P09 - PWS.docx

VA SIERRA NEVADA HEALTH CARE SYSTEM

STATEMENT OF WORK

VA FALLON OUTPATIENT CLINIC

VA CARSON VALLEY OUTPATIENT CLINIC

WINNEMUCCA RURAL OUTREACH CLINIC

Susanville Diamond View Outpatient Clinic

EAST CAMPUS ANNEX

NV State Public Lab

NORTH CAMPUS

1. MEDICAL COURIER SERVICES: The Department of Veterans Affairs, Sierra Nevada Health Care System (VASNHCS) intends to award a contract for the procurement of courier services. The contractor shall provide services to transport laboratory test specimens for three separate locations once a day, in accordance with the terms and conditions of this Statement of Work (SOW).

2. ITEMS TO BE TRANSPORTED: Biological specimens for delivery/pickup are a combination of room temperature, refrigerated, and/or frozen specimens.

a. Laboratory test specimens, i.e. body fluids (blood, urine and stool), will be properly packaged in inner containers and stored at the proper temperature by Government personnel.

b. VASNHCS will provide two coolers per each delivery. One large sized cooler (approximate 70-quart capacity) will be for refrigerated items targeting 2-8 degrees Centigrade (routine refrigerator temperature) and a second smaller sized cooler (approximate 35-quart capacity) for frozen sample (less than 0 degrees Centigrade) and will require dry ice. The contractor will provide the dry ice as necessary to ensure that specimens remain at the proper temperatures during transport. Test specimens stored in the refrigerated cooler should remain upright during transportation. Test specimens that are stored at room temperature can be placed near the top of the refrigerated cooler during transport.

c. All specimens must be transported in accordance with all Department of Transportation and OSHA Codes of Federal Regulations (CFR) 29 and 49. The Contractor shall ensure the confidentiality of all patient information being transported and will be held liable in the event of breach of confidentiality. The Contractor shall comply with the provisions of the Federal Privacy Act of 1974 (Public Law 93-579).

3. HOURS OF OPERATION: The contractor shall perform services required by this contract primarily close to the end of the clinic operations. Pick up times must be consistent with each site.

a. VA Fallon and VA Carson Valley will operate five day per week. Pick up is required in the afternoon not sooner than 1400 and prior to 1600. The clinic operations are conducted Monday through Friday 0800 to 1630, with the exception of Federal holidays.

b Winnemucca Rural Outreach Clinic will operate two days per week (Mondays and Tuesdays). Pick up is required in the afternoon not sooner than 1400 and prior to 1600, with exception of Federal holidays.

c. East Campus will operate two days per week. Pick up is required in the morning not sooner than 1130 and in the afternoon not sooner than 1400 and prior to 1600. The clinic operations are conducted Monday through Friday 0800 to 1630, with the exception of Federal holidays.

d. North Campus will operate five days per week ((Mondays and Tuesdays). Pick up is required in the morning not sooner than 1100 and in the afternoon not sooner than 1400 and prior to 1600, with exception of Federal holidays.

e. Susanville Diamond View Outpatient Clinic – will operate five days per week (Monday through Friday. Pick-ups of the laboratory test specimens from the VA Diamond View Outpatient Clinic between 3:30PM and no later than 4:00PM and deliver to the VASNHCS, no later than 7PM with exception of Federal holidays.

f. Nevada State Public- will operate five days per week (Monday through Friday). Pickups from the VA Sierra Nevada Health Care System to Nevada State Public no later than 3:00pm. with exception of Federal holidays.

