SOW_2015_Disaster_Outreach_033015_V2.docx

ATTACHMENT No. 1 RFQ No.NIHLM2015383

DISASTER HEALTH INFORMATION

OUTREACH AND COLLABORATION PROJECT 2015

STATEMENT OF WORK

BACKGROUND INFORMATION

The National Library of Medicine (NLM), recognizing the untapped potential of libraries, librarians, and information services to aid in the nation’s disaster management efforts created a “Disaster Information Management Research Center” (DIMRC) to support national emergency preparedness and response efforts. Since the Center opened in 2008, NLM has worked to train and support librarians to serve as Disaster Information Specialists to help meet their communities’ information needs in preparing for, responding to, and recovering from disasters and public health emergencies.

DIMRC develops and provides access to disaster and emergency information resources and technology for health professionals and the public. (http://disasterinfo.nlm.nih.gov). These include access to the relevant biomedical literature via PubMed (http://pubmed.gov) and the non-commercial literature via Disaster Lit: The Resource Guide for Disaster Medicine and Public Health (http://disasterlit.nlm.nih.gov), as well as tools to assist in the response to hazmat and chemical, biological, radiological, and nuclear (CBRN) events. These tools include the Wireless Information System for Emergency Responders (WISER; http://wiser.nlm.nih.gov) with information on over 400 chemical, biological, and radiological agents, Radiation Emergency Medical Management (REMM; http://remm.nlm.gov) and Chemical Hazards Emergency Medical Management (CHEMM; http://chemm.nlm.nih.gov).

NLM, as part of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), recognizes that it is critical to establish relationships with organizations that encourage and foster communication and information access. All those working in disaster medicine and public health need fast and easy access to the most up-to-date and accurate health information to effectively prepare for and respond to incidents. Evidence-based information from past events, incoming information from social media sources, and tools to aid in analysis are needed by health departments, hospitals, academic institutions, emergency management agencies, and non-governmental organizations to assist with disaster planning, as well as for response and recovery. Libraries and librarians are highly qualified to assist with these information needs.

NLM funded for the first time in 2011 the Disaster Health Information Outreach and Collaboration Project for libraries and other organizations to work together to improve awareness of, access to, and use of disaster medicine and public health information by organizations, institutions, and agencies working in any phase of disaster/emergency management (all-hazards). Funds were offered again in 2012, 2013, and 2014. Previously funded projects can be viewed at http://disasterinfo.nlm.nih.gov/dimrc/disasterinfofunding.html.

NLM defines “disaster health information” broadly as clinical, public health, medical, and health information needed for preparedness, response and recovery from all-hazards disasters and emergencies, including public health emergencies. “All-hazards” includes natural events, terrorism, industrial accidents, transportation accidents, public health emergencies such as major disease outbreaks, chemical/biological/radiation/nuclear events with potential for causing mass casualties, and other incidents that require emergency response or have the potential to exceed local response resources.

PURPOSE AND OBJECTIVES

The purpose of the Disaster Health Information Outreach and Collaboration Project is to design programs for improving disaster medicine and public health information access for health professionals, first responders and others (paid or volunteer) that play a role in health-related disaster preparedness, response and recovery. (See the section below on Target Audiences.) Emphasis is on providing information or access to health and medical information in a way useful to the target audiences, and increasing the awareness and utilization of high-quality, professional-level online medical and public health information resources on disaster, all-hazards, and emergency topics including resources from the National Library of Medicine listed in the Background Information above. The purpose is also to promote new and creative collaborations on disaster health information needs among and to the mutual benefit of librarians, information specialists, or informationists and the disaster workforce.

PROJECT ACTIVITIES

Projects must involve two or more of the following activities:

1. Needs Assessment: Determine and evaluate disaster health information needs, available resources, training needs, preferred information access tools, gaps in types or content of materials, and other aspects of the provision of information services by and for librarians and the disaster workforce.

2. Roles in Providing Disaster Health Information: Develop new or expanded roles for librarians/informationists with organizations that have major disaster health-related responsibilities and/or to develop new or expanded roles for disaster workforce members’ participation in development, evaluation, promotion and use of health information resources. Promote cross-training and mutual awareness of each organization’s disaster roles and health information needs.

3. Practices and Methods in Information Sharing: Develop collaborative information practices, methods, and communication tools among information organizations (libraries or similar) and disaster organizations for sharing of health information to enhance disaster planning, situational awareness, response, and recovery. Practices and tools could address, for example, building community resilience, online mapping of post-disaster resources, use of social media in disasters, biosurveillance, and other means for enhancing communications. Projects may also support the health information needs of an institution developing continuity of operations plans or disaster response plans, but funds will not be provided for actually doing that planning.

