Attachment A1 - Questions and Answers - VA Response.pdf

Q&A for: PN: 437-24-150, Replace Nurse Call and Code Blue System

• Is this a Lowest Price Technically Acceptable (LPTA) or is this a Best Value Tradeoff

Source Selection solicitation?

• Neither – This is FAR/RFO 14 - Invitation for Bid – Price only.

• The Scope of Work requires nurse call devices located in shower areas to be IP68 waterproof certified. The VA typically defines “waterproof” for nurse call devices functionally—meaning shower rated and water resistant for wet healthcare environments—rather than requiring IP68 immersion ratings which are IEC 60529 Ingress Protection (IP) standard not “waterproof” certification.

Additionally, the VA design intent aligns with:

• NFPA life safety concepts (reliability of emergency call)

• FGI Guidelines (bathrooms/showers as high risk areas)

• Healthcare electrical safety standards (wet location suitability)

• VA Master Specification language emphasizing function, not immersion

None of these require submersion rated electronics for nurse call.

Please confirm whether the VA will accept shower rated, water resistant nurse call pull cord switches specifically designed and listed for wet bathroom/shower environments, but not immersion rated (IP68), as compliant. If IP68 immersion certification is mandatory, please identify the specific clinical or operational requirement necessitating continuous immersion protection.

• VA will accept shower rated, water resistant nurse call components.

• Please confirm that the Primary Care Addition will include raceway, conduit, and backboxes sufficient to allow the Contractor to pull CAT6a for the Nurse Call expansion.

• Backboxes and conduit for the nurse call will not be provided for this expansion. There will be a raceway from the TR closet 1D-64A.

• The Scope of Work states – “The Contractor is responsible for ensuring all current

Joint Commission, NFPA, VA, local VA, VA Information Technology, and any other applicable standards are met.”. Please confirm that the solicitation design meets the standards cited as well as the Facilities Guidelines Institute.

• Design is intended to meet the standards listed however there is a significant performance biases to this design requiring the contractor to consider the same in their execution of the work.

• The Scope of Work states - “The nurse call system must include any licensing programs or modification required for the system to work and function with any compatible existing equipment such as beds, pagers, routers, switches, computers, TV controls, speakers, patient calls or televisions and not limited to VA networking and data servers. Please identify “compatible existing equipment” and the level of work/function required.

• Contractors will need to provide compatible as stated.

• The Scope of Work states - “3) Contractor must integrate Emergency Communication and Paging System components with the new Nurse Call System and current Q-Sys Paging System and its components.” Please be specific and indicate what is the minimum level of integration required to meet clinical, safety, and operational needs without adding unnecessary risk or governance complexity and Does this requirement call for hard wired (GPIO/dry contact) triggers, SIP/IP based triggers, or a hybrid approach?

• All nurse call page outputs shall be sent over these systems.

• The Scope of Work states - “1) The Contractor shall warrant the installation to be free from defect in material and workmanship for a period 1 years from the date of acceptance of the project by the owner.”. Typically, warranty period starts when each Unit is certified and turned over to the hospital for use of the new nurse call system not at the end of the project when early Units may have been in service for as much as a year or more. Please advise if the warranty will start at the Unit level as they are certified and turned over for hospital use.

• Warranty starts at acceptance

• The Scope of Work states – “8) System hardware shall consist of a Digital Nurse Call/Code Blue Communication System network approved, VA IT Enterprise Technical Reference Model (TRM), Enterprise Risk Analysis (ERA), Memorandum of Understanding (MOU), Cerner approved.” Please confirm at time of bid the Nurse Call System must have the following (copies to be submitted with bid):

• VA Directive 6550

• Medical Enterprise Risk Assessment (MDERA).

• Memorandums of Understanding and Interconnection Agreements (MOU-

ISA) which detail what data types are shared, who has access, and the appropriate level of security controls for all systems connected to VA networks.

o The MOU-ISA allows for remote access for faster installation.

o MOU-ISA allows for remote access faster response time, since no one is required to come onsite to fix the issue.

o Time to value is increased

• These are not required to be provided at bid.

• Please advise as to the Commissioning Agents contractual relationship with the project, are they to be contracted directly with the Government, the General Contractor or the Nurse Call OEM?

• Contractual relationship with the General Contractor.

• The Scope of Work states – “4) The Contractor will be required to integrate the Nurse Call System with the following systems and existing (not all listed), with the option to add more system.

a. Vocera

b. Vocia

c. QCS Overhead Paging System

d. CobraNet - Police Services for priority override (interconnection provide, install, and configure)

e. Accutech/Wanderguard - Security systems/detection such as some stairwell doors”

f. Q-Sys Paging System

Please provide the level of integration required for the systems cited and “existing (not listed)” systems.

