Attachment A - Funeral Services - SOW.docx

OHIO DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS SERVICES

REQUEST FOR QUOTE (RFQ)

Executive Summary The Ohio Department of Veteran Services (DVS) seeks to contract with a Contractor to provide burial and cremation services for deceased residents of the Ohio Veterans Home (OVH) located in Sandusky, Ohio who do not have pre-arranged funeral services.

DVS operates a domiciliary and nursing home at its OVH. The OVH has hundreds of residents, all of whom are honorably discharged veterans from the U.S. Armed Forces who served during a time of war. From time to time, a resident will pass away without having made funeral arrangements. As a result, this solicitation is designed to solicit bids for the provision of their funeral services.

Standard Terms and Conditions State of Ohio Terms and Conditions will apply to this quote.

Mandatory site visit A Mandatory Site visit will be held at the Department of Veterans Services/Ohio Veterans Home, 3416 Columbus Avenue, Sandusky, OH 44870 to survey the facility and discuss the requirements of the solicitation. The visit will commence promptly on the date and time listed below, barring an unforeseen circumstance that results in a delay of the site visit. Attendance will be taken. The state will not be responsible for an Offeror for their failure to obtain information discussed during the site visit due to their arriving after the site visit has convened. Prospective bidders need not attend the site visit to submit a proposals, but attendance is encourage.

10:00am, 01/14/25

Sandusky, OH 44870 Secrest/Giffin Main Entrance

Scope of Work

1. Contractor shall conduct all Services as outlined below, which include, providing all OVH residents without preset funeral arrangements (“Residents”), regardless of their financial circumstances, with dignified funeral services that are based on each Resident’s preferences or, if their preferences are not known, the preferences of someone authorized to act on their behalf (“authorized representative”).

2. No funeral services shall exceed a preset price. Bidders must submit their lowest preset price in their responses to this RFP.

3. Residents or their authorized representatives must be able to upgrade the funeral services if they so desire and can pay for such upgrades. Upgrades are the sole responsibility of the person(s) requesting them.

4. Residents or their authorized representatives must be able to amend or cancel any/all funeral services that a bidder offers with the exception of body removal from the OVH and its sanitary storage. If amendment or cancellation occurs, a bidder must correspondingly prorate its prices. Under no circumstances shall the price of any funeral service that a bidder performs increase as a result of other services being amended or canceled by a Resident or his/her authorized representative.

5. Under no circumstances shall the Ohio Veterans Home or the State of Ohio be financially obligated for a Resident’s funeral expenses as a result of any contract awarded.

Funeral Services The funeral services (“Services”) for which this solicitation seeks bids must include—

1. Removal from the OVH of all Resident remains within two (2) hours of OVH notification of death. Please Note: When an OVH resident with preset funeral arrangement passes away, the OVH will immediately notify his/her Preferred Funeral Home so that it can remove the resident’s remains. If such removal cannot occur within two (2) hours of notice, the OVH will notify the Contract Funeral Home and it will remove the resident’s remains within two (2) hours. At that time, it will be between the Preferred Funeral Home and the Contract Funeral Home to coordinate and/or determine the resident’s funeral arrangements.

2. Refrigerated storage of all remains removed from the OVH until they can be properly cared for in compliance with law, last wishes, and/or authorized representative instructions.

3. Oversight of all funeral preparations for Residents by a funeral director and staff licensed pursuant to Ohio Administrative Code 4717-4.

4. Full and complete Resident embalming and burial preparation to include applying cosmetics, dressing and positioning.

5. Burials shall be provided to those Residents who have requested or their authorized representatives have requested a burial. For each Resident burial, the Contract Funeral Home shall—

a. Provide a 20-guage steel, protective sealed casket with silver exterior color and white crape interior or equivalent.

b. Provide a top-sealed vault, consisting of concrete with heat-fused asphalt exterior, finished in antique bronze.

6. Resident cremation shall occur when a Resident or authorized representative chooses cremation or only in those cases where a Resident has not requested a burial and no authorized representative has been found or, where an authorized representative has been found, an authorized representative expresses no burial/cremation preference. For each Resident cremation, the Contract Funeral Home will—

a. Cremate the Resident’s remains, placing those remains in a plastic urn supplied by the Contract Funeral Home.

7. For all Resident burials and cremations, the Contract Funeral Home shall—

a. Write and circulate a Resident obituary for local and out of town newspapers and radio.

b. Assist with any funeral ceremonies at the OVH, Monday through Friday.

c. Provide a guest book for visitation at funeral ceremonies at the OVH.

d. Provide a proper-sized funeral coach. (No unmarked vehicles shall be permitted).

e. Transport Resident remains to the OVH gravesite, if applicable.

f. File all necessary permits and authorizations for Resident burial.

g. Forward of all burial permits for OVH burials/cremations to the OVH Medical Records Section.

h. Secure death certificates for Resident OVH burials/cremations and forward copies to the OVH Medical Records Section.

OVH Responsibilities The OVH will provide confirmation of a Resident’s veteran status upon request.

Payment The Contractor Funeral Home will only invoice Residents, those OVH residents with preset funeral arrangements that use the Contractor Funeral Home’s services, and/or the authorized representatives of the foregoing.

Term of Contract

1. Any subsequent agreements or contracts arising from this solicitation shall begin on July 1, 2025, and the term of the contract shall be until June 30, 2026, unless it is terminated earlier.

As a condition of any award resulting from this solicitation, and subject to mutual agreement, the period covered by the ensuing contract may be extended, under the same terms and conditions stated herein, for one (1) additional year.

Bid Submission

1. Contractor shall complete the item grid cost in OhioBuys.

2. Contractor shall fill out and return the following forms with their bid.

a. Business Associate Agreement (BAA)

b. The Certification Statements Form if seeking any supplier preference.

c. Contractor Information Form

d. Affirmation and Disclosure Form

Bid Submissions received without the attached documents may be deemed non-responsive.