Responses to questions.PDF

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QuestIOn ~um ber 1--Pagel9"6 of the RF~~sv~he due date for the Past Performance Questionnaires is September 20, 2010 for an existing client of ours to fill out the questionnaire and return by mal or fax to your attention Is this a requirement, or not to finalized by the due date listed because we received the RFP on the same exact date

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Governments Response - The date on the Past Perfonnance Questionnaire is incorrect . J the actual date sh~uld have been Octo.?er 20, 2010. This has been .corre~te~ as part of ! (k/\)../JZ://·· ..)

theA-nendment hbmber two and a revIsed Past Perfolmance QuestIonnaIre IS enclosed. L M ~.J .' The date has been amended to October 25, 2010.

Question Number 2 - What is the name of the incumbent contractor and what is the current contract pricing?

Government's Response - The current contractor is Professional Services Inc.(aka

Question Number 3 Item on page 113, Section L.6.I of the solicitation specifically states the rooms in the requirement are bar-coded to enhance quality monitoring. Is the bar code capability a requirement for the QA system?

Government's Response All the rooms in the clinical center are currently bar coded.

This was done as a way to coordinate the initial quality assurance program. The quality assurance program requirement is for a computerized program (system) that can generate the required reports. The QA system must encompass bar coding as an element of the computerized quality assurance package.

Question Number 4 - In reference to the sub-contracting plan (attachment 7), if a designated Small Business is the prime contractor, is the prime contractor excluded from submitting a Sub-contracting Plan?

Governments Response If a contractor is a Small Business and they do not plan to partner with any other contractor (subcontractor) they do not need to submit a subcontracting plan.

\ .MP. E.If th~.. prim.e contractor is a small business and they plan to partner or subcontract with a large ~~(\ contractor than a sub contracting plan is required.

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Question Number 5 Per the evaluation factors; need to know weighted value of experience over price?

Government Response Per Section M, Article Ml, page 109 paragraphs one and two state:

"Selection of an contractor for contract award will be based on an evaluation of proposals against the factors listed in the following tables. The criteria below are listed in the order of relative importance with weights assigned for evaluation purposes.

All evaluation factors other than cost or price, when combined, are significantly more important than cost or price. The Government intends to make an award to that contractor whose proposal provides the best overall value to the Government."

In addition Article M2, page clarifies this further by stating:

"An award will be made to responsible Offeror whose proposal is considered to be most advantageous to the Government, technical, price, and other factors considered. The Source Selection

-Official will select for award the best overall proposal based primarily upon technical merit with cost and other factors considered as appropriate.

The Government may not necessarily make the award to the lowest priced Offeror. Further, the Government reserves the right not to make an award to the highest ranked technical Offeror in the event that the Government determines that the higher price, if any, is not warranted by the proposal's technical superiority or the program needs of the National Institutes of Health. However, in the event evaluations result in substantially equal technical proposals, overall cost as determined by the Government cost model will be the determining factor in the selection of proposal(s) for award.

The evaluation will be based on the demonstrated capabilities of the prospective contractor in relation to the needs of the project as set forth in the RFP. The merits of each proposal will be evaluated carefully. Each proposal must document the feasibility of successful implementation of the requirements of the RFP. "

Question Number 6 - Per the criterion on page 104 and 105, clarify the meaning of"highly contagious diseases?

Government Response - Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS), Tuberculosis (TB), Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS), Hepatitis B&C, and staph infections are examples of infections that can be passed from person to person via airborne or contact mechanisms.

Question Number 7 - Clarify or specify what is meant by "highly contagious bacteria"?

Government Response - Vancomycin Resistant Enterococci (VRE), Acinetobacter, and Methicillian Staphylococcus Aut'eus (MRSA) are examples of bacteria that are considered highly contagious - they are easily passed from person to person by touching door handles, bed rails, and any other touch areas that are not cleaned properly.

Question Number 8 - Define "infectious outbreaks"?

Government Response VRE, Acinetobacter, and MRSA are examples of organisms that can lead to 2 or more people becoming infected form the same strain of bacteria or virus, resulting in a need for the hospital to provide double cleaning of patient rooms and wear personal protective equipment.

Question Number 9 - Per the cleaning of the MRI equipment does this mean to actually clean the MRI equipment considering most facilities do not have housekeeping clean the MRI equipment due to the expense of the equipment?

Government response - Housekeeping will clean the exterior of the MRI machine itself and the table, as well as the rest of the room except for monitoring and computer equipment.

Question Number 10 - Can cleaning of the MRI equipment be removed from scoring criteria?

Government Response - Unfortunately, since the cleaning of the exterior surfaces of the MRI and the adjacent areas is such a critical and specialized process the scoring cannot be removed from the scoring criteria.

Question Number 11 - Page 89 - Part IV Section K- requires the participating potential contractors to visit two websites and fill out the information. Unfortunately, the second website requirement, HHTP://rcb.cancer.gov/reb-internet/wkf/secionk.pdf, does not allow me to gain access. It's a requirement for our proposal. Can you provide me with the page via an attachment or an email?

Government Response - The form from the website HHTP://rc . v/reb-internet/wkf/secionk.pdfhas been added to the solicitation s attachment No. entitled _~ ~.'" secionk.pdf. ~~\, Question Number 12 - Can we obtain a copy of Crothall' s existing contract viath~dom of Information Act?

Government Response - All reques!3Inder the Freedom of Information Act(FOIA) must be sent through the FOIA Coordinator, their contact information is as follows:

Deshawn Riddick Office of Communications, Patient Recruitment and Public Liaison National Institutes of Health, Clinical Center 10 Cloister Court, Building 61 Bethesda, MD 20892

Question Number 13 - Would you please verify that the above project is NOT set aside for either Small Business or 8(a)? If it does have set aside requirement, what type of business would that be?

Government Response - The solicitation is offered as a full and open competition, which means any contractor that can meet the requirements outlined in the solicitation is able to send a proposal for consideration.