JA Redacted.pdf

JA template_FAR 13.5_(07-AUG-2024)

JUSTIFICATION FOR AN EXCEPTION TO FAIR OPPORTUNITY

1. Contracting Activity: Department of Veterans Affairs

Office of Procurement, Acquisition, and Logistics Technology Acquisition Center 23 Christopher Way Eatontown, NJ 07724

2. Description of Action: This proposed action is for a Firm-Fixed-Price delivery order issued under the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Solutions for Enterprise-Wide Procurement (SEWP) V Government Wide Acquisition Contract (GWAC) for VOCERA brand name Premium Support and Enterprise Licenses.

3. Description of Supplies or Services: The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), VA Pacific Islands Health Care System (PIHCS) - Spark M Matsunaga VA Medical Center has a requirement to continue services for Vocera Premium Support and Enterprise Licenses for the currently installed communications solution. The Vocera system provides hands-free, voice-activated wireless communication for staff using wearable badges or smartphones to quickly connect with colleagues, receive critical patient alerts and alarms The VAPIHCS Center for Aging currently uses the Vocera Clinical Communications System to increase communication efficiency to improve Veteran care and respond to their needs. The Vocera equipment and networks are utilized and integrated with the existing systems in the facility, i.e. Hill-Rom, Vista/CPRS, and Active Directory. The period of performance shall be a 12-month base period followed by four 12-month option periods.

4. Statutory Authority: Pursuant to Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) 16.505(a)(4), the following brand name requirement is being justified and approved as an exception to fair opportunity under the statutory authority of Section 41 U.S.C. 4106(c)(2) as implemented by FAR 16.505(b)(2)(i)(B), entitled “Only one awardee is capable of providing the supplies or services required at the level of quality required because the supplies or services ordered are unique or highly specialized”.

5. Rationale Supporting Use of Authority Cited Above: Based on market research, as described in paragraph 8, limited competition is available among resellers for the required brand-name Vocera brand Support and Enterprise Licenses. Currently at VA Pacific Islands Health Care System - Spark M Matsunaga VA Medical Center, Vocera Clinical Communications infrastructure is installed and setup to support Veterans for patient care With this current infrastructure, only Vocera or a reseller can provide the necessary Support and Enterprise Licenses because of the proprietary source code required to develop and implement software upgrades, firmware, and updates. Further, the use of any other brand name software would require a complete replacement and redevelopment of the existing infrastructure in place.

6. Efforts to Obtain Competition: Market research was conducted, details of which are in section 8 of this justification. This effort did not yield any additional sources that could

CONTROL NUMBER VA-26-00005329

JA Template_FAR 13.5_(07-AUG-2024) meet the Government’s requirements. However, the undersigned VA technical representative determined that limited competition is viable among resellers for the required brand name Support and Enterprise Licenses. In accordance with FAR 16.505(a)(4)(iii)(A)(1), this justification will be provided with the solicitation to all appropriate NASA SEWP V GWAC holders. Furthermore, in accordance with FAR 5.301, 16.505(b)(2)(ii)(D), and 16.505(a)(4)(iii), the award notice for this action will be synopsized on the Contract Opportunities website and this justification will be made publicly available within 14 days of award.

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

8. Market Research: , were the three products researched as competition for VOCERA. Of all three products reviewed, none of them encompass the overall handsfree real-time communication aspect that VA requires. While all three products have texting and are Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act complaint, they do not have one of the main services needed for the Community Living Center, which is immediate, handsfree communication. The Community Living Center is already utilizing Vocera, purchased their hardware and approved for secure networking on the VA’s network.

9. Other Facts: None