Attachment 1 - Statement of Work.pdf

A�achment 1 | Statement of Work

STATEMENT OF WORK

USU MORTUARY SERVICES

Background:

The Uniformed Services University of Health Sciences (USU) is the Department of Defense’s only medical teaching university that utilizes human cadavers and freshly donated human remains in its academic curriculum. In order for the cadavers and donations to arrive at USU in a timely and professional manner, USU requires the services of a professional, licensed, bonded, and insured mortuary services provider/transporter (Contractor). This provider shall be competent and capable of transporting human remains from various places of death to USU, 4301 Jones Bridge Rd, Bethesda, MD, (Monday-Friday, during normal business hours). Transfer of remains includes from a residence, hospital, state agency, hospice care facility, nursing home, medical examiner’s office, and other funeral providers.

Tasks:

Task #1: Anatomical Gift Program:

The USU Anatomical Gift Program allows military veterans and civilians the opportunity to donate their body, or next of kin body to USU for teaching and research purposes, covering a radius of 150 miles from place of death to USU. If the donation is greater than 150 miles, the next of kin (NOK) shall agree to reimburse the Contractor for General Price Listed mileage, and expenses for securing permits to move the donated body across state lines.

The anatomical donation service contractually may cover all expenses* relating to movement of remains from place of death, securing permits, securing death certificates, two death certificates, preparation of remains, delivery of remains to USU, cremation, and delivery of cremated remains to NOK via local delivery, or certified mail.

*Exceptions to this include anatomical donors that expire in states outside of Maryland, Virginia and the District of Columbia. If a donor passes away in West Virginia, Pennsylvania, Delaware, or New Jersey, or if the distance would preclude a 2 hour removal, the Contractor shall subcontract a third party licensee to ensure timely removal of remains will be done within 2 hours of the notification of death. If the third party mortuary service provider requires fees for services, the NOK is responsible for all fees, and death certificates. Prior to any commitment of out-of-state services, the USU Anatomical Curator shall communicate these expectations to the NOK prior to donor acceptance.

Performance of Services:

The Contractor shall transfer anatomical donations to their funeral home, and store in refrigeration, or embalm upon request of the USU Anatomical Director as needed. Once the Contractor has confirmed that the donor is registered with USU, the Contractor shall contact

USU on the next business day, and request a facsimile of the vital statistics form for death certificate. If the remains are not to be embalmed, the following services are expected:

The Contractor provider shall:

a. Secure a signed death certificate and burial transit permit

b. Contact the physician to arrange a signature if the death certificate is not signed within 24 hours of death.

c. Obtain basic information from the caller. If the donor is registered, there is no need to request vital statistics.

d. Properly tag all remains identifying: Last Name, First Name, Date of Death, and Location of Death. The tag shall be affixed to the left ankle, or right ankle if left is amputated. The affixed tag shall be written as:

SMITH, JOHN, C. DOD: 12DEC12 Residence/Hospital/Morgue, etc.

e. Ensure that under no circumstances a removal takes place from a hospital or institution that has adequate refrigeration. Such moves are to be deterred until the next day.

f. Ensure that residential removals have two personnel at all times. There are no exceptions.

g. Ensure that nursing homes and hospice units that do not have refrigeration are given a 3 hour lead time to make the transfer.

h. Ensure if a donation inquiry is located outside of Maryland, Washington, DC and

Virginiainia, the NOK is responsible for payment of the initial mortuary services provider to secure the remains, and all death certificates.

i. Take human remains into their care, and refrigeration storage.

n. Place human remains in heavy, leak proof body bags, as provided by USU. Under no circumstances shall body bags be used twice.

o. Contact Multidisciplinary Laboratory/Anatomical Teaching Laboratory (MDL/ATL) to arrange delivery of donor’s remains.

p. Upon delivery, remove human remains and deliver to the USU morgue.

q. USU ATL staff shall assist moving human remains from mortuary services provider’s stretcher, and transfer to refrigeration.

q. ATL personnel shall sign funeral provider Chain of Custody forms, and visually identify the leg tag, and or hospital ID band upon arrival.

r. ATL staff shall also sign for any personal effects as delivered by the funeral provider.

Transportation of Remains:

The following transportation services are to be performed by the Contractor as required:

a. The Contractor shall coordinate the removal of remains as soon as possible when notified of a death.

b. The Contractor shall take possession of the remains at the place where they are located and transport them to USU.