• All nurse call page outputs shall be sent over these systems.

• Drawing E502 (Riser Diagram) states - “VA is responsible for necessary connection and equipment required for new VLAN meeting VA requirements. Contractor shall provide any equipment needed for integration of new nurse call system and VA provided VLAN server. and Coordinate area of rack for fiber terminations. Contractor to provide VLAN equipment connections.”. If all TR locations are to be trunked back to TR BC-50, is there existing fiber backbone that the Contractor to utilize or is the Contractor to provide fiber backbone between TR BC-50 and each TR?

• Contractor to provide fiber backbone.

• Please confirm the nurse call system must have an ADT HL7 Admit, Discharge, Transfer (ADT) live at a VA site with CPRS/Vista to allow for the following desired workflows:

• ADT must be able to Time stamp patient admission, discharge and transfer within the nurse call system.

• Patient name is automatically updated/displayed on master console, status board and reporting; provides the ability to better acknowledge patient by name at the time of call to improve patient perception with nurse communication

• Reporting Improves data accuracy in the following reports: call summary, call detail, bedside shift handoff & Event Chronology.

• Provides current and accurate patient context information, eliminating need to verify correct patients in room/bed against patient bed placement in VISTA

• Enables clinicians to make informed decisions based on accurate data for Root Cause Analysis

• See Specifications.

• Will single mode or multimode fiber backbone be utilized?

• multimode fiber per systems manufacturer requirements

• Please describe the expected project flow and phasing within each given nursing unit?

• Phasing is noted in the drawings. Expected to have preliminary communication and phasing plan with nurse managers of the specified areas.

• Will there be availability of fiber between network closets?

• No

• Can we provide a USB instead of a CD ROM for SW copies?

• CD ROM.

• In document 36C26326B0027_1

• A.3 Price/Cost Schedule

i. Item # 0001

1. During the walkthrough Pathology was not included in the scope of the drawings provided. Are we to tie into the existing nurse call system in that location? The call out states that the system is a complete install. The owner has Responder 5 in this location.

• This System will be integrated into the new system.

Per Section 01 35 26, the specifications require that the Site Safety and Health Officer (SSHO) be a separate individual with no additional duties, independent from both the Superintendent and Quality Control Manager. However, the specifications do not appear to clearly state whether the Quality Control Manager (QCM) may also serve as the Site Superintendent.

• Can the Site Superintendent also serve as the Quality Control Manager (QCM) for this project, provided all qualifications are met, or does the Government require these to be separate individuals?

o Site Superintendent may serve as the QCM if they have the qualifications.

• Please clarify whether a dedicated full-time on-site SSHO is required for the duration of construction, or whether the Superintendent may serve as SSHO if qualified.

o The SSHO must be its own role.

• If a contractor is currently performing work on the Fargo VA Campus under a separate contract, would the Government permit the same individual to serve as the Site Superintendent or Site Safety and Health Officer (SSHO) for this project, or are these roles required to be dedicated exclusively to this contract?

o They must be exclusive to this contract.

• Please clarify contractor responsibilities regarding ICRA/PCRA preparation, approval process, temporary containment requirements, and whether VA standard infection control details/barrier requirements will be provided.

o ICRA/PCRA documents are provided with the drawings. Barrier’s must be inspected by someone in VA Engineering for approval before work starts.

• Please clarify the expected turnaround time for above-ceiling permits and whether blanket permits may be issued for phased work areas.

o Above-ceiling permits can be turned around day of or beforehand. The COR will have to assess the ceiling before starting the permit. A blanket permit would be fine per department. Not for all departments.

• Please clarify contractor responsibility where existing conduits/raceways are found to be inaccessible, damaged, undersized, or unsuitable for reuse.

o Existing could be reused, raceway added where not reuseable.

• Please clarify allowable outage durations for nurse call/code blue systems and whether temporary systems are required during cutover operations.

o Outage should not occur. The old nurse call has to be functional while the new one gets installed. Coordination differ per department on room access/moving patients.

• Please clarify contractor versus VA responsibilities for network provisioning, VLAN configuration, cybersecurity approvals, server access, and IT commissioning.

o VLAN per design

• Please clarify the definition of substantial completion, including whether training, integration, commissioning, and all phased turnover activities must be complete prior to substantial completion.

o A/E can propose a phase approach for acceptance

• Please provide infection control containment standards required for each ICRA/PCRA classification area.

o See drawings

In applying the Limitations on Subcontracting requirements under FAR 52.219-14 for this construction project, please confirm whether the “cost of the contract incurred for personnel” excludes all material costs, including those procured and installed by subcontractors, and that only the labor and service components are used in determining compliance with the 25% self-performance requirement.

• Please refer to the language within the document, particularly the last sentence: