J_A Sole Source FAR 13.5 COVID-19 Urgency-Food Service .._.pdf

Control Number: FSGA‐20‐0010

For Official Use Only (See FAR 2.101 and 3.104‐4)

(March 2020)

Justification Review Document

FAR SUBPART 13.5 SIMPLIFIED PROCEDURES FOR CERTAIN COMMERCIAL

ITEMS – SOLE SOURCE JUSTIFICATION AND APPROVAL

URGENCY FOR COVID-19

Program/Equipment: Food Catering Service

Authority: Special Emergency Procurement Authority, 41 U.S.C. 1903; Simplified Procedures for Certain Commercial Items as implemented by FAR Subpart 13.5.

Amount: $300,000.00

Prepared by:

Typed Name: SSG Keandre D. Malone DSN: 767-1700

Title: Contracting Specialist Date: 22 April 2020

E-mail: keandre.d.malone.mil@mail.mil

Contracting Officer:

Typed Name: Joshua Fejeran DSN: 767-1700

Date Reviewed: 28 April 2020 E-Mail: Joshua.l.fejeran.civ@mail.mil

Reviews

I have reviewed this justification and find it adequate to support other than full and open competition.

Legal Counsel

Typed Name: ________________________________DSN: ______________________

Signature: _________________________________ Date: ______________________

Food Catering Services at the Baton Rouge General Medical Center (Mid‐City), Baton Rouge, LA

FAR SUBPART 13.5 SIMPLIFIED PROCEDURES FOR CERTAIN COMMERCIAL

ITEMS – SOLE SOURCE JUSTIFICATION AND APPROVAL

URGENCY FOR COVID-19

1. Contracting Activity: Mission and Installation Contracting Command – Fort Stewart

2. Description of Action: New Blank Purchase Agreement (BPA)

3. Description of Supplies/Services: The Contractor shall provide catered food services consisting of lunch and midnight rations to accommodate US military Service Members.

Period of Performance: The period of performance shall be for a period of 5 months which will begin when the Master BPA is awarded, but will not exceed past 30 September 2020.

Total Value: $300,000.00

4. Authority Cited: Special Emergency Procurement Authority, 41 U.S.C. 1903; Simplified Procedures for Certain Commercial Items as implemented by FAR Subpart 13.5.

5. Reason for Authority Cited:

41 U.S.C. 1903 Special Emergency Procurement authority is authorized because the President of the United States made an emergency determination under the authority of the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act, 42 U.S.C. 5121-5207 (the "Stafford Act") in response to the COVID-19 pandemic on 13 March 2020.

The 13th ESC / Navy Expeditionary Medical Facility (Jacksonville, FL) has a public responsibility to comply with the World Health Organization (WHO) and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) guidance to prevent further spread of COVID-19. They are also required to comply with Department of Defense and U.S. Army Europe guidance to implement plans to ensure compliance with directed force health protection measures throughout the area of operations in order to prevent an outbreak of COVID-19 within U.S. personnel (service members, civilians, contractors, and dependents) or confine it to as small a population as possible. In order to comply and put protective measures in place, the 13th ESC / Navy Expeditionary Medical Facility (Jacksonville, FL) has an urgent need for Food Catering Services. These services are required in order to protect the public from the spread of (or isolate people infected with) COVID-19. This requirement will be critical to the treatment of patients effected by COVID-19 at the Baton Rouge General Medical Center in Baton Rouge, Louisiana.

These service are essential to the medical professionals providing life support within the constraints of the facilities being utilized for care and containment. These medical providers play an increasing important role in treating patients and by controlling the source of food, the chance of being exposed to COVID-19 through non-medical activities such as eating take-out food is minimized.

Every day that passes confirmed COVID-19 cases spike and the death toll increases. It is imperative that these services are obtained as quickly as possible to protect public health. The U.S. Government cannot apply standard procurement times to an acquisition of this urgent nature. Even the short time-lines of 15-30 days to award, could result in hundreds of thousands more being infected and thousands more dying. The U.S. Government has a responsibility to not only develop a timely contracted catering solution that provides quality food to maximize individual physical and mental performance, but to also obtain this service from a DoD approved source that is familiar with providing food service in a medical facility.

The proposed vendor is Baton Rouge Medical Center. Address: 3600 Florida Blvd, Baton Rouge, Louisiana 70806. Telephone number: (225) 237-1905. In accordance with the market research performed by MAJ Jerry Andes II and SSG Keandre Malone, threats posed by the COVID-19 Pandemic, and government movement restraints this vendor was the only vendor who had the means to provide the required services within the time and safety standards in order to support the mission. By utilizing this source, it further minimizes the medical provider’s exposure to COVID-19 by eliminating contact with non-government provided food sources. The Sailors are currently on meal Per Diem and are required to receive take-out food orders at the hotel from various food establishments that do not maintain the level of sanitation required to keep personnel healthy and able to treat patients. Essentially, the medical providers are lodged in hotels with very high facility and food preparation standards and are transported between the hotels and the hospital by a closed loop system of vehicles that are cleaned regularly. By contracting with the hospital for catering services, the risk of COVID-19 infection is further minimized because the food source is part of the closed loop of overall concept of logistic support.

This catering service solutions directly relates to the Department of Defense’s ability to deploy highly trained medical personnel to Baton Rouge, LA to support the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) / Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) Mission Assignment Number: 4484DR-LA-DOD-08.

6. Efforts to Obtain Competition: Conducted a market capability assessment using a combination of phone calls, Internet tools, Web searches, government databases, and physical visits to establishments that could possibly support the requirement. The Navy Expeditionary Medical Force – Mike (EMF-M) conducted a site visit with the Hospital Food Service Team in order to determine if they could provide the required level of quality for catering services.

