draft_SOW_FCC Butner_Mortuary Services.pdf

STATEMENT OF WORK

A.1.1 Introduction

The Federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP), Field Acquisition Office (FAO), intends to make a single award of an indefinite delivery/requirements type contract, with firm fixed prices to a responsible contractor. This requirement is for the provision Mortuary Services, as prescribed in the description of duties listed below, at the Federal

Correctional Complex (FCC) Butner, located in North Carolina. The provision of mortuary services may include, but is not limited to transportation, embalming, body preparation, clothing, filing of certificates and permits, casket, shipping, cremation, and burial services. Mortuary services shall be performed for male inmates housed at the

Federal Correctional Complex (FCC) located in Butner, North Carolina, who become deceased during incarceration.

Place of Performance:

FCC Butner

Old NC Highway 75

Butner, NC 27509

A.1.2 Description of Duties

SEQUENCE OF EVENTS FOLLOWING THE DEATH OF AN INMATE

The contractor will be contacted by the contracting officer or his/her designee and notified of an inmate death. The contracting officer or his/her designee will provide the contractor with the inmate’s name and location of the body.

Within two hours of notification, the contractor will pick the body up at FCC Butner Complex or occasionally at a local community hospital. The contractor will be required to pick up the body the within two hours of notification.

The contractor shall deliver all bodies to the State of North Carolina Medical Examiner’s Office. Once the body is released from the Medical Examiner’s Office, the contractor shall transport the body to a funeral home for embalming and body preparation.

The contracting officer will notify the contractor of final arrangement to be made: 1) local burial, 2) cremation, or 3) shipment of remains.

DISPOSITION OF DECEASED INMATES

The contractor shall provide material and services as follows:

The contractor shall observe and comply with all state and interstate shipment laws relating to the embalming, preparation, burial, and shipment of bodies must be fully observed and complied with, and in any case wherein the state law contains requirements more rigid than the requirements set forth herein, such laws will be controlling.

a. General. Mortuary services are defined as the following: Pickup of the deceased, embalming of the remains, preparation of the deceased, to include the appropriate casket, clothing, filing of certified death certificate, local transportation of remains, providing appropriate shipping containers for long distance shipment of the deceased, and any other requirements as described in this statement of work.

The contractor shall pick up the body and transport to the North Carolina Medical Examiner’s Office in a suitable closed conveyance. The contractor’s vehicle may be subject to search. The contractor will be escorted by FCC staff to and from the area of the FCC where pick up is required.

Upon written notification from the contracting officer that the body is ready for release from the Medical

Examiner’s Office, the contractor shall transport the body to its mortuary or funeral parlor in a suitable closed conveyance. After embalming and dressing, the contractor shall transport the body to the air terminal, or local cemetery as directed by the contracting officer or designee. Cemeteries located within a 50-mile radius of the institution will be considered local cemeteries for local burial purposes unless the contracting officer specifies otherwise. The contractor shall secure or furnish all necessary papers and permits for shipment or internment.

Suitable space in the undertaking establishment shall be available for the performance of postmortem examinations when requested by the Government.

b. Burial Cases. There are, in general, two different types of burial cases. Each body shall be embalmed according to its condition and in a manner to ensure thorough preservation of all tissues. All body orifices shall be treated and closed in accordance with state laws. A post-embalming inspection of each body shall be made by the embalmer to determine whether the preservation is uniform and complete, or whether further treatment is required.

If further treatment is required, it shall be given before final delivery of the body. The body must be in an acceptable state of preservation at the time of final delivery.

1. Normal Cases. Appropriate when death has been due to disease or other causes, and where there has been little or no mutilation or breakdown of body tissue. For such cases, preservation shall be accomplished by a thorough cavity treatment. Standard preservative solutions shall be used for the arterial injections and cavity saturation.

2. Autopsied Cases. This will be where a partial or complete autopsy has been made to an extent which will not permit a normal arterial embalming operation. Sectional embalming shall be used to thoroughly preserve the body, including organs, and the inside of the body cavity shall be treated with a hardening compound. The cranial cavity shall be filled with plaster of paris or other suitable material and the calvarium securely replaced. All incisions shall be tightly sutured and treated to prevent leakage.

c. Preparation of Body. The contractor shall provide complete embalming services will be performed including all standard practices to conform to applicable state laws.

