JA - AcuStaf - Redacted.pdf

Control Number VA-26-0000090

LIMITED SOURCES JUSTIFICATION

1. Contracting Activity: Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Office of Procurement, Acquisition, and Logistics

Technology Acquisition Center 23 Christopher Way Eatontown, NJ 07724

2. Description of Action: The proposed sole source action is for a firm-fixed price task order with AcuStaf Development Corporation for the procurement of AcuStaf Nurse Staff Scheduling System and Implementation Software at all Northern Arizona Health Care System (NAVAHCS) facilities in Arizona. This effort is being conducted under the authority of the Multiple Award Schedule Program; the proposed effort will be awarded under the General Services Administration (GSA) Federal Supply Schedule GS35F0408X to AcuStaf Development Corp (AcuStaf), 4300 Marketpointe DR STE 240, Edina, Minnesota 55435-5423, United States.

3. Description of Supplies or Services: VA at the NAVAHCS locations require the AcuStaf Nurse Staff Scheduling System and Implementation Software and implementation. The integrated system and automated data extraction tools are necessary to effectively assign staffing resources and monitor standards of care.

This system will pull from systems that already have the data stored to avoid duplicate effort and to feed the other downstream data systems. This system will pull data from the Veterans Health Information Systems and Technology Architecture (VistA) and Oncology Nursing Society (ONS) to create strategic plans based on retrievable and accurate data. The system will accommodate today's increasing staffing challenges by using 21st century technology. The primary use of the system will be staffing scheduling, so that managers shall coordinate schedules, capture data, produce reports and coordinate work assignments to meet patient care needs.

This system allows NAVAHCS to accurately account for time and pay in accordance with defined payment schedules. Nurse functioning as managers must have the flexibility to determine the appropriate nursing staff to meet patient care needs while considering a constellation of important variables, including the following: scheduled leave, unscheduled leave, education, experience, orientation, temporary staff on the unit, acuity of patients, acuity on a particular shift, physical layout of the unit, availability of hospital resources, technology on the unit, and unit volatility (such as the number of admissions, discharges and transfers). AcuStaf offers a comprehensive, enterprise-wide Labor Management Solution that includes staff scheduling, real-time staffing, workload integration, time and attendance, budget management, employee certification tracking, timekeeper validation, extensive reporting, and business analytics. The AcuStaf software is compatible with the VA electronic medical record and VA security/firewalls by utilizing a Health Level Seven (HL7) interface. The period of performance for this effort is a 12-month base period with three (3) 12-month option periods. The total estimated value of the proposed action is

4. Statutory Authority: The statutory authority permitting other than full and open competition is 41 U.S.C. 3304(a)(1) as implemented by the Federal Acquisition

AcuStaf Software Maintenance Control Number VA-26-0000090

Regulation (FAR) 6.302-1 entitled, “Only One Responsible Source and No Other Supplies or Services Will Satisfy Agency Requirements.”

5. Rationale Supporting Use of Authority Cited Above: AcuStaf’s software supports the Veterans Health Administration (VHA) Directive 1351, which incorporates VHA Directive 2010-034, to secure an evidence-based system to support its national process to determine appropriate levels of nursing staff. It provides resource management capabilities to support all areas where care is delivered: inpatient, outpatient, home care, and domiciliary. It integrates seamlessly with other VHSO applications, such as time-recording, payroll, and patient acuity. Additionally, it provides the capabilities to support decision-making, reporting and strategic planning. The functionality of this software automates manual processes, collects national and local data for strategic planning and meet day-to-day staffing challenges. The AcuStaf software feeds into tracking and monitoring of real-time dynamic nursing workload and staffing requirements, providing scheduling to meet federal law and other regulatory requirements.

Currently, NAVAHCS is using AcuStaf, an integrated system that provides comprehensive and systematic accounting of nursing workload, staffing requirements, and scheduling needs, all in compliance with federal laws and other regulatory standards. This request aims to continue using AcuStaf to automate scheduling and staffing processes, providing decision support for staff assignments based on objective and variable data. This approach enhances patient care by aligning nursing competencies with the specific needs of patients. Additionally, the system allows nursing providers to self-schedule and offers data for measuring outcomes. This capability enables the ONS to develop strategic plans based on accurate and retrievable data.

There is a need for an acuity and patient classification system that can adapt to the changing care needs of patients by matching appropriate staffing levels to each patient’s condition and the nursing time required for their care. Hospital-based staffing requires 24-hour coverage, seven days a week. Nursing staff work various shifts that necessitate different hourly rates, and contracts, agencies, and travel nurses all have distinct compensation requirements. Therefore, an effective Staff Scheduling system must accurately calculate time and costs by work unit, nurse type, and pay variables. Nurse executives need this data to plan for current and future staffing needs and costs, equipping them with the necessary tools to manage their workforce effectively.

