Vendor questions and Answeres Rev.pdf

1) Please confirm the requirement 4.5.3 that Contractor personnel must have or be able to obtain a Secret or higher clearance at the time of proposal submission. The vast majority of DOD commercial ambulance service contracts require a Criminal History Background Check through Defense Health Agency, as well as appropriate background checks necessary to obtain base access or CAC access, but do not require Secret level clearance. As you are aware, for personnel to be able to obtain an SCL, the contractor agency must have a Facility Clearance Level (FCL) of Secret or higher, which requires agency sponsorship and takes months to obtain from DCSA. Furthermore, sponsorship generally requires an awarded contract, which will make it impossible for a Contractor without an FCL to submit a quote. Since this is a LPTA RFQ solicitation, would a proposal that does not include personnel with Secret clearance still be considered technically acceptable and eligible for award? If not, are we correct in assuming that any Contractor without a minimum of a Secret level FCL is unable to provide a technically acceptable proposal?

A. Answer: the intent of the statement “must have or be able to obtain a Secret or higher clearance at the time of proposal submission” is for the contract to hire/plan to hire personnel that have no known indication they will not be able to obtain a Secret clearance. For example, hiring personnel that have previously been denied clearance or have a known unsuitability for sensitive positions should not be hired. We understand that there is a long process with a long lead time that cannot be started prior contract award and individual employee start dates. This is canned verbiage that will not hinder a company from source selection in any way.

B. Also, this is not an LPTA RFQ, but a Best Value RFQ, and as stated above this is standard verbiage that must be included and will not hinder any interested contractor from being able to provide a technically acceptable quote.

2) Aside from the Secret clearance requirement, in our experience it can take 4-6 weeks or longer, post award, for Contractor personnel to obtain appropriate clearance for Base access, Criminal History Background Checks for unsupervised care of minors (a DHA requirement), and a CAC for accessing Government computer systems. Please confirm the intent for the POP to commence on 1 September 2025. Realistically, a start date prior to 1 October is not feasible, and 1 November is more likely, considering the proposal due date of 20 August.

A. The intent is for a 30-day phase in phase out period to start on 1 September 2025 to allow time for lay of the land review as well as the appropriate background checks to be completed. The incumbent will continue to cover contract requirements during this period. Also, this is an anticipated Period of Performance.

3) The 24-hour model CLIN schedule specifies 8,736 hours, which is 364 days. However, the 12-hour model specifies 3,120 + 500 + 5,140 hours, which is 8,760 hours (365 days). Both have the same POP of 01 Sep – 31 Aug, which is 365 days (assuming that the POPs start at 0001 hours on 01 Sep and end at 2359 on 31 Aug), and 366 days for Option Period 2 including the 2028 leap year. Is there a particular day that you are not expecting coverage for the 24-hour model?

A. This has been corrected.

4) The 12 hour model CLIN indicates that lines X003, X004, X006, and X007 are Firm Fixed Price for 500 and 5,140 hours, respectively. Are these intended to be IDIQ CLINs, or is the intent that the Contractor will bill for the full 500 / 5140 hours if overtime or 24/7 coverage is activated, even if the Government only requires a lesser amount of overtime or extended coverage? If intended as IDIQ, please indicate the DFAR clause that would allow the Government to purchase less than the specified quantities on the CLIN schedule.

A. These CLINS are to be billed only if they are used. OT or 24/7 status is activated.

The 24/7 CLIN are to be option CLINs exercised if 24/7 ops is required and the vendor will be provided a 30 days' notice when MP authorizes 24/7 ops as stated in PWS section 4.1.2. The OT CLINs will be exercised each option period but funded as OT is used. DFARS Clause 252.232- 7007 Limitation of Governments Obligation –Fixed Price Contracts.

5) Is there a reason why the Government is using NAICS category 622110 (General Medical and Surgical Hospitals) instead of 621910 (Ambulance Services) for this solicitation?

A. Updated in the Solicitation.

6) The PWS requirements for a “turnkey” program do not seem to match the industry standard definition. For example, when an ambulance service typically provides a turnkey program, they are responsible for everything including medical direction, LEMSA credentialing, clinical education, documentation / record keeping, professional liability insurance, supervision, etc., in addition to the vehicles and medical supplies. (The PWS is silent on the majority of these items except for the statement that the EMS Medical Director shall be in compliance with DAFI 44-102 P 2.20.7.) Under the solicitation’s Turnkey model, is the Contractor responsible for:

a. Providing a physician medical director?

b. Obtaining and ensuring appropriate credentialling from the Local EMS Authority?

c. Providing ongoing clinical educational services and clinical quality reviews?

d. Appropriate medical records retention?

e. Daily management and supervision of the personnel?

A. Yes, to all if they are going to use a local protocol (Kern, LA, San Bernadino). Two notes, if using AF protocols: we have a medical director, are the EMS credentialing authority.

7) The PWS (all versions) is silent on the Contractor having approval to operate an Advanced Life Support ambulance service or Contractor Personnel operating at the ALS level without approval from the Local EMS Agency. Reference to Title 22, Division 9, Chapter 13 of the California Code of Regulations (https://emsa.ca.gov/wp-content/uploads/sites/71/2021/07/EMSA-Regulations- Book-2021.pdf), it is illegal to operate an advanced life support program without LEMSA approval. Will the Government obtain this approval, and if so, from which applicable LEMSA (Kern, San Bernardino, or Los Angeles Counties), as EAFB spans all three counties? Will Contractor personnel be required to obtain credentialing from the LEMSA? If the Government is not obtaining this approval, will the Contractor need to obtain it?