4. PICK UP/DELIVERY SCHEDULE:

4.1. Contractor shall transport laboratory test specimens between the VA Fallon Outpatient Clinic, 1020 New River PKWY STE 304, Fallon, NV 89406 and the VA Sierra Nevada Health Care System (VASNHCS), Pathology and Laboratory Medicine Clinical Laboratory, Building 1, Room 136, 1000 Locust Street, Reno Nevada 89502.

a. Courier services between the VA facilities will be conducted daily, Monday through Friday except on federal holidays. Federal Holidays: New Year’s Day, Martin Luther King Day, President’s Day, Memorial Day, Independence Day, Labor Day, Columbus Day, Veterans Day, Thanksgiving Day, Christmas Day, and any other day specifically declared by the President of the United States to be a federal holiday.

b. The Courier will pick up the laboratory test specimens in locked coolers from the VA Fallon Outpatient Clinic, 1020 New River PKWY STE 304 , Fallon, NV 89406 and deliver to the VASNHCS, Pathology and Laboratory Medicine Clinical Laboratory, Building 1, Room 136, 975 Kirman Avenue, Reno Nevada 89502 no later than 7PM , Monday through Friday. Building access is the entrance to the Emergency Department is on Burns Street between Locust Street and Kirman Avenue. The courier will swap the full sample coolers for empty coolers to be used on the next run.

c. The condition of the laboratory test specimens will be checked at time of delivery. A daily tracking log will be completed and submitted to the VA Triage Clinic at time of delivery. The Courier will exchange the delivered coolers with two empty coolers to be used for the next regular workday pick up.

d. In cases where courier service cannot make it due the weather conditions, etc. the VA must be notified in advance.

4.2. Contractor shall transport laboratory test specimens between the VA Carson Valley Outpatient Clinic, 1330 Waterloo Lane Suite 101 Gardnerville NV 89423 and the VA Sierra Nevada Health Care System (VASNHCS), Pathology and Laboratory Medicine Clinical Laboratory, Building 1, Room 136, 975 Kirman Avenue, Reno Nevada 89502.

a. Courier services between the VA facilities will be conducted daily, Monday through Friday except on federal holidays. Federal Holidays: New Year’s Day, Martin Luther King Day, President’s Day, Memorial Day, Independence Day, Labor Day, Columbus Day, Veterans Day, Thanksgiving Day, Christmas Day, and any other day specifically declared by the President of the United States to be a federal holiday.

b. The Courier will pick up the laboratory test specimens from the VA Carson Valley Outpatient Clinic, 1330 Waterloo Lane Suite 101 Gardnerville, NV 89423 and deliver to the VASNHCS, Pathology and Laboratory Medicine Clinical Laboratory, Building 1, Room 136, 975 Kirman Avenue, Reno Nevada 89502 no later than 7PM, Monday through Friday. Building access is the entrance to the Emergency Department is on Burns Street between Locust Street and Kirman Avenue. The courier will swap the full sample coolers for empty coolers to be used on the next run.

c. The condition of the laboratory test specimens will be checked at time of delivery. A daily tracking log will be completed and submitted to the VA Triage Clinic at time of delivery. The Courier will exchange the delivered coolers with two empty coolers to be used for the next regular workday pick up.

e. In cases where courier service cannot make it due the weather conditions, etc. the VA must be notified in advance.

4.3. Contractor shall transport laboratory test specimens between the Winnemucca Rural Outreach Clinic, 3298 Traders Way, Winnemucca, NV 89445 and the VA Sierra Nevada Health Care System (VASNHCS), Pathology and Laboratory Medicine Clinical Laboratory, Building 1, Room 136, 975 Kirman Avenue, Reno Nevada 89502.

a. Courier services between the VA facilities will be conducted daily, Monday through Friday except on federal holidays. Federal Holidays: New Year’s Day, Martin Luther King Day, President’s Day, Memorial Day, Independence Day, Labor Day, Columbus Day, Veterans Day, Thanksgiving Day, Christmas Day, and any other day specifically declared by the President of the United States to be a federal holiday.

b. The Courier will pick up the laboratory test specimens from the Winnemucca Rural Outreach Clinic, 3298 Traders Way, Winnemucca, NV 89445 and deliver to the VASNHCS, Pathology and Laboratory Medicine Clinical Laboratory, Building 1, Room 136, 975 Kirman Avenue, Reno Nevada 89502 no later than 7PM, Monday through Friday. Building access is the entrance to the Emergency Department is on Burns Street between Locust Street and Kirman Avenue. The courier will swap the full sample coolers for empty coolers to be used on the next run.

c. The condition of the laboratory test specimens will be checked at time of delivery. A daily tracking log will be completed and submitted to the VA Triage Clinic at time of delivery. The Courier will exchange the delivered coolers with two empty coolers to be used for the next regular workday pick up.

d. In cases where courier service cannot make it due the weather conditions, etc. the VA must be notified in advance.

