Questions and Answers Template Final - FEMA responses 010423.xlsx
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- National Clinical Vaccination Staffing Service Federal contract opportunity
- Solicitation number
- 70FB8023R00000002
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Sheet1
| Question Number | Question/Comment | Recommendation | FEMA Response |
| 1 | Does FEMA have any active task orders under the current contract? | None / zero active task orders | |
| 2 | How soon after contract award does the government anticipate potentially issuing task orders? | That will depend on the need | |
| 3 | Does the government anticipate using this contract for Monkeypox, influenza, respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), or any other non-COVID diseases? | No. | |
| 4 | Is this a new requirement or an existing requirement? | Existing Requirement | |
| 5 | How many incumbents are there performing this work? | There were two incumbents performaning this work and there is currently one (1) incumbent performing he work now. | |
| 6 | What are the incumbent names, contract #s, and revenues received under the incumbent contract? | OptumServe Health Services, Inc. / Contract# 70FB8021D00000002 and AMN Healthcare / Contract# 70FB8021D00000003. | |
| 7 | How many FTEs were on the previous contract? Has the PWS Changed? | The previous SOW required up to 2,500 medical staff. This SOW requires up to 350 staff per zone | |
| 8 | What did you like about the previous contract? Dislikes? | This information is not relevant to the RFP | |
| 9 | What are your KPIs? | Evaluation Criteria is listed in the RFP. | |
| 10 | If we have a teaming agreement with a subcontractor, does the subcontractor's experience count as experience for the prime? | See RFP Section L.3.1, Phase I: Factor 1 - Corporate Experience. It states, "Offerors are encouraged to submit experience performed as a prime, through teaming agreements, or as the sole subcontractor on the relevant projects. Experience submitted that was performed by subcontractors (or teaming arrangements) anticipated for this contract effort will be considered but may not be considered as relevant as the Prime’s experience. | |
| 11 | Is subcontracting a must for this project? | Subcontracting goals are listed in section H.14 of the RFP. Section H.14 states that, "In accordance with FAR 19.702, Offerors must submit to the Contracting Officer a Small Business Subcontracting Plan within thirty (30) calendar days after award". Per (b) of 19.702, subcontracting plans are not required for small business concerns. | |
| 12 | Do you offer any type of comp pay for people while they are waiting to be deployed to keep them on the project? If so, for how many? | No | |
| 13 | Due to the size and scope of the project, will a list of potential prime contractors but listed if interested in being a sub to them on the project? | Once the contract is awarded, the awardee information will be posted in SAM.gov for potential subcontracting opportunities. | |
| 14 | On page 93 of the RFP it states "Using specific examples that are verifiable, describe your corporate experience deploying |
thousands of medical staff capable of safely administering a vaccine to patients across
| dispersed locations within a 96-hour period." | Would the government be willing to adjust "thousands" to "hundreds" or similar language reducing the total number of deployed individuals to reflect the requirement of 700 in this SOW? | Language now reads: "Using specific examples that are verifiable, describe your corporate experience deploying hundreds of medical staff capable of safely administering a vaccine to patients across dispersed locations within a 96-hour period". | ||
| 15 | Can the government confirm that a separate technical proposal should be developed for each Zone bid on? | Can the government add clarifying language to the RFP that one (1) technical proposal should be submitted per zone for both phase I and phase II? If the Governemnt only requires one proposal for both regions, can firms that are proposing on both regions be alloted additional pages space for Phase I and Phase II submission to account for the additional response requirements? | Claifying language is added: If bidding on both zones, only one technical proposal is neede (for Phase 1 and for Phase II), but the offeror should make it clear that they are bidding on both zones, However, two separate pricing templates are needed (1 for each zone). | |
| 16 | The SOW 3.4.2 Labor Category Description on page 12 lists a LCAT for an On-Site Task Order / Quality Control Specialist This LCAT is not listed in the Pricing Worksheet | Can the government clarrify if an On-Site Task Order/Quality Control Specialist and Task Order/Management Specialist are the same LCAT? If not, could the government provide more information about this role & requirements? | Pricing sheet updated: Changed the "Task Order/Management Specialist" to "On-Site Task Order/Quality Control Specialist" | |
| 17 | The SOW 2.1.3 page 6 References a Task Order Coordinator Specialist/Manager and that this role will be filled by an RN, LPN. The Task Order Coordinator Specialist/Manager is not referenced in the staffing table 3.4.2 Labor Category Description. Can the government please clarify this role and requirements? | Can the government clarrify this role and requirements? | Their role is on-site lead for the contract team. They are the primary interface between the vendor and the site lead. They assist the contract staff with all aspects of the deployment to include, but |
not limited, to working conditions, payroll, scheduling, complaints, problems, etc. They will also work with the COR who interfaces with the CO.
