSE:

This page has been corrected per question #2.

2.1.2. Board Certification: Certification is preferred but not required. If certified, all contractor’s personnel shall be certified as a Certified Operating Room Technician or Surgical Technologist by the National Board of Surgical Technology and Surgical Assisting (www.nbstsa.org).

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2.1.3. Contractor’s personnel shall be currently certified in Basic Life Support (BLS). All continuing education courses required for maintaining certification must be kept up to date at all times. Documentation verifying current certification shall be provided by the contractor to the VA COR on an annual basis for each year of contract performance.

2.1.4. Key Personnel: Must have a minimum of 2 years current experience (within the last 6 months) in a busy operating room with experience scrubbing for complex cases to include:

Cardiothoracic, Colon Rectal, General Surgery, Neurosurgery, Ophthalmology, Orthopedic Surgery, Otolaryngology, Plastic Surgery, Urology, Vascular and including robotics.

11. Referencing Minimum Qualifications: Please confirm if our understanding of the content on page 19 is correct in that there is no specific length of relevant experience candidates must demonstrate or specific licensing/board certifications requirements to be considered for position (page 19)? If this is incorrect, please include the specific minimum requirements candidates will be screened against.

GOVERNMENT RESPONSE:

This page has been corrected per question #2.

2.1.2. Board Certification: Certification is preferred but not required. If certified, all contractor’s personnel shall be certified as a Certified Operating Room Technician or Surgical Technologist by the National Board of Surgical Technology and Surgical Assisting (www.nbstsa.org).

2.1.3. Contractor’s personnel shall be currently certified in Basic Life Support (BLS). All continuing education courses required for maintaining certification must be kept up to date at all times. Documentation verifying current certification shall be provided by the contractor to the VA COR on an annual basis for each year of contract performance.

2.1.4. Key Personnel: Must have a minimum of 2 years current experience (within the last 6 months) in a busy operating room with experience scrubbing for complex cases to include:

Cardiothoracic, Colon Rectal, General Surgery, Neurosurgery, Ophthalmology, Orthopedic Surgery, Otolaryngology, Plastic Surgery, Urology, Vascular and including robotics.

12. Referencing Minimum Qualifications: Please confirm if RNs with relevant experience are eligible for the current position.

Yes. Registered Nurse (with Surgical Technologist/Technician experience) are eligible.

13. Referencing the Deadline for Offerors: If candidate information is required with proposals, would the VA please consider extending the deadline to accommodate offerors editing their proposals in response to the questions above regarding minimum qualifications for these positions.

GOVERNMENT RESPONSE: The solicitation due date has been extended. See the Amendment document for the response date and time.

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14. Do we submit candidates with the response? If so, can I have a candidate checklist of information requested?

15. There are no travel CLINS; would you consider adding travel CLINS in case no local candidates are identified?

GOVERNMENT RESPONSE: The government will not add travel CLINs.

16. Can you clarify if candidates are requested with submission or upon award?

17. We would like to know if this is a brand-new contract OR if there is (was) an incumbent performing these services. If not brand new, could you please provide the current / previous contract number?

GOVERNMENT RESPONSE: Current contract number is 36C26323C0042. Procurement history can be researched at www.fpds.gov.

18. Please clarify whether resumes for 4 On-site Surgical Technologists (Scrub Techs) must be submitted with the RFQ response. If so, can I have a candidate checklist of information requested?

19. PWS 2.1.8.5 Influenza: Contractors shall provide proof that all Contractor physicians have received the annual Influenza vaccine unless it is contraindicated. If the Contractor physician has a medical contraindication to the vaccine they shall be required to wear a mask during the Influenza season. {This is applicable to all health care workers}.

o Current VHA guideline VHA Directive 1192.01 Seasonal Influenza Prevention Program (attached regulation) allows for both Medical and Religious Declination of the Influenza Vaccine as long as the VHA Directive 1192.01Appendix B form is completed and provided. Please note that the current solicitation references this VHA Directive as applicable in section 1.4.8.

o In this PWS section, we ask you remove the requirement of Influenza vaccine “unless medically contraindicated” and replace with medical or religious reasons for declination compliant with VHA Directive 1192.01 Seasonal Influenza Prevention Program, to be compliant with the VHA Directive.