4.4. Contractor shall transport laboratory test specimens between the East Campus, 1201 Corporate Blvd, Reno, NV 89502 and the VA Sierra Nevada Health Care System (VASNHCS), Pathology and Laboratory Medicine Clinical Laboratory, Building 1, Room 136, 975 Kirman Avenue, Reno Nevada 89502.

a. Courier services between the VA facilities will be conducted daily, Monday through Friday except on federal holidays. Federal Holidays: New Year’s Day, Martin Luther King Day, President’s Day, Memorial Day, Independence Day, Labor Day, Columbus Day, Veterans Day, Thanksgiving Day, Christmas Day, and any other day specifically declared by the President of the United States to be a federal holiday

b. The Courier will pick up the laboratory test specimens from the East Campus, 1201 Corporate Blvd, Reno, NV 89502 and deliver to the VASNHCS, Pathology and Laboratory Medicine Clinical Laboratory, Building 1, Room 136, 975 Kirman Avenue, Reno Nevada 89502 no later than 7PM, Monday through Friday. Building access is the entrance to the Emergency Department is on Burns Street between Locust Street and Kirman Avenue. The courier will swap the full sample coolers for empty coolers to be used on the next run.

c. The condition of the laboratory test specimens will be checked at time of delivery. A daily tracking log will be completed and submitted to the VA Triage Clinic at time of delivery. The Courier will exchange the delivered coolers with two empty coolers to be used for the next regular workday pick up.

d. In cases where courier service cannot make it due the weather conditions, etc. the VA must be notified in advance.

4.5. The Courier will pick up the laboratory test specimens from the North Campus, 1140 Selmi drive, Reno, NV 89502 and the VA Sierra Nevada Health Care System (VASNHCS), Pathology and Laboratory Medicine Clinical Laboratory, Building 1, Room 136, 975 Kirman Avenue, Reno Nevada 89502.

a. Courier services between the VA facilities will be conducted daily, Monday through Friday except on federal holidays. Federal Holidays: New Year’s Day, Martin Luther King Day, President’s Day, Memorial Day, Independence Day, Labor Day, Columbus Day, Veterans Day, Thanksgiving Day, Christmas Day, and any other day specifically declared by the President of the United States to be a federal holiday

b. The Courier will pick up the laboratory test specimens from the North Campus, 1140 Selmi drive, Reno, NV 89502 and deliver to the VASNHCS, Pathology and Laboratory Medicine Clinical Laboratory, Building 1, Room 136, 975 Kirman Avenue, Reno Nevada 89502 no later than 7PM, Monday through Friday. Building access is the entrance to the Emergency Department is on Burns Street between Locust Street and Kirman Avenue. The courier will swap the full sample coolers for empty coolers to be used on the next run.

c. The condition of the laboratory test specimens will be checked at time of delivery. A daily tracking log will be completed and submitted to the VA Triage Clinic at time of delivery. The Courier will exchange the delivered coolers with two empty coolers to be used for the next regular workday pick up.

d. In cases where courier service cannot make it due the weather conditions, etc. the VA must be notified in advance.

4.6 Contractor shall transport laboratory test specimens between the VA Sierra Nevada Health Care System (VASNHCS), Emergency Department, 975 Kirman Street, Reno Nevada 89502 and the VA Diamond View Outpatient Clinic, 110 Bella Way, Susanville, CA 96130.

a. Courier services between the VA facilities will be conducted daily, Monday through Friday except on federal holidays. Federal Holidays: New Year’s Day, Martin Luther King Day, President’s Day, Memorial Day, Independence Day, Labor Day, Columbus Day, Veterans Day, Thanksgiving Day, Christmas Day, and any other day specifically declared by the President of the United States to be a federal holiday.