A. Under AF protocols the AF will provide LEMSA approval, for Turnkey ops if AF protocols are not used then the contractor must obtain.

8) DAFI 44-102 P 2.20.7 describes the responsibilities of the EMS Medical Director as reviewing and approving EMS Strategic or Operational Plans on an annual basis, visiting the operations on a semi-annual basis, providing “oversight of the EMS system”, certifying FES personnel on protocol requirements, and reviewing AF forms 552 for trends or areas of additional training.

However, to operate an advanced life support EMS system, the paramedics will need to be able to contact a resource hospital to obtain online medical direction for permission to perform certain interventions per protocol on a case-by-case basis. In either the GFP or Turnkey models, is the Contractor responsible for establishing relationships with local receiving hospitals to enable online medical direction? For the purposes of this requirement, are Contractor personnel considered FES personnel?

A. Contract personnel will not be considered FES. If using AF protocols, the AF medical director will provide online medical direction. If not using AF protocols, then the contractor must establish.

9) Please confirm that the ambulance specified in this solicitation is to be dedicated to AFRL, and the Government intends to continue to operate the two ambulances based at the EAFB main base, staffed with a combination of federal civilian and military personnel.

a. Under the 24 hour model (GFP or Turnkey), if this ambulance is to be stationed at AFRL, it seems unlikely that there would be any need or utilization of the ambulance service during the times that AFRL is closed and unstaffed. Is there any consideration to rotating the 24 hour ambulance to the EAFB main area for nights / weekends and potentially standing down one of the Government-run ambulances during those times?

A. AFRL has staff on site outside of normal business hours. While a contracted ambulance service cannot replace the government ambulance service, it could supplement it when all government ambulances are unavailable. However, if AFRL moves to 24/7 operations, a dedicated 24-hour AFRL ambulance service would be necessary. Currently, 24/7 quarters are not available on the main base. All AFRL medical calls would be prioritized.

10) PWS 1.10 states “if applicable, when a Subcontracting Plan, it must include the elements identified in FAR 10.704…” (sic). Please clarify this statement, specifically “when a Subcontracting Plan”. Is a Subcontracting Plan required? It will be almost impossible to do any subcontracting for a contract that only requires 4 – 8 FTEs.

A. This is standard verbiage however, this contract will not be required to have any subcontracting

11) Re: PWS 1.8.1 – Is SCR applicable and required?

A. The Service Contract reporting requirement applies to service contracts or orders only when valued above $3M and even then, only in certain acquisition portfolio groups. For this reason, the SCR clause or its Alternate I is not in this solicitation and will not be in the contract.

12) PWS 1.7.2 states Contractor personnel must be graduates of an accredited EMT-Paramedic certification program and must hold a valid paramedic license and certification from the National Registry of EMTs.

a.Please verify that the reference to “license” refers to the California EMSAuthority state-issued license to practice, and the reference to “certification”refers to the NREMT, and the requirement is that the personnel hold both aCA license and an NREMT certification.

b.The PWS does not specify the license, certification, and educationrequirements for the EMT- Basic personnel, even though CLIN X001 specifiesan EMT-Basic role rather than an EMT- Paramedic role. Can the Governmentplease specify the minimum requirements for the EMT- Basic personnel?

c.Similarly, please clarify the requirements in PWS 1.7.3, 1.7.4, and 1.7.6 forapplicability to EMT- Basic personnel in addition to Paramedic personnel.

A.a- yes, unless using AF protocols. Then the AF would function as the “state” interms of granting authority to operate.

b-at least their EMT basic national level certification c-It is applicable to EMT basic and paramedic personnel. (Corrected in PWS)

13) In the GFP PWS, Performance Objective #1 is that “the contractor shall maintain the ambulance, from available supplies, in a serviceable condition.” Please provide more information on this requirement or rephrase as needed. As it currently is phrased, it appears to require the Contractor to provide vehicle maintenance (e.g., routine and preventative maintenance, such as oil changes, as well as minor or major repair). How can the Contractor be expected to agree to maintain the Government’s vehicle, particularly when the Contractor’s personnel are healthcare providers and not vehicle mechanics, without knowing the make, model, mileage, and service history of the vehicle? What is the Contractor’s recourse if the required supplies are not available?

A.The intent was more based on supplies and if anything was consumed or expired, they would notify the MDG so a replacement could be provided. Not focused on vehicle maintenance.

(Corrected in PWS).

14)Given the challenges associated with a contractor maintaining continuous operations with a staff of just two (12-hour model) or four (24-hour model) full time paramedics and EMTs, would the Government consider alternate structures including the Contractor also being responsible for staffing the EAFB ambulances that are located at the main base? If so, what is the desired staffing for those ambulances and the total desired staffing? (e.g., two ambulances at EAFB 24/7 and one ambulance at AFRL 12/6 plus occasional overtime).

A. While we are flexible regarding contract structure, we cannot include the main base in this solicitation. Their staffing is currently active military, and we are unable to supplement that coverage through a contract at this time.

During Industry Day, we understood the preferred CLIN structure to be based on hours rather than the number of employees. You have the flexibility to determine your own staffing model that best suits your company, provided that each shift either 12- hour or 24- hour model includes a minimum of one EMT-Basic and one EMT-Paramedic.

We hope this clarifies the situation. Please do not hesitate to contact us if you require further explanation.