Performance and Delivery:

a. The Contractor shall furnish the material ordered and perform the services specified as promptly as possible after receiving notification to remove the remains.

b. The USU may require the Contractor to hold the remains in refrigeration for an additional period not to exceed 48-hours from the time the remains are removed from the place of death.

Permits:

The Contractor shall meet all State and local licensing requirements and obtain and furnish all necessary Health Department and shipping permits at no additional cost to USU. The Contractor shall ensure that all necessary health department permits are in order for disposition of the remains, provide a non-certified copy of the death certificate, and the original burial transit permit. In addition, the Contractor will secure an executed USU Anatomical Gift Program “Certificate of Body Donation by Next of Kin” when requested by USU. The Contractor will maintain a supply of USU Body Donation forms for this purpose.

Cremation:

Once teaching/research has been completed, the Contractor shall transfer and cremate approximately 120 bodies, (one or more transferred at a time) and return ashes to the USU Anatomical Curator.

Occasionally, ashes may be picked up directly from the Contractor, depending on the Next of Kin (NOK) proximity to the Contractor’s location.

Unless specified, or arranged in advance, all Anatomical Gift Donations shall be cremated. The mortuary services provider shall arrange transfer from USU to contracted crematory and return all ashes to USU in individual temporary containers.

a. All cremated remains shall be accompanied by cremation certificate

b. The mortuary services provider shall provide cremation mailer boxes, and bags suitable for local delivery to NOK.

c. Upon receipt of cremated remains, the mortuary services provider shall deliver to the morgue receiving area of USU.

d. ATL personnel shall sign funeral provider Chain of Custody forms, for acceptance of ashes.

e. All removals must be accompanied with appropriate documentation – death certificate, burial-transit permit, and other approvals as required (i.e., medical examiner’s stamp).

Task #2: Call forwarding services:

USU seeks Contractor to accept our phone lines daily, covering for after hours and weekend calls regarding anatomical donation. The provider shall contact the USU Anatomical Curator with donor inquiries, or questions about the program.

Death Call services:

When the Contractor identifies that the call is related to USU anatomical donation, the following steps must be taken.

Is the caller:

(1) Calling to discuss a pre registered donor?

(2) If not, the caller must contact the USU Anatomical Director during the next business day to establish eligibility.

(3) If the caller is reporting the death of a registered donor, then the Contractor shall take all first call information and arrange for transfer to the funeral home, for holding, preparation, and delivery to USU within 48 hours. {It is paramount that the Contractor only transfers remains after hours when no refrigeration is available.} All hospital calls will be transferred once the death certificate has been secured.

(4) If the caller seeks donation information, please forward caller contact information and any messages to the USU Anatomical Curator during the next official business day for follow up.

The Contractor shall obtain specific information identifying whether the caller represents an existing registered donor, or if the caller seeks information regarding donation. This criterion is important to ensure that the mortuary services provider does not accept a body that would be unqualified per USU anatomical donation standards.

It is the responsibility of the Contractor to ensure that the donor is pre-registered in the USU Donor Program. Occasionally, relatives of the donor may call other agencies, or call USU as a donor referral. The NOK may have enough knowledge of the donor process and may deceptively convince the contractor that the donor is a USU registered donor. IF A NON-REGISTERED

DONOR IS ACCEPTED BY THE CONTRACTOR, THE DONATED BODY IS THE

RESPONSIBILITY OF THE CONTRACTOR FOR FINAL DISPOSITION, AND ALL

RELATED FEES.

Contracting Officer’s Representative:

Any individual delegated as the Contracting Officer’s Representative (COR) under the resultant contract shall be limited to technical cognizance and performance oversight. The COR shall not at any time execute contract actions or modifications therein. The Contracting Officer shall issue a formal COR appointment letter, to be included with the resultant contract package, and shall provide a copy to the Contractor. Responsibilities and limitations on authority specific to the resultant contract shall be identified within the appointment letter. Any changes to the COR or assigned duties therein shall be made in writing by the Contracting Officer.

The Contracting Officer's Representative (COR) shall assist in monitoring the contractor’s performance. The contractor’s performance shall be evaluated by the COR and Program Manager unless otherwise required.

The COR shall contact the Contracting Officer for any changes needed on the requirement. The Primary Contracting Officer’s Representative for the contract shall be as follows:

TBD.