b. The Courier will pick up the laboratory test specimens from the VA Diamond View Outpatient Clinic between 3:30PM and no later than 4:00PM and deliver to the VASNHCS, Emergency Department no later than 7PM, Monday through Friday. The Emergency Department, 24 hour emergency entrance is on Burns Street between Locust Street and Kirman Avenue.

c. The condition of the laboratory test specimens will be checked at time of delivery. A daily tracking log will be completed and submitted to the VA Emergency Department at time of delivery. The Courier will exchange the delivered coolers with two empty coolers to be used for the next regular work day pick up.

d. In cases where courier service cannot make it due to weather conditions, etc. the VA must be notified in advance.

4.7 The Courier will pick up the laboratory test specimens between the VA Sierra Nevada Health Care System (VASNHCS), Pathology and Laboratory Medicine Clinical Laboratory, Building 1, Room 136, 975 Kirman Avenue, Reno Nevada 89502 to Nevada State Public, 1660N. Virginia St, Reno NV 89512.

a. Courier services between the VA facilities will be conducted daily, Monday through Friday except on federal holidays. Federal Holidays: New Year’s Day, Martin Luther King Day, President’s Day, Memorial Day, Independence Day, Labor Day, Columbus Day, Veterans Day, Thanksgiving Day, Christmas Day, and any other day specifically declared by the President of the United States to be a federal holiday

b. The Courier will pick up the laboratory test specimens from VASNHCS, Pathology and Laboratory Medicine Clinical Laboratory, Building 1, Room 136, 975 Kirman Avenue, Reno Nevada 89502 and deliver to Nevada State Public, 1660N. Virginia St, Reno NV 89512 no later than 3PM, Monday through Friday. Building access is the entrance to the Emergency Department is on Burns Street between Locust Street and Kirman Avenue. The courier will swap the full sample coolers for empty coolers to be used on the next run.

c. The condition of the laboratory test specimens will be checked at time of delivery. A daily tracking log will be completed and submitted to the VA Triage Clinic at time of delivery. The Courier will exchange the delivered coolers with two empty coolers to be used for the next regular workday pick up.

d. In cases where courier service cannot make it due the weather conditions, etc. the VA must be notified in advance.

5. PERFORMANCE STANDARDS:

a. Contractor pickup and delivery time will be within a 15-minute leeway time with exact pickups when they are just prior to clinic closure times. Pickup/delivery times greater than 15 minutes require a telephone call to the laboratory contact with reason stated. Final traffic routes/patterns and times will be established prior to implementation of the contract, with mutual agreement.

b. Customer service skills must be evident to VASNCHS staff with no more than five (50 complaints or referrals to the Laboratory Manager per year.

6. CONTRACTOR’S DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES: Contractor must be a courier company with a state license and carry a minimum of $1,000,000.00 liability insurance. All couriers transporting specimens under this contract must be bonded and carry cellular phones and pagers for communications purposes.

a. The Contractor shall provide all courier services with a company vehicle and uniformed driver(s) to transport laboratory specimens. The Contractor shall ensure the confidentiality of all patient information being transported and will be held liable in the event of breach of confidentiality. The Contractor shall comply with the provisions of the Federal Privacy Act of 1974 (Public Law 93-579).

b. Upon award of the contract and prior to actual start date, the Contractor shall provide the Contracting Officer’s Representative (COR) a copy of their most current certificate of training of couriers (employees), Valid Drivers license, vehicle insurance, and registration.

c. Training: Contractor’s couriers transporting laboratory test specimens must be trained in “Universal Precautions” in the handling of biohazard materials (specimens). Training must include using clinical procedures in case of biohazard spills and accidents.

d. Driver: All drivers must maintain a valid driver’s license for the type of vehicle operated as required by the States of Nevada and California. A record of each driver as to character and physical capabilities of performing the duties as a courier must be maintained and made available to the COR for inspection upon request.

e. The contract manager, drivers, and alternates, must be able to read, write, speak, and understand English. The name of this person, and an alternate, or alternates, who shall act for the contractor when the manager is absent, shall be designated in writing to the COR. An updated listing will be provided as changes in personnel occur.