1. The contractor shall restore the body to be as lifelike in appearance as is possible, including shaving face and neck, trimming hair of head, neck, and face, dressing hair properly, applying suitable cosmetics, performing derma-surgery and other restorative work as may be necessary. The body will be placed in the casket in such a manner as to create an appearance of rest and composure, and to assure maintenance of position during shipment or local burial.

2. The contractor will furnish and dress the body in all appropriate clothing, including cotton undershorts and undershirts, regular length socks, manufactured burial suit of dark or conservative color with a necktie.

d. Casket. A standard size casket, manufactured in accordance with minimum industry standards shall be furnished as follows:

(1) METAL. State perfection cut, 20-gauge steel shell, light copper or grey with no shading, lacquer finish, interior plain panel, ivory twill, no shirring, and matching color hardware (handles).

OR

(2) WOOD. Cloth covered, State perfection cut, ivory panel, solid shirred, silver hardware, manufactured in accordance with minimum industry standards.

ALTERNATE

(3) SEALED. Metal, 20-gauge steel shell, constructed in accordance with industry standards of commercial practice so as to form a hermetic seal which will prevent leakage or escape of odors when properly closed and sealed. This item to be furnished only when ordered, as in the case of death by communicable disease, to meet pertinent state or interstate regulations, or in cases of badly decomposed or odoriferous body.

(4) When required due to the size of the deceased, an oversized casket shall be furnished without additional cost.

e. Outside Container. Each casket shall be furnished with one of the following types of outside containers, depending upon the type of service required.

(1) In cases of shipment by air, either a commercial air shipping bag used by commercial airlines or an air shipment tray available for purchase and used by Funeral Directors shall be provided.

(2) In case of local burial, rules and regulations of the cemetery in which internment is made shall govern the type of container to be furnished. Unless otherwise specified, the outside container furnished shall be constructed of one-inch seasoned wood manufactured in accordance with the best modern practice. No handles will be required.

(3) In cases of shipment by rail and/or foreign shipments, the outside shipping container shall be constructed of one-inch seasoned wood in accordance with best modern practices and equipped with bolted handles complying with laws governing the same.

f. Shipping of Body. The contractor shall be responsible for scheduling shipping arrangements for transportation of the body. It is the policy of the BOP to pay for transportation to the inmate’s residence of record or place of trial.

When shipment of the body is required, the contracting officer or his/her designee shall view and inspect the body prior to departure and take photographs. In all cases, the contractor will take a close-up, color, photograph of the upper half of the dressed, prepared, and casketed body.

The contractor shall coordinate shipments to foreign countries. The contractor will also work with the contracting officer concerning shipment of each body to: 1) exchange information concerning the name, address and phone number of the receiving funeral home, 2) name and location of cemetery and date of burial, if known, 3) exchange information necessary to complete death certificates and other necessary legal documents, and (4) provide shipping arrangements to include times, dates, flight numbers, airlines, airports, airway bill number and cost. The contractor will notify the receiving funeral home concerning all shipping arrangements, while FCC staff will notify and communicate with the deceased inmate’s next of kin regarding burial/shipping details.

The following methods may be authorized for transportation:

1. Airline Transportation. If the location is such that transportation by air is beneficial to the Government, these transportation services will be required. The contractor shall coordinate required shipping arrangements.

Additionally, the contractor must ensure compliance with all federal regulations governing shipment of remains, for both domestic and international destinations. The Contractor will arrange and pay for all air freight to ship body to the designated location. The Contractor will be entitled to reimbursement of any associated costs. This cost will be a separate charge to the established prices in the Schedule of Items. The contractor will be required to submit detailed itemized invoices for payment with a copy of the air freight bill.

2. Ground Transportation. Instances where a transportation destination is local or when it is beneficial to the government, transportation by ambulance or hearse will be required. The contractor will be responsible to transport the body in this manner. Transportation of the deceased will be considered local if the destination is within a 30-mile radius of the FCC. Any mileage in excess of 30 miles will be paid at the rate established for the current contract year.

3. Rail Transportation. Shipment by rail will only be required when all other transport options have been exhausted.

CREMATION

(1) If requested by the Government, or due to extended time between death and receipt of all necessary legal documentation, normal arterial embalming will be performed in accordance with all standard practices, conformance with applicable state laws and as outlined in PREPARATION OF BODY above. Prior approval will be obtained from the Government before embalming.