4. Skills Development: Design and conduct training to develop skills in accessing or using disaster health-related information including the use of online databases and general disaster information resources in order to improve services, benefit the community, and enhance understanding of the context for using disaster information. This may include training for the staff of an agency, development of training programs for clients and patrons, training programs for other agencies, etc.

5. Information Retrieval: Provide or improve access to electronic disaster medicine and public health information resources for organizations with disaster-related responsibilities or by the clients they serve and to implement access to state-of-the-art disaster health-related information tools via the Internet or mobile devices. This may require the purchase of hardware (computer equipment), software, or contractual relationships necessary to obtain a connection to the Internet for the benefit of organizations with disaster responsibilities and for the purpose of accessing and sharing disaster health-related information.

6. Document Access: Provide or enhance access to disaster health-related documents and other types of health information. This may include the enhancement of library collections, development of connections between disaster-related organizations and local health sciences or other libraries to obtain use of their collections, to procure interlibrary loan services, etc.

Projects examples might include, but should not be limited to:

· Development of an information specialist role in a community or state health department.

· Creation of a Web page or an app with National Library of Medicine and local disaster health information resources for use by disaster preparedness and response professionals.

· Training disaster preparedness and response workforce on use of mobile apps and other disaster health resources.

· Enhancement of an emergency operations center with disaster health information resources and information technology.

· Demonstrate how librarians can assist with social media surveillance, curation and verification of information in a disaster or emergency.

See http://disasterinfo.nlm.nih.gov/dimrc/disasterinfofunding.html for examples of previous years’ projects.

PROJECT PARTNERS

Eligible projects must be based on a partnership or collaboration that includes at least one library and at least one non-library organization that has disaster-related responsibilities. Either partner can be designated as the lead agency and submit an application. A single institution that includes both a library and non-library unit(s) with disaster-related responsibilities is also eligible; for example, a local government or hospital or university with both a library and departments with disaster responsibilities.

Projects must include at least one library, defined as:

A library, library system, information center or consortium of libraries that has some experience in providing health information resources or disaster/emergency information resources to their constituents. Examples include, but are not limited to, college and university libraries, corporate or special libraries, public libraries, and health sciences libraries. A consortium of libraries may include any number or types of libraries as long as one of the member libraries participating in the project has experience in providing medical and health information resources or disaster/emergency information resources.

AND projects must include at least one non-library organization that has disaster-related responsibilities, defined as:

An organization or consortium of organizations that plays a defined role in all-hazards preparedness, response and recovery, plays a role in implementing FEMA-defined Emergency Support Functions (ESF) 6 or 8, and works primarily with human (not animal) populations. These public or private organizations should include licensed or trained, paid or volunteer, permanent or as-needed workers who play key disaster functions in their institutions or communities and would benefit from access to disaster health information resources. Examples of such organizations include health departments, public safety departments, emergency management departments, pre-hospital and emergency medical services or other local, municipal, or state agencies with disaster health responsibilities, hospitals, faith-based and voluntary organizations active in disasters, fire and rescue services and others. Emergency Support Function-6 includes responsibilities for mass care, emergency assistance, disaster housing, and human services. Emergency Support Function-8 addresses public health, medical and mental health services as well as mass fatality management.

TARGET AUDIENCES

The target audiences for these projects include licensed or trained, paid or volunteer, permanent or as-needed workers who play a defined role in all-hazards preparedness, response and recovery, play a role in implementing Emergency Support Functions (ESF) 6 or 8, and work primarily with human populations.

Examples of such workers include, but are not limited to:

Licensed/credentialed health professionals (paid or volunteer) as listed for ESAR-VHP:

· Advanced practice nurses (nurse practitioners, nurse anesthetists, certified nurse midwives, clinical nurses specialists)

· Behavioral health professionals (marriage and family therapists, medical and public health social workers, mental health and substance abuse social workers, psychologists, and mental health counselors)

· Cardiovascular technologist and technicians

· Dentists

· Diagnostic medical sonographers

· Emergency medical technicians (EMTs) and paramedics

· Licensed practical nurses and licensed vocational nurses

· Medical and clinical laboratory technicians (includes phlebotomists)

· Medical and clinical laboratory technologists

· Pharmacists

· Physicians

· Physician assistants

· Radiologic technologists and technicians

· Registered nurses

· Respiratory therapists

· Veterinarians

[Source: Who is Eligible? Emergency System for Advance Registration of Volunteer Health Professionals (ESAR-VHP). http://www.phe.gov/esarvhp/pages/registration.aspx]

Additional licensed or trained disaster workforce, paid or volunteer:

· Trained community volunteers, such as American Red Cross, Community Emergency Response Teams

· Administrative and support staff for Medical Reserve Corps (MRC), Disaster Medical Assistance Teams (DMAT), and Disaster Mortuary Teams (DMORT).

