Bid_Board_Notice_Answering_Service_for_FY27-29_final_to_be_submitted_EMMA.pdf

BID BOARD NOTICE

PROCURMENT ID NUMBER: BPM056982

ISSUE DATE: May 12th, 2026

TITLE: State Anatomy Board Answering Service FY27-29

CLOSING DATE: May 15th, 2026

THIS SOLICITATION SHALL BE MADE IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE SMALL PROCUREMENT

REGULATIONS DESCRIBED IN COMAR 21.05.07

Brief Description of Services:

The MDH-State Anatomy board is seeking the services of a vendor to provide _Telephone

Answering Service_ for the period of July 1st, 2026_ to June 30th, 2029_.

I. PROCUREMENT OBJECTIVES

A. Issuing Office

Maryland Department of Health

State Anatomy Board

655 W Baltimore St

Baltimore, Maryland 21201

The Contract Monitor for this solicitation:

Juan Ortega, Executive Director

655 W Baltimore St

Baltimore, Maryland 21201

(410) 706-3313 Fax (410) 706-8107

Email: jortega@som.umaryland.edu

The sole point of contact in the State for purposes of this solicitation is the Contract

Officer.

B. Submission Deadline

An original copy of the bids MUST be received at the Issuing Office listed above by

2 p.m. Eastern Time on May 15th, 2026 in order to be considered.

Bidders who mail bids should allow sufficient mail transit time to ensure timely receipt by the Issuing Office.

II. GENERAL INFORMATION FOR VENDORS

A. Contract

1. The contract resulting from this solicitation shall be a fixed price contract, beginning July 1st, 2026.

2. The Department reserves the right to reduce or withhold contract payment in the event the Contractor does not provide the Department with all required deliverables within the time frame specified in the contract or in the event that the Contractor otherwise materially breaches the terms and conditions of the contract.

B. Submission of Bids

If mailed, Bidders MUST submit bid in an enveloped to be labeled “Bid”. The bid must contain the bidder’s name, bid due date and time.

Faxed bids will not be accepted for this solicitation.

Bids will also be accepted via email to Juan Ortega, Executive Director:

jortega@som.umaryland.edu

C. Vendor Experience and References

The vendor MUST list three references in the transmittal letter. The letters should be on company letterhead and must include the name, phone number, and email of the company representative for us to contact about the Bidders performance

D. Transmittal Letter

A transmittal letter prepared on the Bidder’s business stationary MUST accompany the bid. The purpose of this letter is to transmit the bid and references; therefore, it should be brief. The letter shall be signed by an individual or corporate officer who is authorized to bind his firm to all statements, including services, material availability, timeliness and prices contained in the bid.

E. Questions

All questions concerning this solicitation must be submitted via email by May 14th, 2026, 10:00 am. Email the SAB Business team:

Frank Zuffi fzuffi@som.umaryland.edu, Michelle Daye mdaye@som.umaryland.edu Executive Director Juan Ortega jortega@som.umaryland.edu

F. Selection Process

The contract resulting from this solicitation shall be awarded to the responsible and mailto:fzuffi@som.umaryland.edu mailto:mdaye@som.umaryland.edu mailto:jortega@som.umaryland.edu responsive bidder whose bid meets the requirements noted in this solicitation document, and is the most favorable bid price (lowest cost).

III. TECHNICAL SPECIFICATIONS

A. SCOPE

Telephone Answering Services

Introduction:

Maryland’s State Anatomy Board [Board], a unit of the Maryland Department of Health, has a need for professional answering service to maintain an on-going 24-hour communications network to fulfill its program time sensitive activities.

The Board administers the statewide Body Donation Program and has the authority and control of

“unclaimed” decedent bodies in the State, and pre-registered “donors” decedent bodies to be used to support and advance medical education and research study. The Board receives approximately

3800 decedent bodies annually. Incoming death notifications and calls are received from hospital, nursing homes, decedent’s families and friends, police authorities, physicians, medical examiners, forensic investigators, and the public at large, etc. Outgoing communications shall include notifications to contracted funeral and mortuary transport services and other individuals in response to inquiries.

Award:

• The Department intends to make a single award as a result of this solicitation. The

Contract that results from this IFB shall be an Indefinite Quantity Contract with Firm Fixed Monthly Unit prices in accordance with COMAR

21.06.03.06

• All bid prices entered are to be fully loaded prices that include all cost/expenses associated with the provision of Telephone Answering Services as per scope of work.