(2) The contractor will be notified as soon as WRITTEN VERIFICATION from the legal next of kin, has been received to authorize cremation.

(3) The contractor will provide for crematory services that conform to standard practices and all applicable state laws and shall ensure the identity of the remains.

(4) A standard container shall be provided that is sealed and capable of transportation through the USPS or other common carrier.

(5) Shipment of remains to the next of kin will be made by either the contractor or the crematory, and will be sent first class, certified return receipt

NOTE: If the inmate died prior to the arrival of the next of kin for visitation purposes, the relatives will be allowed to view the body. The contractor will be required to allow up to fifteen (15) minutes for viewing the body at no cost to the Government.

The resultant contract will require the contractor to operate a limited system of records as identified for medical treatment documentation and require adherence to the Privacy Act of 1974. Death Notices will not be placed in any media type newspaper. The contractor shall not provide any information to sources other than the contracting officer or his/her designee. All requests for information shall be immediately referred to FCC

Butner.

A.1.3. Local Burial

For provision of local burial services, a cemetery located within a 30-mile radius of the FCC will be considered local. The contractor will notify the Contracting Officer’s Representative (COR) of the cemetery to be utilized for local burials within 10 days of award.

When local burial services are ordered, an FCC chaplain will view the body prior to burial, as well as conduct or supervise a brief grave-side ceremony. The contractor shall secure all necessary papers and permits for internment and work with the contracting officer and institution chaplain to schedule an acceptable time and date for local burial.

A.1.4 Certified Death Certificates

The contracting officer will be responsible for obtaining all necessary information for the contractor to complete and file a certified death certificate, copies of which will be submitted to the FCC along with an invoice for services rendered. At a minimum two (2) certificates should be submitted; however, additional certificates may occasionally be ordered.

A.1.5 Special Qualifications Required

The contractor will supply proof of licensing. The contractor will also maintain insurance necessary to cover all potential losses. The contractor will hold harmless FCC Butner from all third-party claims that may arise from the operation of this contract.

A.1.6 Institution Security

The contractor agrees to adhere to all regulations prescribed by the institution for safety, custody and conduct of inmates. The contractor's staff shall submit to a background investigation and drug testing and may be required to attend a security orientation program prior to assuming duties within the institution

A.1.7 Routine Audits

The contractor agrees to perform quarterly audits to ensure their staff are proper trained to identify, verify and process deaths to ensure the proper identification and service is provided for death cases.

A.1.8 Miscellaneous Information

This is a contractual agreement and not a Civil Service appointment. As specified in FAR 37.101 "Non-Personal

Service Contracts" means a contract under which the personnel rendering the services are not subject, either by the contract's terms or by the manner of its administration, to the supervision and control usually prevailing in relationships between the Government and its employees. All duties outlined in this Statement of Work shall be performed in accordance with standards and methods generally accepted within the contractor's own field of expertise. Payment shall be based on the accomplishment of specific results, and the results to be obtained shall be entirely within the contractor's own unsupervised determination. The COR will periodically evaluate the contractor's performance of the contract. In this evaluation, the performance of the contractor will be evaluated by the COR. If the performance of an individual is deemed unacceptable based on the COR, that individual will no longer perform those duties. In this event, the contractor will be responsible for replacing that individual.

The contractor is solely responsible for full compliance with all Federal, State, and Local laws, policies, rules and regulations governing provision of required services. In the event that two or more of the regulations conflict, the strictest of the regulations shall apply. The contractor shall be responsible for the provision of all equipment, labor, licenses, maintenance, materials, parts, permits, repairs, tools, etc. needed to carry out the requirements of this contract.

A.1.9 Payment Terms

It is the preference of FCC Butner to receive detailed itemized invoices for payment. The contractor must provide a means for electronic payment to include bank routing and account number. Payment terms shall be as specified in

FAR 52.212-4(g), which states the due date for making an invoice payment by the designated payment office shall be the 30th day after the designated billing office has received a proper invoice, or the government accepts the services performed by the contractor. The contractor can, however, offer discount payment terms for prompt payments as specified in block 12 on the SF-1449 form of this solicitation