AcuStaf provides six critical functions: personnel scheduling, daily staffing, education and credential tracking, workload and finance systems, payroll and/or Time and Attendance automation and labor management variance reporting. The AcuStaf software enables the end user to have a single source data entry and real-time analysis and reporting. The AcuStaf software is compatible with the VA electronic medical record and VA security/firewalls by utilizing a HL7 interface. The HL7 interface supports the communication of data to the Veterans Health Information Systems and Technology Architecture (VISTA), which is a health information system that provides the clinical, administrative, and financial functions of the VA facility.

The key elements that are communicated by the HL7 interface are related to patients, visits, orders, and reports. This is imperative as the product must have the ability to support the HL7 data exchange to include customized reporting features “ready-made” to integrate with existing VA systems such as, Hours per Patient Day, Managerial Cost Accounting/Decision Support System and VA Nursing Outcomes Databases. The AcuStaf software feeds into tracking and monitoring of real-time dynamic nursing workload and staffing requirements, providing scheduling to meet federal law and other regulatory requirements. Implementation of the AcuStaf software will provide significant cost reductions in process automation, overtime, staffing cost reductions and improved service outcomes via a cloud-based solution, which removes the need to set up and launch costly and cumbersome servers and database licenses.

AcuStaf has developed a portfolio of unique custom software features for VA:

• VistA to AcuStaf Human Resources SFTP (secure file transfer protocol)

• VistA to AcuStaf HL7 (patient admit, discharge, transfer information)

• AcuStaf VistA Pay Schedule module to allow for enhanced communication between management and timekeeping to ensure accurate pay

• Report 2001: Direct Hours Per Patient Day Reporting

• Report 2007: VHA NHPPD Shift Compliance Reporting

• Report 2022: Device Days of Care Compliance Reporting for Joint

Commission

• Report 2046: DSS/MCA Labor Mapping Automation

• Report 2051: Morning Report to provide information such as daily OT, daily call-ins, daily staffing with NHPPD variance, and important patient care information.

• AcuStaf Proficiency Tracking Module to allow for alerts and tracking of proficiency due dates

The AcuStaf Nurse Staff Scheduling System and Implementation Software is proprietary.

6. Efforts to Obtain Competition: Market research was conducted, details of which are in the market research section of this document. This effort did not yield any additional resources that could meet the Government’s requirements. There is no competition anticipated for this acquisition. Additionally, the proposed action will be synopsized on the Contracting Opportunities Page in accordance with FAR 5.201.

Any proposals that are received shall be evaluated.

7. Actions to Increase Competition: The Government will continue to conduct market research to ascertain whether there are changes in the marketplace that would enable future actions to be completed.

8. Market Research: Market research efforts were conducted to determine if competition was viable for this action. Other sources were only found to have the general capabilities needed to perform the proposed effort. Only AcuStaf possessed technical expertise and VA experience with the use and implementation of Nurse Staff Scheduling System and Implementation Software utilizing an HL7 interface to include customized reporting features and integration with existing VA systems such as Vista, HPPD, DSS, and VANOD. The marketplace offers multiple options for vendors, but not all meet the inclusive requirements to not only support staffing scheduling, but to feed into tracking and monitoring of real-time dynamic nursing workload and staffing requirements or to provide scheduling to meet federal law and other regulatory requirements. The following companies were researched but Government technical experts found that these companies did not have multiple data points and compatible interfaces necessary to meet requirements.

• 360 Talent LLC (SDVOSB/Section 8a)

• 4C Staffing Solutions, Inc. (SDVOSB)

• Certus Sourcing LLC (WOSB) Open Market businesses were queried (vendors are not VIP registered and are not compatible with VA electronic health record):

• Connecteam

• Wrike

• Humanity

Additionally, the contracting team in March 2025 reached out to AcuStaf Development Corp representatives to confirm the availability of the AcuStaf software solution. AcuStaf provided a sole source letter to the acquisition team on March 12, 2025, stating that they are the sole source and distributor for this software.

The Technology Acquisition Center issued a Request for Information (RFI) on June 20, 2025, via the NASA SEWP website to ascertain if there were any other sources that could meet the Government’s requirements. Only AcuStaf Development Corporation responded to the RFI. Based on this market research the Government’s technical experts have determined that AcuStaf Development Corporation is the only source that can meet the Government’s requirements.

9. Other Facts: None

10. Technical and Requirements Certification: I certify that the supporting data under my cognizance, which are included in this justification, are accurate and complete to the best of my knowledge and belief.

11. Fair and Reasonable Cost Determination: I hereby determine that the anticipated price to the Government for this contract action will be fair and reasonable based on historical pricing and comparison the Independent Government Cost Estimate.

12. Procuring Contracting Officer Certification: I certify that this justification is accurate and complete to the best of my knowledge and belief. As this contract action does not exceed , the certification below required by FAR 6.304(a)(1) serves as approval.