f. The Contractor’s personnel shall present a neat appearance and be easily recognized as a contract employee. The Contractor’s employees shall wear identification tags that include the company’s name/logo and employee name. Contractor’s vehicle shall have the company name/logo prominently displayed.

g. The Contractor shall direct all questions and problems regarding this contract to the Contracting Officer and/or COR. The Contracting officer is the sole authority to amend the terms and conditions of this requirement. All changes will be issued via amendment and/or modifications in writing from the Contracting Officer to the Contractor.

h. The COR SHALL BE NOTIFIED within two (2) hours, via phone and confirmed via facsimile of Contractor’s knowledge of any conditions which may adversely affect the Contractor’s ability to perform under the terms and conditions as stated in the specifications of this requirement.

i. Should specimens be lost or broken; the contractor shall be required to submit a written report to the COR within twenty-four (24) hours explaining the circumstances. Failure to provide the report within the specific timeframe will cause further review by the Government to determine if the infraction warrants suspension/termination of the contract.

j. Contractor must have a back up for specimen delivery in the event the regular driver/vehicle breaks down.

7. QUALITY CONTROL: The Contractor shall develop and maintain a quality control program that ensures courier services are performed in accordance with these specifications. The contractor shall develop and implement procedures to track, identify, prevent, remedy, and ensure non-recurrence of defective services. The contractor shall provide a method to accept and resolve customer complaints and notify the customer of the resolution. The contractor shall immediately notify the COR upon receipt of a customer complaint so joint validation may be accomplished. The contractor is responsible for quality control and specification compliance.

8. QUALITY ASSURANCE: The Government will evaluate the contractor’s performance using customer complaint, periodic on-site inspection, and may at the Government’s discretion, inspect each task to incur conformance and acceptance prior to payment.

9. EVIDENCE OF RESPONSIBILITY: To determine responsibility, an offeror must possess a minimum of three (3) years experience, along with all necessary equipment, and personnel who are financially responsible to perform courier service as required under this contract. Offerors must submit with their proposal the following:

Successful bidders must meet all requirements of federal, state, or city codes and licenses regarding operations of this type of service. A description of offeror’s experience shall be submitted with the proposal.

a. The Government reserves the right to thoroughly inspect and investigate the contractor’s vehicles, facilities, business reputation, and other qualifications of any offeror and to reject any offer irrespective of price if it shall be administratively determined lacking in any of the essentials necessary to assure acceptable standard of performance.

10. VA SECURITY CLAUSE:

10.1. GENERAL

Contractors, contractor personnel, subcontractors, and subcontractor personnel shall be subject to the same Federal laws, regulations, standards, and VA Directives and Handbooks as VA and VA personnel regarding information and information system security.

10.2. ACCESS TO VA INFORMATION AND VA INFORMATION SYSTEMS

a. A contractor/subcontractor shall request logical (technical) or physical access to VA information and VA information systems for their employees, subcontractors, and affiliates only to the extent necessary to perform the services specified in the contract, agreement, or task order.

b. All contractors, subcontractors, and third-party servicers and associates working with VA information are subject to the same investigative requirements as those of VA appointees or employees who have access to the same types of information. The level and process of background security investigations for contractors must be in accordance with VA Directive and Handbook 0710, Personnel Suitability and Security Program. The Office for Operations, Security, and Preparedness is responsible for these policies and procedures.

c. Contract personnel who require access to national security programs must have a valid security clearance. National Industrial Security Program (NISP) was established by Executive Order 12829 to ensure that cleared U.S. defense industry contract personnel safeguard the classified information in their possession while performing work on contracts, programs, bids, or research and development efforts. The Department of Veterans Affairs does not have a Memorandum of Agreement with Defense Security Service (DSS). Verification of a Security Clearance must be processed through the Special Security Officer located in the Planning and National Security Service within the Office of Operations, Security, and Preparedness.

d. Custom software development and outsourced operations must be located in the U.S. to the maximum extent practical. If such services are proposed to be performed abroad and are not disallowed by other VA policy or mandates, the contractor/subcontractor must state where all non-U.S. services are provided and detail a security plan, deemed to be acceptable by VA, specifically to address mitigation of the resulting problems of communication, control, data protection, and so forth. Location within the U.S. may be an evaluation factor.

e. The contractor or subcontractor must notify the Contracting Officer immediately when an employee working on a VA system or with access to VA information is reassigned or leaves the contractor or subcontractor’s employ. The Contracting Officer must also be notified immediately by the contractor or subcontractor prior to an unfriendly termination.