| 18 | The SOW 2.4.1 page 8 References reimbursement of PPE cost if not provided. | Should these cost be listed in the pricing sheet? Please clarify. | See Section 5.0 of the SOW: Vaccination sites will provide necessary medical equipment (to include PPE), however, if not provided by the vaccination site, PPE will be negotiated/priced at the task order level.. |
| 19 | The SOW 1.2 page 2 References the posiblity of "establishing new federally operated facilities". | Will other consumables be needed in such cases? Please clarify? | No additional consumables required. If a new site is stood up, the site will either provide all that is required or in the case of PPE, see 2.4.1 |
| 20 | The SOW 3.4.2 Labor Category Description on page 11 provides minimum requirements for the Program Manager. The requirements list Minimum 3-5 years’ experience in relevant industry 3 years’ management experience, or Minimum Education: BA or BS and a state license and graduate of Accredited Medical Assistant Program or Certification: Project Management Professional PMP | Can the government clarify what the minimum experience, education and certification requirements are? | See Table 2: Program Manager Years of Experience in Specialty: Minimum 3-5 years’ experience in relevant industry 3 years’ management experience, or |
Minimum Education: BA or BS and a state license and graduate of Accredited Medical Assistant Program or Certification: Project Management Professional PMP State Licensure: N/A Skills/Experience: Program Manager and Deputy Program Manger must be experienced in the human resource or contracting arena; and must demonstrate experience in government or commercial contracts administration. Program Manager and Deputy Program Manager must demonstrate strong analytical and problem-solving skills, have experience managing programs directly related to business planning processes that drive improvements in contract administration, service, cost, scope, scheduling, systems or other areas as deemed necessary, and should have logistical planning experience.
| 21 | SOW 2.2.2.f references mobile vaccination clinics. | Is the contractor responsible for movement of the mobile vaccination clinic (e.g., providing CDL holding personnel)? Are there any unique requirements for mobile vaccination clinics beyond staffing those clinics similar to non-mobile clinics? | The contracted staff are only required to perform under the scope of practice of their license. They may also be required to assist with aspects of site set up/tear down, but nothing technical. The mobile site lead (not this contract) is responsible for the set up/operation/supply/teardown/movement of the site. Mobile sites have the same staffing requirements as fixed sires. The only variable is the mobile sites may change locations and require the staff to move their accommodations during the deployments |
| 22 | Section L, Factor (2) Staffing and Management Approach requests offerors in their staffing approach to provide plans/approaches to: a. sourcing of medical personnel, logistics management, percentage of local v. travel staffing, efficient use of resources, etc. | Can FEMA provide the anticipated size of task orders as issued? Understanding the general size of task orders and number of staff required can greatly impact the approaches and strategies. For example, a requirement for a large quantity of vaccination personnel in a depressed or rural location can directly impact local sourcing v. utilization of travel personnel. | It is impossible to know the exact or anticipated size of the task orders until the a request for services is received. |
| 23 | Section L, Factor (1) Corporate Experience states that experience submitted by subcontractors will be considered but may not be considered as relevant as the Prime's experience. | Given that subcontractor references may be considered less relevant, is FEMA assigning the confidence ratings detailed in M.4.4 in the aggregate across all referneces submitted or individually? Is there a limit to the number of subcontractor referneces that can be submitted and the offeror still achieve a high confidence rating? | Only one rating will be applied to Factor 1 - Corporate Experience. Per the RFP, Offerors may reference up to five (5) five recent Government and/or commercial examples of experience in the submission. |
| 24 | Terms & Conditions Pg. 23 of 103, H.2 Wage Determination. Question: Will the contract provide specific wage determination numbers upon award? | Please include wage determination numbers as each jurisdiction could have mutlipe wage determinations. | After award of the contract, wage determiantions for specific locations will be provided at the task order level. |
| 25 | Terms & Conditions Pg. 29 FAR Clause 52.230-2, Cost Accounting Standards. Question: Because CAS is applicable and T&M Task Orders are anticipated, is the Offeror required to have an approved accounting systems, and if so, will a 3rd Party CPA firm approval suffice? | In the case the Offeror is required to have an approved accounting system, allow a 3rd Party CPA firm approval. | A 3rd party evaluation of your accounting system is not required to be submitted with your proposal. Offerors will need to submit a Cost Accounting System Disclosure Statement (https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-48/chapter-99/subchapter-B/part-9903/subpart-9903.2/section-9903.201-3) with their Phase II proposal and prior to award, only the selected vendor will have to submit a pre-award accounting system survey. |
