Attach I - Single Source Justification - redacted.pdf

VHAPG Part 813.5 Simplified Acquisition Procedures for Certain Commercial Items Attachment 1: Request for Sole Source Justification > SAT-$7.5M under FAR13.5

Effective Date: 11/15/24 Page 1 of 5

REVISION: 01

Acquisition ID#: 36C250-25-AP-3749

DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS

SOLE SOURCE JUSTIFICATION UNDER SIMPLIFIED PROCEDURES FOR CERTAIN COMMERCIAL

ITEMS IN ACCORDANCE WITH FAR 13.5

Acquisition Plan Action ID: 36C250-25-AP-3749

1. Contracting Activity:

Department of Veterans Affairs, VISN 10, Cincinnati VA Medical Center (VAMC), 3200 Vine Street, Cincinnati, OH 45220.

Network Contracting Office (NCO) 10, 260 E. University Ave., Ste. 200, Cincinnati, OH 45219.

PR # 539-25-3-072-0073.

2. Nature and/or Description of the Action Being Processed:

The purpose of this requirement is to acquire preventative maintenance services for the hemodialysis equipment used in preparing water for use at the Renal Clinic of the subject VAMC.

This request is for approval to use other than full and open competition to solicit single source services to maintain the government-owned Mar Cor equipment. The action will be awarded as a new, firm-fixed-price contract with four option periods.

The Renal Clinic provides hemodialysis to patients with kidney problems. The procedure helps to filter and remove waste products and excess fluids from the blood when the kindeys are no longer able to perform these functions adequately. In hemodialysis the patient’s blood is removed from the body and filtered in a dialysis machine where waste products, excess salts and fluids are removed prior to returning the blood to the patient.

Since hemodialysis involves a direct connection between the patient’s blood and the dialysate (a fluid containing purified water) – pure clean water is essential. The Mar Cor equipment discussed herein is what converts city supplied water into water suitable for use in a medical procedure.

The necessary services include furnishing preventive maintenance, parts, labor, intervening service calls/emergency repairs, technical telephone assistance, expert supervision and all other associated costs required to maintain and repair the equipment.

For warranty purposes, only Mar Cor devices and components are authorized to be used on the equipment. Further, only Mar Cor authorized technicians may service the equipment in a manner to ensure patient safety.

This justification is for the acquisition of services to ensure that the water processing system used in hemodialysis is adequate for filtering blood, and safe and effective for patients. A preventative maintenance agreement for water purification equipment is necessary to achieve this. The services are currently provided by Evoqua Water Technologies.

3. Description of Supplies/Services Required to Meet the Agency’s Needs:

The services required to meet this acquisition include furnishing preventive maintenance, parts, labor, intervening service calls/emergency repairs, technical telephone assistance, expert

VHAPG Part 813.5 Simplified Acquisition Procedures for Certain Commercial Items Attachment 1: Request for Sole Source Justification > SAT-$7.5M under FAR13.5

Effective Date: 11/15/24 Page 3 of 5

REVISION: 01

Acquisition ID#: 36C250-25-AP-3749

5. Demonstration that the Contractor’s Unique Qualifications or Nature of the Acquisition Requires the Use of the Authority Cited Above (applicability of authority):

Dialysis water processing systems are highly-specialized life-sustaining equipment. The equipment used to generate water for the renal clinic was manufactured by Mar Cor and is owned by the Government. The equipment is currently maintained and serviced by a preventative maintenance agreement with Evoqua Water Technologies. Evoqua is the solely authorized provider of maintenance services and supplies for Mar Cor equipment.

Evoqua is a well-known and established firm in the dialysis water system service and repair industry.

The services Evoqua provides include inspection, testing as well as replacing parts and providing rentals. Many of the system parts are proprietary and cannot be sourced on the the open market.

Circuit boards and LED components along with the programs within are unique to Mar Cor and cannot be provided by or safely worked on by other firms without compromising patient safety.

Since the entire system is not being replaced at this time, it is essential that the existing system be maintained properly by Mar Cor authorized service providers. Accordingly, Evoqua is the only firm capable of providing the supplies and services described in paragraph three above without the VAMC experiencing substantial duplication of cost that could not be expected to be recovered through competition and unacceptable delays in fulfilling this requirements.

For the above reasons, the Government has determined the use of a single source acquisition to Evoqua Water Technologies is essential to the requirement, thereby precluding consideration of services and supplies provided by other companies.

6. Description of Efforts Made to ensure that offers are solicited from as many potential sources as deemed practicable:

Market Research for the requirement is outlined in paragraph eight below. For reasons outlined in paragraph five above, the Government has determined that the use of a single source justification for the water processing systems is essential to the Government’s requirement and precludes other service providers.

In accordance with FAR Part 10, a sources sought notice was posted to SAM.gov, advising industry of the pending acquisition and soliciting inquiries from interested and capable parties. The sources sought notice was published from June 16 to June 20, 2025. Two responses were received (one was late). One response came from a firm that is not an authorized service provider for Mar Cor equipment. The other firm specializes in recruiting, training, and building biomedical technician teams for servicing dialysis equipment. However, since they currently do not have an established team of Mar Cor-authorized technicians, they are unable to meet the requirement. Therefore, the sources sought request confirms that there is only one responsible source available. This requirement is single-sourced because Evoqua Water Technologies (Mar Cor) is the only firm authorized to safely service and maintain the water processing system currently in place at the specified VAMC.

7. Determination by the CO that the Anticipated Cost to the Government will be Fair and Reasonable:

The CO will determine fair and reasonable by comparing the proposals against the existing service price and reviewing the government-wide database for other similar contracts.