2.1.8.5. INFLUENZA paragraph is a direct pull from the Q523 PWS MSO template. If this paragraph is outdated, then I am not sure who has the authority to change it. Must defer back to you but we are ok with changing it in the PWS.

20. PWS 2.1.9 NPI: NPI is a standard, unique 10-digit numeric identifier required by HIPAA. The VHA must use NPIs in all HIPAA-standard electronic transactions for individual (health care practitioners) and organizational entities (medical centers). The Contractor shall have or obtain appropriate NPI and if pertinent the Taxonomy Code confirmation notice issued by the CMS NPPES be provided to the CO with the proposal. NPI Numbers are required for certain licensed independent practitioners, and others, to bill for service to include Medicaid. Scrub Techs do not have NPI numbers, and we respectfully request the government remove this requirement of the PWS.

Changed in attached version to reflect: 2.1.9. NPI: N/A

21. PWS 4.5.4.8 References Registered Nurse (with Surgical Technologist/Technician experience). Will the government please remove this since this is a requirement specifically for Surgical Technologists.

GOVERNMENT RESPONSE:

No. We have now included Registered Nurses as eligible

22. PWS 6.1.1 QASP: Other than Cost and Price Information Supporting Proposed Physician Rate (required for Affiliate onsite hourly- remove if it does not apply) – Upon Proposal Will the government please remove this, since this is not a requirement for Physicians.

GOVERNMENT RESPONSE:

Removed from attached copy.

23. PWS 6.1.1 QASP: Copy of Subcontracting Plan is required for all large businesses. Copy of Contractor Certification Statement if no subcontracting possibilities exist. – Upon Proposal Will the government please remove this, since this is set aside for SDVOSB contractors

GOVERNMENT RESPONSE: This does not apply and will be removed.

24. PWS 6.1.1 QASP: Copies of any and all licenses, board certifications, NPI, to include primary source verification of all licensed and certified staff – Upon Proposal Will the government please remove “Board Certification” and “NPI” since this is not a Physician bid

GOVERNMENT RESPONSE:

Per our answer on Question 20 we have removed NPI reference but not Board Certification as that is preferred now.

25. We do not see the requirements of the position e.g., certification required, education, experience etc. Can you provide those?

with the proposal.

26. Also, which occupation code or title is the position classified as in the wage determination?

GOVERNMENT RESPONSE: Offerors must determine the correct DOL Wage Determination occupation code.

27. Will the government please clarify if it is required that we submit a “Contract Employee Name” for each CLIN where designated, or can we put TBD upon award?

GOVERNMENT RESPONSE: You may enter “TBD upon award” for candidates.

28. Section 6.1.1 requests the following “Copies of any and all licenses, board certifications, NPI, to include primary source verification of all licensed and certified staff.” However, Section 2.1.1 & 2.1.2 says N/A. Can the government please clarify if: 1) License and board certifications are required?; 2) If so, can we provide copies of any and all licenses, board certifications, NPI, to include primary source verification of all licensed and certified staff, upon award or are they required as part of the proposal submission?

GOVERNMENT RESPONSE:

Board Certification: Certification is preferred but not required. If certified, all contractor’s personnel shall be certified as a Certified Operating Room Technician or Surgical Technologist by the National Board of Surgical Technology and Surgical Assisting (www.nbstsa.org). 2). With the proposal as this will be evaluated during the Technical Evaluation Board.

29. Can the government please provide clarification or a checklist of what needs to be included as part of the proposal response?

GOVERNMENT RESPONSE: See Solicitation Provision VAAR 852.273-73, Evaluation and Addendum to FAR 52.212-1 Instructions to Offerors.

30. NEW PERFORMANCE WORK STATEMENT (PWS) See attached document: Onsite Scrub Tech PWS Minneapolis VA Hospital 9-25-2024.

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