The bid process shall include but not limited to: Labor, Profit/Overhead, General Operating, and all other expenses except as expressly excluded in the IFB specifications. No other amounts will be paid to the Contractor.

Usage:

Below are the average counts from the previous six (6) months usage for reference ONLY;

Inbound Calls 710

Outbound Calls 315

Patched Calls 60

Bid pricing is for ONE MONTHLY RATE for Answering Services provided per Scope. Call usage shall vary but monthly rate will be firm fixed monthly rate, indefinite usage.

Scope:

Professional answering service is required to provide time sensitive service when the Board’s office is closed:

(1) An efficient response to telephonic Reports of Deaths of pre-registered donors and unclaimed decedent bodies and to notify the appropriate designated mortuary transport services to initiate the timely removal and transport of those decedent bodies.

(2) An immediate Board response to emergency communications, and a timely reply to officials and the public regarding program activities when the Board office is closed.

The Answering Service shall provide telephone coverage for the Board between the hours of 4:00 p.m. until 8:00 a.m., Monday through Friday and all day (24 hours) on weekends, holidays, and at other times when the Board’s office is closed.

When the Board office is closed, telephone calls shall be electronically diverted and forwarded to a responsive telephone number provided by the Answering Service. Alternative contact plan may be implemented during phone service problems.

Upon receiving Reports of Deaths or death notifications for the removal of decedents, the

Answering Service shall obtain available information from the individual reporting the death to meet or exceed the Board specifications and immediately notify the mortuary removal service designated by the Board based on the location of the decedent body in Maryland.

The Answering Service shall refer all requests for general information and program inquiries to the

Board during normal office hours.

In emergency situations in which a Board response is required, the answering service shall immediately notify the Board’s Director or designated Board staff to respond and reply.

The Answering Service shall convey all written and oral communications and information received on behalf of the Board during the period telephone coverage in the form and manner specified by the Board to the individuals designated by the Board.

Specifications:

The Answering Service shall provide telephone coverage for the Anatomy Board between the hours of 4:00 p.m. until 8:00 a.m., Monday through Friday and all day (24 hours) on weekends, holidays, and at other times when the Board’s office is closed.

Death Reports of Unclaimed and Donated Decedent Bodies for Removal

The Answering Service, upon receiving a report of death and a request for the removal of a decedent body, shall obtain and record all information that is available from the person(s) making the notification [caller].

The Caller shall be asked:

• Their name and phone number;

• Decedent’s full name;

• Decedent’s home address;

• Decedent’s date of birth;

• Date and time of death;

• Decedent’s status, Donor or Unclaimed;

• Cause of death or treatment prognosis;

• If any known infectious conditions;

• Location address and Maryland County of the place of death or location of the body

[The body must be within the State of Maryland. If out of Maryland, caller shall be advised to contact the police in their State for assistance in accordance to that States’ regulations];

• If hospital//hospice facility or a home residential address. Facilities should be advised to print a copy of the decedent’s face or data sheet and provide to the transporter on arrival at facility;

• Physical location of body [i.e. morgue, upstairs, etc.]at site and provide this information to transporter. For home residential addresses, caller shall ask if any obstacles [i.e. gated community, steps, narrow hallway or stairway];

• To provide the approximate weight of the decedent;

• The next of kin name, address, relationship and phone number;

• For information related to the physician, medical examiner, police, etc., as needed.

Any information not provided by the caller shall be entered “unavailable” in Answering Service logs.

The Answering Service, upon recording the information, shall then immediately and expeditiously notify the mortuary transport service designated by the Board to initiate the removal of the decedent body located in five (5) areas of Maryland [See Attachment A]:

1. Baltimore Metro

2. Southern Maryland

3. Western Maryland

4. Eastern Shore-Lower

5. Eastern Shore-Upper

The transporter shall be notified of the decedent’s name and location, any obstacles to access, estimated decedents weight, and if the decedent has any known infectious diseases.

The Answering Service shall communicate all information to transporter at the time of notification.

If contact with the designated transporter is not reached on initial attempt, the Answering Service shall retry within thirty (30) minutes. If after the second attempt, the alternate area transporter shall be contacted to make the transport.

The Answering Service shall transmit vial FAX and email, all recorded death information regarding the decedent bodies and all written and communications to the Board no later than 8:05 a.m. on the next day. The FAX telephone line number is: 410-706-8107. The email address is

Anatomical@som.umaryland.edu.

The Answering Service shall provide voice recordings of phone conversations if requested by

Board.

The Answering Service staff shall not provide any Board program policies or procedures information to callers and shall only refer the caller to contact the Board on the next business day.