Reviewed the United States Army Public Health Center authorized food sources listing at https://vets.health.mil/86257B8D004A4B6C/PHC.

7. Actions to Increase Competition: This is a sole source request for acquisition due to the propose vendor being the only one who could provide these services within the time and logistical constraints during market research.

8. Market Research

Market research indicates the service falls within the commercial items definition as it is a service customarily used by the general public and has been sold, leased, or licensed to the general public. The market research also demonstrates that in a normal operating environment a total small business set-aside is possible using a NAICS Code of 722310 (Cafeterias, Grill Buffets, and Buffets) – Caterers with a small business size standard of $41.5M. However, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the mission impact and short suspense to develop a contract solution, the number of possible vendors was determined to be very limited. The preferred contractor were able to provide confidence to the contracting and EMF-M teams by articulating their plan to support the urgent requirement while maintaining high sanitation standards. There are only four U.S. Army Public Health Center approved catering sources of supply in Baton Rouge, LA that are authorized to provide catered meals to service members. These sources are this hospital cafeteria, the Embassy Suites and Crowne Plaza Hotels, and Jimmy Johns. The hotels provide catering services when the Sailors are not at the hospital, but due to shift work, the hospital’s strict bio-security protocols, and to need to minimize or eliminate off site COVID-19 contamination, food consumed during shift needed to be prepared onsite by personnel familiar with hospital grade food preparation and sanitation standards. Allowing an outside vendor to provide the meals to the Sailors within the hospital could put the personnel and the facility at a higher risk for COVID-19 contamination. According to Duns & Bradstreet, this non-profit, community hospital is a classified as a Corporation Subsidiary with an annual overall revenue of $703,773.00. Although, the hospital is not currently registered in the System For Award Management (SAM), catering services provided by the facility do not likely exceed the small business size standard of $41.5M, as food service is auxiliary in nature and not a primary function of the hospital. The cafeteria has three employees, whom operate the facility. A master BPA will be established with Baton Rouge General Medical Center (Mid-City) to decrease unnecessary distracting and movement of medical personnel, while simultaneously reducing the risk of infection, thus allowing them to focus on their primary mission.

In December of 2019 an outbreak of COVID-19 was reported in Wuhan City, Hubei Province, China. The World Health Organization (WHO) states COVID-19 is the infectious disease caused by the most recently discovered coronavirus. They also state in humans, several coronaviruses are known to cause respiratory infections, ranging from the common cold to more severe diseases, such as COVID-19. The WHO states:

“Around 1 out of every 6 people who gets COVID-19 becomes seriously ill and develops difficulty breathing. Older people, and those with underlying medical problems like high blood pressure, heart problems or diabetes, are more likely to develop serious illness. People with fever, cough and difficulty breathing should seek medical attention.”

The WHO declared the global COVID-19 outbreak a pandemic on 11 March 2020, stating it is a “public health crisis”. The following is information from the WHO website. The WHO is recommending all countries activate and scale up their emergency response mechanisms utilizing a four-pronged approach. First, prepare and be ready. In other words, prepare your people and your health facilities. Second, detect, prevent, and treat. Utilize surveillance to find, isolate, test and treat every case in order to break the chain of transmission. Third, reduce and suppress.

Reduce transmission by finding and isolating as many cases as possible and quarantining their closes contacts. Protect health facilities, old age homes, and other vital areas. They recommend testing all suspected cases. Fourth, innovate and improve. Find new ways to prevent infection, save lives, and minimize impact. Utilize personal protective equipment. Utilize the WHO training programs, technical guidance, studies, protocols, and preparedness and response plans.

This requirement will directly impact the men and women who have been task to assist America in the fight against COVID-19. Which is crucial to the overall treatment of patients effected by COVID-19 at the Baton Rouge General Medical Center in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. These service are essential to the medical professionals providing life support within the constraints of the facilities being utilized for care and containment.

On January 31, 2020, the United States Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Alex M. Azar II declared a public health emergency (PHE) for the United States to aid the nation’s health care community in responding to COVID-19. On 13 March 2020, the President of the United States of America declared COVID-19 an emergency IAW 42 U.S.C. 5122 (the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act) which allows for Special Emergency Procurement Authority IAW 41 U.S.C.1903. On 18 March 2020, the President invoked his authority IAW the Defense Production Act. The Act allows the President, where necessary to promote the national defense, may require acceptance and performance of contracts orders by any person he finds to be capable of performing them.

9. Interested Sources: As shown in the market research, interest is limited as many Offerors cannot perform the required service within the required timeframes to meet the needs of the Government in order to protect public health.

Three vendors within the area were called to see if could provide the required services in the amount necessary and they could not fulfill the requirement. Due to the COVID-19 outbreak and employees being unable to come to work, there is a shortage in these services within the area.

These services are required urgently in order to feed the US Government medical personnel on ground in Baton Rouge. If this requirement isn’t awarded in a timely manner, these medical professionals will continue to have to consume take-out food thus, increasing the risk of contracting and spreading the COVID-19 virus.

10. Other Facts: None.

a. Procurement history. None.

b. Other facts. None.

11. Contracting Officer Certification:

I certify that this justification is accurate and complete to the best of my knowledge and belief.

Signature: ________________________________Date: 4/28/2020

Typed Name: Joshua L. Fejeran Title: Contracting Officer

Approval

Based on the foregoing justification, I hereby approve the procurement of Food Catering Service for $300,000.00 on sole source basis pursuant to the authority of the Simplified Procedures for Certain Commercial Items, 41 U.S.C. 1903 Special Emergency Procurement as implemented by FAR Subpart 13.5, subject to availability of funds, and provided that the services and property herein described have otherwise been authorized for acquisition.

Signature: ________________________________Date: 4/28/2020

Typed Name: Joshua L. Fejeran Title: Contracting Officer