| 26 | Page 92 states "written submission, totaling no more than 7 pages (excluding the cover page). Also on Page 92, it states that a 1-page cover sheet, a 1-page TOC and 1-page Executive Summary are excluded from the page count. Please confirm that the cover sheet, TOC and Executive Summary are all out of page count. | Confirm that cover sheet, TOC and Executive Summary are all out of page count. | Confirming that the Cover Page, Table of Contents, and Executive Summaray are excluded from the page count. Language now states: "Pages not included in the 7 page-count are: a 1-page cover sheet, a 1-page table of contents and a 1-page Executive Summary which shall only restate the contents of the proposal" | 0 |
| 27 | Page 93 states to provide examples that show corporate experience "deploying thousands of medical staff capable of safely administering vaccines to patients across dispersed locations within a 96-hour period." However, the SOW states that the Contractor "shall have the capability to immediately deploy and manage travel arrangements for up to 50 licensed healthcare professionals within 96 hours of IDIQ." Additionally, the SOW states that the "The Contractor shall provide turnkey operations for the recruiting, badging, deployment upon request, management, and demobilization of up to 350 licensed medical professionals per zone authorized to administer COVID-19 vaccinations and other medical/operational staff to support the licensed medical professionals’ administration of COVID-19 vaccinations." The requirement to deploy thousands within 96 hours seems unnecessarily restrictive to show experience with work similar to the actual scope requirement and will not provide the government with an indication of the offeror's capability to perform the actual scope of work, as is required to evaluate Factor 1 with a level of confidence. | |||
| Suggest that the USG change the requirement to "deploying at least 50 medical staff capable of safely administering vaccines to patients across dispersed locations within a 96-hour period" or, alternatively "deploying at least 350 medical staff capable of safely administering vaccines to patients across dispersed locations during the life of the contract." | The RFP, the referenced langage, :Language now reads: "Using specific examples that are verifiable, describe your corporate experience deploying hundreds of medical staff capable of safely administering a vaccine to patients across dispersed locations within a 96-hour period" For the SOW .The 50 personnel was used as an example. For clarity, the language in the SOW is updated to state: "For instance, a 50 personnel matrix (44% Vaccinators, 23% Vaccine Preppers, 23%Observers, 10% Clinical Managers) will be of various labor category mix per task order" | |||
| 28 | Page 93 states "Offerors are encouraged to submit experience performed as a prime, through teaming agreements, or as the sole subcontractor on the relevant projects." If an offeror was the sole subcontractor is not indicative of their capability to perform a vast scope of similar magnitude. | Suggest changing language to "as a prime, through teaming agreements, or as a subcontractor on relevant projects" | Language changed to the following, "Offerors may reference up to five (5) five recent Government and/or commercial examples of experience in the submission. Offerors are encouraged to submit experience performed as a prime, through teaming agreements, or as the subcontractor on the relevant projects." | |
| 29 | Page 97 states "The Offeror shall submit at least 3 but no more than 5 PPQs supporting projects listed under Factor 1, Corporate Experience." Page 93 states that "Offerors may reference up to 5 examples of experience." Can the USG please confirm that the Experience examples and Past Performance references should align? | Change page 97 reference to "The Offeror shall submit up to 5 PPQs supporting projects listed uder Factor 1, Corporate Experience" | Yes, the Corporate Experience Examples and the Past Performance Questionnaires will need to align. The following was added under Factor (1) Corporate Experience: "NOTE: The experience listed in this section will need to align with the PPQs in Phase II. See Factor 3 – Past Performance." | |
| 30 | Page 97 states "The Government will assess the offeror’s recent (within the last five years) and relevant |
(similar in size and scope) prior performance that demonstrates the ability of the Offeror to successfully perform the requirements of the SOW. Recent is within the last five years. The offeror shall submit information provided to demonstrate relevant past performance shall within the last five years and similar in size (over $100 million dollars) and scope (medical
| staffing services for multiple states over a minimum of three months) to the requirement." Experience working in multiple states, not solely through a singular multiple state contract, will provide the USG with confidence as to low performance risk. | Suggest the USG changes the requirement to "The offeror shall submit information provided to demonstrate relevant past performance shall within the last five years and similar in size (over $100 million dollars) and scope (medical staffing services over a minimum of three months) to the requirement. The submitted references should collectively demonstrate the ability to work in more than one state. Each reference does not need to be performed in multiple states." | RFP languague will not be changed. | ||