The Answering Service staff may inform the caller that unclaimed decedents:

• refer caller to our website for additional information at: health.maryland.gov/anatomy

• shall be cremated by the Board after seven (7) days if no private arrangements are made by the next of kin. The Board shall bury the cremated remains;

• Fees shall incur which includes transportation, supplies and daily storage fees;

• Autopsy are not performed by the Board. The next of kin must claim the body and proceed, at their own expense, for an autopsy.

The caller shall be instructed to contact the Board on the next business day for additional information.

Public Inquiries and Non-Emergency Requests for Information

For public inquiries for the Board program information (i.e., donor form requests), or non-emergency requests for information from the Board, the Answering Service shall record the name, mailto:Anatomical@som.umaryland.edu https://health.maryland.gov/anatomy/Pages/index.aspx call back telephone number and nature of the call, and advise the caller to contact the Board during its normal office hours.

The Answering Service records of messages of public inquiries for Board program information (i.e., donor form requests), or non-emergency requests for information will be transmitted via FAX and email to the Board not later than 8:05 a.m. of the next day.

Emergency Communications

The Answering Service shall give immediate attention to in-coming emergency communications that require an immediate response from the Board. The Answering Service will record the name, call back telephone number and detail the nature of the emergency. A designated representative of the Board staff shall be promptly notified of the emergency by the Answering Service.

Compensation and Method of Payment

The Answering Service shall render monthly invoices after service have been performed. Invoices shall provide the usage date range (per month), base rate charges rendered and total charges for this invoice for the service performed for the month.

The Invoice Date, Invoice number, the Answering Service’s Federal Tax Identification Number and the Purchase Order Number or Contract Control Number shall be listed on each page of the invoice submitted for payment.

Invoices must be submitted by the 10th of each month AFTER services is provided to the SAB

Contract Monitor and SAB Business Office staff as specified at time of award.

Payment will be made monthly with CREDIT CARD by a SAB Business Office staff, after signature approval by Contract Monitor.

Terms

Contract begins on July 1st, 2026, and terminates on June 30th, 2029, with renewal on July 1st concurrently through June 30th, 2029.

THE STATE OF MARYLAND ENCOURAGES MINORITY BUSINESS ENTERPRISES TO

PARTICIPATE IN THIS PROCUREMENT PROCESS.

BID PAGE

Price is based on Section III Technical Specifications

SAB Answering Service FY27-29

Monthly Charge Months TOTAL

YEAR 1 - FY 27

July 1, 2026 - June 30, 2027

YEAR 2 - FY 28

July 1, 2027 - June 30, 2028

YEAR 3 - FY 29

July 1, 2028 - June 30, 2029

TOTAL BID AMOUNT (YEARS 1-3)

**If you change any of the numbers above, select the total cell and press F9 to update the total.

BID PRICE AUTHORIZED BY:

Signature:

Date:

Name [Print]:

Title:

FEIN Number:

Company Name:

Company Address:

Company City, State, Zip:

Phone Number:

Email Address:

4. ATTACHMENT A: MAP & COUNTY DESIGNATIONS FOR CALLS SAB ANSWERING SERVICE

AREAS BY MARYLAND COUNTIES

AREA 1- BALTIMORE METRO

ANNE ARUNDEL

BALTIMORE CITY

BALTIMORE

HARFORD

HOWARD

AREA 2-SOUTHERN MD

CALVERT

CHARLES

MONTGOMERY

PRINCE GEORGE’S

ST. MARY’S

AREA 3-WESTERN MD

ALLEGANY

CARROLL

FREDERICK

GARRETT

WASHINGTON

AREA 4 – LOWER EASTERN SHORE

CAROLINE

DORCHESTER

SOMERSET

WICOMICO

WORCESTER

AREA 5– UPPER EASTERN SHORE

CECIL

KENT

QUEEN ANNE’S

TALBOT

CLICK HERE FOR MAP

Maryland-Map-Cou nty.pdf

Price is based on Section III Technical Specifications

TOTAL BASE PRICE $__________

Bid Price Authorized by:

Name/Title____________________________________________________

Signature________________________________Date_________________

Address______________________________________________________

City, State, Zip________________________________________________

Federal ID #:__________________________________________________

Phone Number/Fax Number______________________________________ eMM#_______________________________________________________

E-mail Address________________________________________________

THE STATE OF MARYLAND ENCOURAGES

MINORITY BUSINESS ENTERPRISES TO

PARTICIPATE IN THIS PROCUREMENT PROCESS.