10.3. VA INFORMATION CUSTODIAL LANGUAGE

a. Information made available to the contractor or subcontractor by VA for the performance or administration of this contract or information developed by the contractor/subcontractor in performance or administration of the contract shall be used only for those purposes and shall not be used in any other way without the prior written agreement of the VA. This clause expressly limits the contractor/subcontractor's rights to use data as described in Rights in Data - General, FAR 52.227-14(d) (1).

b. VA information should not be co-mingled, if possible, with any other data on the contractors/subcontractor’s information systems or media storage systems in order to ensure VA requirements related to data protection and media sanitization can be met. If co-mingling must be allowed to meet the requirements of the business need, the contractor must ensure that VA’s information is returned to the VA or destroyed in accordance with VA’s sanitization requirements. VA reserves the right to conduct onsite inspections of contractor and subcontractor IT resources to ensure data security controls, separation of data and job duties, and destruction/media sanitization procedures are in compliance with VA directive requirements.

c. Prior to termination or completion of this contract, contractor/subcontractor must not destroy information received from VA, or gathered/created by the contractor in the course of performing this contract without prior written approval by the VA. Any data destruction done on behalf of VA by a contractor/subcontractor must be done in accordance with National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) requirements as outlined in VA Directive 6300, Records and Information Management and its Handbook 6300.1 Records Management Procedures, applicable VA Records Control Schedules, and VA Handbook 6500.1, Electronic Media Sanitization. Self-certification by the contractor that the data destruction requirements above have been met must be sent to the VA Contracting Officer within 30 days of termination of the contract.

d. The contractor/subcontractor must receive, gather, store, back up, maintain, use, disclose and dispose of VA information only in compliance with the terms of the contract and applicable Federal and VA information confidentiality and security laws, regulations and policies. If Federal or VA information confidentiality and security laws, regulations and policies become applicable to the VA information or information systems after execution of the contract, or if NIST issues or updates applicable FIPS or Special Publications (SP) after execution of this contract, the parties agree to negotiate in good faith to implement the information confidentiality and security laws, regulations and policies in this contract.

e. The contractor/subcontractor shall not make copies of VA information except as authorized and necessary to perform the terms of the agreement or to preserve electronic information stored on contractor/subcontractor electronic storage media for restoration in case any electronic equipment or data used by the contractor/subcontractor needs to be restored to an operating state. If copies are made for restoration purposes, after the restoration is complete, the copies must be appropriately destroyed.

f. If VA determines that the contractor has violated any of the information confidentiality, privacy, and security provisions of the contract, it shall be sufficient grounds for VA to withhold payment to the contractor or third party or terminate the contract for default or terminate for cause under Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) part 12.

g. If a VHA contract is terminated for cause, the associated BAA must also be terminated and appropriate actions taken in accordance with VHA Handbook 1600.01, Business Associate Agreements. Absent an agreement to use or disclose protected health information, there is no business associate relationship.

h. The contractor/subcontractor must store, transport, or transmit VA sensitive information in an encrypted form, using VA-approved encryption tools that are, at a minimum, FIPS 140-2 validated.

i. The contractor/subcontractor’s firewall and Web services security controls, if applicable, shall meet or exceed VA’s minimum requirements. VA Configuration Guidelines are available upon request.

j. Except for uses and disclosures of VA information authorized by this contract for performance of the contract, the contractor/subcontractor may use and disclose VA information only in two other situations: (i) in response to a qualifying order of a court of competent jurisdiction, or (ii) with VA’s prior written approval. The contractor/subcontractor must refer all requests for, demands for production of, or inquiries about, VA information and information systems to the VA contracting officer for response.

