HCA Signed NCO 1 P03_36C241-26-AP-1701_RFO 8 - SSJ GSAM 581.7104-3b over SAT_Signed 1_Redacted.pdf

Request for Sole Source Format >SAT GSAM/R 538.7104-3(b) Sole Source Justifications - Federal Supply Schedule Ordering Procedures

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SOLE SOURCE JUSTIFICATION

GSAM/R 538.7104-3(b)

This justification aligns with the deviation outlined in the Revolutionary FAR Overhaul (RFO) for Part 8.4 - Ordering under the Federal Supply Schedule and GSAM/R 538.71, as required by Executive Order (E.O.)

14275, Restoring Common Sense to Federal Procurement, signed April 15, 2025. Deviation effective date: November 3, 2025.

Acquisition Plan Action ID:36C241-26-AP-1701

1. Contracting Activity: Department of Veterans Affairs, VISN 1 Contracting Office, located at 940 Belmont Street, Brockton, MA in support of VISN 1 VA Health Care System across New England.

2237: TBD

2. Description of Action: Establishment of Blanket Purchase Agreement (BPA) for Arjo Patient Ceiling Lifts. This acquisition is conducted under the authority of the Multiple-Award Schedule Program (41 U.S.C. 152(3) and 40 U.S.C. 501).

Order against: FSS Contract Number: 36F79725D0231 – POP 9/15/25 – 9/14/35

Name of Proposed Contractor: Arjo Inc.

Street Address: 2000 Center DR # D403 City, State, Zip: Hoffman Estates, Illinois 60192 Phone: +1 (800) 323 1245

3. Description of Supplies or Services:

The estimated value of the proposed action is

Arjo series ceiling lifts have been deployed across the VA New England Healthcare System at the locations listed below:

VAMC Bedford, MA VAMC Manchester, NH VA Maine HCS, ME VA Connecticut Healthcare System – West Haven and Newington, CT campuses

Currently, there exists infrastructure at the above healthcare systems to support their fleets of Arjo ceiling lifts. The initial building of this infrastructure required construction and structural analysis at the point of care, often in veteran rooms, to hang the lift tracks on the Unistrut in the ceiling and install additional electrical for charging the lift. Ceiling lift rails are only compatible with ceiling lifts from the same manufacturer. At this time, there are no solutions on the market for installing ceiling lifts on a different manufacturer’s rails. Therefore, healthcare centers with existing ceiling lift infrastructure must continue to procure that manufacturer’s ceiling lift hardware, or otherwise risk incurring additional monetary costs and imposing risks to their veteran population.

Acquisition Plan: 36C241-26-AP-1071

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The procurement of a different series ceiling lifts would incur significant and unnecessary monetary costs across the VA New England Healthcare System. In addition to procuring the ceiling lift itself, entirely new ceiling lift infrastructure would require hospitals to pay for structural analysis, hardware, installation fees/ labor costs, and the cost of the rails themselves. Altogether these costs are multiple times the cost of upgrading or replacing the ceiling lift to the same series so that it can be installed on existing infrastructure.

In addition, the necessary construction if a different brand’s ceiling lift were to be purchased would render the affected room(s) unusable for up to two days. Ceiling lifts are most often installed within veteran rooms to help mobility-impaired veterans transfer in a dignified and comfortable manner.

Therefore, switching to a new ceiling lift model has the potential to displace veterans for multiple days as construction is completed. Construction represents a significant disruption to veteran care as veterans must relocate their belongings and stay in a different room. Remaining on the existing infrastructure avoids these disruptions.

Lastly, it is important to note, ceiling lifts are technical pieces of clinical equipment that have the potential to harm or injure the veteran if used incorrectly. Training is required to ensure the equipment is being used effectively and safely. Several of the above medical centers are completely standardized to the Arjo make of patient lifts and would require additional training hours if any other brand ceiling lift was procured other than the models to which they are currently utilizing.

Additionally, owning multiple different models of ceiling lifts would increase the risk of a clinical mistake occurring, which must be avoided as much as possible due to ceiling lifts inherently putting veterans in a compromised position.

4. Identify the Authority and Supporting Rationale (see below and if applicable, a demonstration of the proposed contractor’s unique qualifications to provide the required supply or service.

GSAM/R 538.7104-3(b)(1)(i): An urgent and compelling need exists and following the ordering procedures would result in unacceptable delays:

GSAM/R 538.7104-3(b)(1)(ii): Only one source is capable of providing the supplies or services required at the level of quality required because the supplies or services are unique or highly specialized;

GSAM/R 538.7104-3(b)(1)(iii): In the interest of economy and efficiency, the new work is a logical follow-on to an original Federal Supply Schedule order provided that the original order was placed in accordance with the applicable Federal Supply Schedule ordering procedures. The original order must not have been previously issued under sole source or limited source procedures;

GSAM/R 538.7104-3(b)(1)(iv): It is necessary to place the order with a particular FSS contractor to satisfy a minimum guarantee established in the FSS BPA; or

GSAM/R 538.7104-3(b)(1)(v): A law expressly authorizes or requires that the purchase be made from a specified source.