| 31 | Page 98 states to submit sufficient evidence of responsibility. Can the USG confirm that a statement from an authorized signatory official of the company attesting to each of the statements will suffice as evidence? | Include language that sufficient evidence of responsibility includes a statement from an authorized signatory official of the company attesting to each of the statements as accurate. | Yes. | |
| 32 | Page 101 states that in Corporate Experience , "more weight may be given to experience serving as the prime contractor." However, the work conducted to achieve a $100M value that is highly relevant in nature should be counted equally, regardless of if it was conducted as the prime contractor, as it should still provide the USG with high confidence as to the ability to perform the work. | Remove this sentence. | RFP languague will not be changed. | |
| 33 | In Table 2, Minimum qualifications, several of the listed specialties state “Certifications: Applicable certification according to requirements for specialties.” For many of these, it lists BLS, ACLS, ATLS, PALS and NALS. Is this accurate? In regards to ATLS, this is typically only needed in an Emergency Room Trauma Center situation. Is ATLS a relevant requirement for this type of role? If so, it is not typical that pharmacist, pharmacy technicians or LPN/LPN would have this certification. | We recommend removing the requirement for ATLS certification as a requirement for staff on this contract. | Table 2 (of the SOW) updated with the minimum qualifications for the RN, NP, PA, LVN/LPN, Pharmacist/Pharm D, Pharm Tech. | |
| 34 | The Phase I submission defines a "relevant contract" as "similar scope and complexity with an approximate completion dollar value of $100,000,000 or more." Given the current contracting environment for these services (smaller contracts distributed among multiple contractors), this completion dollar value seems to exclude potential contractors from submitting a number of otherwise highly relevant contracts supporting similar services. | We recommend the Government remove the completion dollar value amount from the definition of relevance or lower the threshold to allow for offerors to present otherwise relevant past performance that falls below this threshold. | RFP languague will not be changed. | |
| 35 | The direction provided under the Advisory Select Down section on page 94 references "as well as the date and time for the Offeror’s oral presentation". However, the instructions make no reference to an oral presentation as being part of the evaluation. | Will the Government please clarify whether an oral presentation will be part of this requirement and provide further guidance as to duration limit, anticipated date(s), any technology requirements/compatibility, etc.? | Reference to oral presntations has been removed. | |
| 36 | PWS 2.1.1 (f) provides percentages regarding the 50 personnel matrix. | Will all assignments require a minimum of 50 personnel? | The 50 personnel was used as an example. For clarity, the language in the SOW is updated to state: "For instance, a 50 personnel matrix (44% Vaccinators, 23% Vaccine Preppers, 23%Observers, 10% Clinical Managers) will be of various labor category mix per task order" | |
| 37 | Can the Government provide information on the number of task orders that have been issued under the existing IDIQ contract for these services? | Task Order information can be found on FPDS. | ||
| 38 | PWS 3.4.2, Table 2 provids that the Program Manager and Deputy Program Managers Minimum education is a "BA or BS and a state license and graduate of Accredited Medical Assistant Program". | The requirement of being a graduate from an acceredited Medical Association Program limits the number of otherwise qualified Program Manager candidates who can be submitted (i.e. Nursing program graduates). We receommend the Government remove this requirement. | Languag states: Minimum Education: BA or BS and a state license and graduate of Accredited Medical Assistant Program "or" |
Certification: Project Management Professional PMP 39 RFP Document, Phase I Proposal Content, Page 93 requires that offerors demonstrate "corporate experience deploying thousands of medical staff capable of safely administering a vaccine to patients across dispersed locations within a 96-hour period." Given that based on the Government's estimate that no more than 350 personnel will be deployed per zone, having to demonstrate "thousands" seems unduly restrictive for potential offerors who may have otherwise qualified experience in this area. We recommend that the Government remove the words "thousands of" from this requirement. Language now reads: "Using specific examples that are verifiable, describe your corporate experience deploying hundreds of medical staff capable of safely administering a vaccine to patients across dispersed locations within a 96-hour period".
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