k. Notwithstanding the provision above, the contractor/subcontractor shall not release VA records protected by Title 38 U.S.C. 5705, confidentiality of medical quality assurance records and/or Title 38 U.S.C. 7332, confidentiality of certain health records pertaining to drug addiction, sickle cell anemia, alcoholism or alcohol abuse, or infection with human immunodeficiency virus. If the contractor/subcontractor is in receipt of a court order or other requests for the above-mentioned information, that contractor/subcontractor shall immediately refer such court orders or other requests to the VA contracting officer for response.

l. For service that involves the storage, generating, transmitting, or exchanging of VA sensitive information but does not require C&A or an MOU-ISA for system interconnection, the contractor/subcontractor must complete a Contractor Security Control Assessment (CSCA) on a yearly basis and provide it to the COR.

10.4. SECURITY INCIDENT INVESTIGATION

a. The term “security incident” means an event that has, or could have, resulted in unauthorized access to, loss or damage to VA assets, or sensitive information, or an action that breaches VA security procedures. The contractor/subcontractor shall immediately notify the COR and simultaneously, the designated ISO and Privacy Officer for the contract of any known or suspected security/privacy incidents, or any unauthorized disclosure of sensitive information, including that contained in system(s) to which the contractor/subcontractor has access.

b. To the extent known by the contractor/subcontractor, the contractor/subcontractor’s notice to VA shall identify the information involved, the circumstances surrounding the incident (including to whom, how, when, and where the VA information or assets were placed at risk or compromised), and any other information that the contractor/subcontractor considers relevant.

c. With respect to unsecured protected health information, the business associate is deemed to have discovered a data breach when the business associate knew or should have known of a breach of such information. Upon discovery, the business associate must notify the covered entity of the breach. Notifications need to be made in accordance with the executed business associate agreement.

d. In instances of theft or break-in or other criminal activity, the contractor/subcontractor must concurrently report the incident to the appropriate law enforcement entity (or entities) of jurisdiction, including the VA OIG and Security and Law Enforcement. The contractor, its employees, and its subcontractors and their employees shall cooperate with VA and any law enforcement authority responsible for the investigation and prosecution of any possible criminal law violation(s) associated with any incident. The contractor/subcontractor shall cooperate with VA in any civil litigation to recover VA information, obtain monetary or other compensation from a third party for damages arising from any incident, or obtain injunctive relief against any third party arising from, or related to, the incident.

10.5. LIQUIDATED DAMAGES FOR DATA BREACH

a. Consistent with the requirements of 38 U.S.C. §5725, a contract may require access to sensitive personal information. If so, the contractor is liable to VA for liquidated damages in the event of a data breach or privacy incident involving any SPI the contractor/subcontractor processes or maintains under this contract.

b. The contractor/subcontractor shall provide notice to VA of a “security incident” as set forth in the Security Incident Investigation section above. Upon such notification, VA must secure from a non-Department entity or the VA Office of Inspector General an independent risk analysis of the data breach to determine the level of risk associated with the data breach for the potential misuse of any sensitive personal information involved in the data breach. The term 'data breach' means the loss, theft, or other unauthorized access, or any access other than that incidental to the scope of employment, to data containing sensitive personal information, in electronic or printed form, that results in the potential compromise of the confidentiality or integrity of the data. Contractor shall fully cooperate with the entity performing the risk analysis. Failure to cooperate may be deemed a material breach and grounds for contract termination.

c. Each risk analysis shall address all relevant information concerning the data breach, including the following:

(1) Nature of the event (loss, theft, unauthorized access);

(2) Description of the event, including:

(a) date of occurrence;

(b) data elements involved, including any PII, such as full name, social security number, date of birth, home address, account number, disability code; (3) Number of individuals affected or potentially affected;

(4) Names of individuals or groups affected or potentially affected;

(5) Ease of logical data access to the lost, stolen or improperly accessed data in light of the degree of protection for the data, e.g., unencrypted, plain text;