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GSAM/R 538.7104-4: Items peculiar to one manufacturer:

The VA Medical Centers listed in Section (3) have standardized to Arjo ceiling lift models. These facilities have invested significant resources to build out infrastructure specific to Arjo Series ceiling lifts, such as ceiling tracks, charging solutions, and the lifts themselves. Ceiling lifts must be compatible with the tracks already installed in the room, there is no way to install one brand’s ceiling lift into another brand’s track. As a result, switching brands would require medical centers to install entirely new track systems in veteran rooms, incurring large monetary costs and risks to their veteran population due to the construction effects necessary to make the switch.

Describe Why You Believe the Order Represents the Best Value consistent with GSAM/R 538.7102-2(4) to aid the contracting officer in making this best value determination: The Independent Government Cost Estimate is based on historical implementation costs and known cost estimates from the Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM) on Arjo series ceiling lift equipment and installation costs over past years and projected quotations. Best value determination can be based on this procurement history within the VHA.

Describe the Market Research Conducted among schedule holders and the results or a statement of the reason market research was not conducted. Multiple searches were conducted on Government-wide databases. An SBA search with keywords “ceiling lift” displayed 6 SDVOSB. Another search on SBA with NAICS 339113 resulted in 1207 SDVOSBs identified. Keyword “Arjo” was added with 0 results displayed. A sam.gov search was then conducted with NAICS 339113 and over 1500 SDVOSBs were displayed. Keyword “Arjo” was then added to that search which yielded 0 results. AddsUp was also searched with keywords “Arjo patient lifts” and the OEM and SDVOSB Alliant Healthcare was displayed. GSA Advantage was also searched with keywords “Arjo maxi sky” and only the OEM was displayed with their FSS contract information.

Although multiple SDVOSBs, (over 1500) were identified as potentially capable, a market research survey was sent to OEM LB Arjo, Inc. to confirm these items were available via the active FSS contract. LB Arjo Inc. holds an FSS TAA compliant contract that will be utilized for this procurement due to Canada being the country of origin of these products, 36F79725D0231, POP 9/15/25 – 9/14/35.

Any Other Facts Supporting the Justification: N/A

A Statement of the Actions, if any, the agency may take to remove or overcome any barriers that led to the restricted consideration before any subsequent acquisition for the supplies or services is made:

Currently, there are no actions to be taken to foster competition for future acquisitions of these types of supplies due to the standardization of lifts and infrastructure investments across the VA Medical Centers listed in Section 3 to support the Arjo ceiling lifts being procured.

Requirements Certification: I certify that the requirement outlined in this justification is a Bona Fide Need of the Department of Veterans Affairs and that the supporting data under my cognizance, which are included in the justification, are accurate and complete to the best of my knowledge. I understand that processing of this sole source justification restricts consideration of Federal Supply Schedule

Page 4 of contractors to fewer than the number required by GSAM/R 538.71 as directed by RFO 8.4. (This signature is the requestor’s supervisor, fund control point official, chief of service or someone with responsibility and accountability.)

DATE

10. Approvals in accordance with the VHAPM Part 806.3 OFOC SOP:

a. Contracting Officer’s Certification (required): I certify that the foregoing justification is accurate and complete to the best of my knowledge and belief.

Manasés Cabrera DATE Contracting Officer

b. One Level Above the Contracting Officer (Required over the SAT but not exceeding $900k): I certify the justification meets requirements for other than full and open competition.

Sheryl Anthony DATE Branch Chief

HIGHER LEVEL APPROVAL (Required for orders over $900,000)

c. VHA RPO HCA Review and Approval (over $900,000 to $90 million): I have reviewed the foregoing justification and find it to be complete and accurate to the best of my knowledge and belief and approve for restricting consideration of the Federal Supply Schedule contractors to fewer than the number required by GSAM/R 538.71 ordering procedures as directed by RFO 8.4.

Gerald Jacobs DATE VHA Head of Contracting Activity (HCA)

MANASES CABRERA Digitally signed by MANASES CABRERA Date: 2026.03.05 13:00:09 -05'00'

KYLE STAUBI Digitally signed by KYLE STAUBI Date: 2026.03.06 09:14:20 -05'00'

Acquisition Plan: 36C241-26-AP-1071

SHERYL ANTHONY Digitally signed by SHERYL ANTHONY Date: 2026.03.10 08:02:24 -04'00'

GERALD JACOBS

Digitally signed by GERALD

JACOBS

Date: 2026.03.25 11:05:52 -04'00'