· Librarians, library staff, informationists, information specialists

· Crisis digital volunteers

· Clergy

· Military and civilian humanitarian assistance workers

· Hospital and other health center administrators (clinics, rehab centers, dialysis units, long-term care facilities, etc.)

· Health educators

· Toxicologists

· Environmental health workers

· Epidemiologists

· Laboratory administrators, support staff

· Public Information Officers (as defined in Incident Command System)

· Firefighters, including hazardous materials responders

· Public health workers

· Emergency managers

Disaster Mortuary Team members:

· Medical examiner/coroners

· Forensic pathologists

· Forensic anthropologists

· Fingerprint specialists

· Forensic odontologists

· Funeral directors/embalmers

· Dental assistants

· X-ray technicians

· Mental health specialists

· DNA specialists

· Medical records technicians

· Evidence specialists

[Source: Who makes up a DMORT team? http://www.phe.gov/Preparedness/responders/ndms/teams/Pages/dmort.aspx ]

AWARDS

NLM offers a contract award with a not to exceed maximum value of $30,000. A full, detailed quotation (proposal) must be submitted. The award may be for a new project or the continuation or expansion of a project previously funded by NLM or the National Network of Libraries of Medicine.

Quotations (proposals) will be technically evaluated by a review panel. NLM anticipates making three to five awards.

PERIOD OF PERFORMANCE

The period of performance shall be for twelve (12) months from the date the project begins. Awards are anticipated to be made on or around September of 2015.

REPORTING REQUIREMENTS

During the course of the project, the contractor shall prepare and submit the following reports:

1. Quarterly Reports: Include a brief narrative description of the activities during the reporting period and the activities planned for the ensuing reporting period. As a minimum, this report shall include progress toward the major objectives of the project and any problems encountered and steps taken to resolve them.

2. Final Report: Include a narrative summary of the project's accomplishments; copies of all materials developed as part of the project; any evaluation and measurable impact upon the community targeted. The final report shall be submitted on or before the due date provided upon award of the contract and be submitted in the format contained in Attachment 3: Final Report.

EVALUATION

NLM anticipates performing an overall evaluation of the effectiveness of this procurement. All contractors are required to participate fully in this evaluation. The evaluation may take one or more of the following forms: a site visit by an NLM representative, written or verbal responses to NLM inquiries, a symposium held at NLM or other sites which will require presentations and discussions by the project directors, and others to be determined later.

DELIVERABLES

1. Upon award of the contract, one or more staff associated with a project must participate in the Disaster Information Specialist Program by:

a. Subscribing to the DISASTR-OUTREACH-LIB email listserv (http://sis.nlm.nih.gov/dimrc/dimrclistserv.html),

b. Participating in monthly Program webinars/conference calls,

c. Delivering an oral presentation on the project during one of the monthly webinars/conference calls, and

d. Contributing to collaborative efforts of this community of practice as appropriate.

2. After the performance period, the Contractor shall deliver the following applicable items to the Contracting Officer or the duly authorized representative in accordance with the delivery schedule set forth upon award of the contract:

a. Materials developed as a result of the project

b. Demonstration and copy of any software developed to improve access to disaster health information

c. Final report

d. Evaluation by NLM, if requested

e. Publicity received by the project in any media such as newspapers, local television, news, newsletters, etc.

f. Pictures or photographs of project activities or personnel involved in the project along with releases permitting NLM to use these pictures in reports, on the web or in other NLM materials

3. Reports: Copies of the above items shall be emailed to the following individuals on or before the due dates specified upon the contract award.

Quarterly Reports

E-mail

April 15th July 15th October 17th

(Address will be provided at the time of award) November 1, 2016

GOVERNMENT PROPERTY (EQUIPMENT)

· If an offeror is requesting that government property equipment be provided, that request must be included in the business proposal. If a contractor requires government property equipment, then a written request must be signed by an official that can bind the organization and submitted to the contracting officer. All requests for government property equipment must provide a written justification including:

· A statement explaining why the property is essential to contract performance and whether the property will be used exclusively for the contract. If the equipment is not to be used exclusively for the contract, e.g., shared equipment, provide written information on allocation of shared use.

· A description of other alternatives (e.g., purchase or lease) pursued and why they are not viable options.

· A statement explaining why the required property will not be provided by the contractor.

· Price quotes from at least three vendors or a sole source justification. Equipment for purposes of this Contract includes computers, laptops, electronic tablets, printers, smartphones, and other electronic devices.

· Documentation of whether there are funds in the contract to cover the purchase.

· Comply with terms and conditions of the government property equipment clause included the contract and all other terms and conditions of the contract regarding government property.

· Include all government property under the contract on your property inventory report.