(6) Amount of time the data has been out of VA control;

(7) The likelihood that the sensitive personal information will or has been compromised (made accessible to and usable by unauthorized persons);

(8) Known misuses of data containing sensitive personal information, if any;

(9) Assessment of the potential harm to the affected individuals;

(10) Data breach analysis as outlined in 6500.2 Handbook, Management of Security and Privacy Incidents, as appropriate; and

(11) Whether credit protection services may assist record subjects in avoiding or mitigating the results of identity theft based on the sensitive personal information that may have been compromised.

d. Based on the determinations of the independent risk analysis, the contractor shall be responsible for paying to the VA liquidated damages in the amount of $37.50 per affected individual to cover the cost of providing credit protection services to affected individuals consisting of the following:

(1) Notification;

(2) One year of credit monitoring services consisting of automatic daily monitoring of at least 3 relevant credit bureau reports;

(3) Data breach analysis;

(4) Fraud resolution services, including writing dispute letters, initiating fraud alerts and credit freezes, to assist affected individuals to bring matters to resolution;

(5) One year of identity theft insurance with $20,000.00 coverage at $0 deductible; and

(6) Necessary legal expenses the subjects may incur to repair falsified or damaged credit records, histories, or financial affairs.

10. 6. TRAINING

a. All contractor employees and subcontractor employees requiring access to VA information and VA information systems shall complete the following before being granted access to VA information and its systems:

(1) Sign and acknowledge (either manually or electronically) understanding of and responsibilities for compliance with the Contractor Rules of Behavior, Appendix E relating to access to VA information and information systems;

(2) Successfully complete the VA Cyber Security Awareness and Rules of Behavior training and annually complete required security training;

(3) Successfully complete the appropriate VA privacy training and annually complete required privacy training; and

(4) Successfully complete any additional cyber security or privacy training, as required for VA personnel with equivalent information system access [to be defined by the VA program official and provided to the contracting officer for inclusion in the solicitation document – e.g., any role-based information security training required in accordance with NIST Special Publication 800-16, Information Technology Security Training Requirements.]

b. The contractor shall provide to the contracting officer and/or the COR a copy of the training certificates and certification of signing the Contractor Rules of Behavior for each applicable employee within 1 week of the initiation of the contract and annually thereafter, as required.

c. Failure to complete the mandatory annual training and sign the Rules of Behavior annually, within the timeframe required, is grounds for suspension or termination of all physical or electronic access privileges and removal from work on the contract until such time as the training and documents are complete.

10.7. VA INFORMATION CUSTODIAL LANGUAGE

a. Information made available to the contractor or subcontractor by VA for the performance or administration of this contract or information developed by the contractor/subcontractor in performance or administration of the contract shall be used only for those purposes and shall not be used in any other way without the prior written agreement of the VA. This clause expressly limits the contractor/subcontractor's rights to use data as described in Rights in Data - General, FAR 52.227-14(d) (1).

SECURITY INCIDENT INVESTIGATION

b. The term “security incident” means an event that has, or could have, resulted in unauthorized access to, loss or damage to VA assets, or sensitive information, or an action that breaches VA security procedures. The contractor/subcontractor shall immediately notify the COR and simultaneously, the designated ISO and Privacy Officer for the contract of any known or suspected security/privacy incidents, or any unauthorized disclosure of sensitive information, including that contained in system(s) to which the contractor/subcontractor has access.

10.8. LIQUIDATED DAMAGES FOR DATA BREACH

a. Consistent with the requirements of 38 U.S.C. §5725, a contract may require access to sensitive personal information. If so, the contractor is liable to VA for liquidated damages in the event of a data breach or privacy incident involving any SPI the contractor/subcontractor processes or maintains under this contract.

b. Based on the determinations of the independent risk analysis, the contractor shall be responsible for paying to the VA liquidated damages in the amount of $37.50 per affected individual to cover the cost of providing credit protection services to affected individuals consisting of the following:

(1) Notification;

(2) One year of credit monitoring services consisting of automatic daily monitoring of at least 3 relevant credit bureau reports;

(End of Statement of Work)