RFQ-36C25626Q0476 0003- ADMIN MOD Q AND A .pdf

5. PROJECT NUMBER (if applicable)

CODE 7. ADMINISTERED BY

2. AMENDMENT/MODIFICATION NUMBER

CODE

6. ISSUED BY

8. NAME AND ADDRESS OF CONTRACTOR

4. REQUISITION/PURCHASE REQ. NUMBER 3. EFFECTIVE DATE

9A. AMENDMENT OF SOLICITATION NUMBER

9B. DATED

PAGE OF PAGES

10A. MODIFICATION OF CONTRACT/ORDER NUMBER

10B. DATED

BPA NO. 1. CONTRACT ID CODE

FACILITY CODE CODE

Offers must acknowledge receipt of this amendment prior to the hour and date specified in the solicitation or as amended, by one of the following methods:

The above numbered solicitation is amended as set forth in Item 14. The hour and date specified for receipt of Offers

E. IMPORTANT:

is extended,

(a) By completing Items 8 and 15, and returning __________ copies of the amendment; (b) By acknowledging receipt of this amendment on each copy of the offer submitted; or (c) By separate letter or electronic communication which includes a reference to the solicitation and amendment numbers. FAILURE OF YOUR

ACKNOWLEDGMENT TO BE RECEIVED AT THE PLACE DESIGNATED FOR THE RECEIPT OF OFFERS PRIOR TO THE HOUR AND DATE SPECIFIED MAY is not extended.

12. ACCOUNTING AND APPROPRIATION DATA

(REV. 11/2016)

is required to sign this document and return ___________ copies to the issuing office. is not, A. THIS CHANGE ORDER IS ISSUED PURSUANT TO: (Specify authority) THE CHANGES SET FORTH IN ITEM 14 ARE MADE IN THE CONTRACT ORDER NO. IN ITEM 10A.

15C. DATE SIGNED

B. THE ABOVE NUMBERED CONTRACT/ORDER IS MODIFIED TO REFLECT THE ADMINISTRATIVE CHANGES

SET FORTH IN ITEM 14, PURSUANT TO THE AUTHORITY OF FAR 43.103(b).

RESULT IN REJECTION OF YOUR OFFER. If by virtue of this amendment you desire to change an offer already submitted, such change may be made by letter or electronic communication, provided each letter or electronic communication makes reference to the solicitation and this amendment, and is received prior to the opening hour and date specified.

C. THIS SUPPLEMENTAL AGREEMENT IS ENTERED INTO PURSUANT TO AUTHORITY OF:

D. OTHER

Contractor

16C. DATE SIGNED

14. DESCRIPTION OF AMENDMENT/MODIFICATION

16B. UNITED STATES OF AMERICA

Except as provided herein, all terms and conditions of the document referenced in Item 9A or 10A, as heretofore changed, remains unchanged and in full force and effect.

15A. NAME AND TITLE OF SIGNER 16A. NAME AND TITLE OF CONTRACTING OFFICER

15B. CONTRACTOR/OFFEROR

STANDARD FORM 30 PREVIOUS EDITION NOT USABLE

Prescribed by GSA - FAR (48 CFR) 53.243

(Type or print) (Type or print)

(Organized by UCF section headings, including solicitation/contract subject matter where feasible.)

(Number, street, county, State and ZIP Code)

(If other than Item 6)

(Specify type of modification and authority)

(such as changes in paying office, appropriation date, etc.)

(If required)

(SEE ITEM 11)

(SEE ITEM 13)

(X)

CHECK

ONE

13. THIS ITEM APPLIES ONLY TO MODIFICATIONS OF CONTRACTS/ORDERS,

IT MODIFIES THE CONTRACT/ORDER NO. AS DESCRIBED IN ITEM 14.

11. THIS ITEM ONLY APPLIES TO AMENDMENTS OF SOLICITATIONS

AMENDMENT OF SOLICITATION/MODIFICATION OF CONTRACT

(Signature of person authorized to sign) (Signature of Contracting Officer)

1 7

0003 06-05-2026

N/A

36C256

Department of Veterans Affairs

Network Contracting Office 16

1800 Buckner Street Suite C200

Shreveport LA 71101

36C256

Department of Veterans Affairs

Network Contracting Office 16

1800 Buckner Street Suite C200

Shreveport LA 71101

To all Offerors/Bidders

36C25626Q0476

X

X X

X 1

The Purpose of this Amendment is to:

a. Provide responses to all questions received from potential offerors.

b. Quote submission due date and time remain the same.

Corey Labbe

Contracting Officer

1. Can the Government provide the current staffing structure supporting this requirement, including approximate number of personnel currently supporting inpatient, outpatient, evening, night, weekend, and holiday coverage? No, as this contract is to provide additional support for phlebotomy duties.

2. Can the Government clarify whether there is a page limitation or preferred format for the

Technical Capability narrative, Quality Control Plan, and Contingency Plan submissions? There is not a page limit

3. Does the Government anticipate full staffing capability at time of contract award, or will phased candidate submissions and onboarding following award be acceptable? Full staffing as soon after award is preferred; however, it can be phased in.

4. Can the Government confirm whether there is an incumbent contractor currently performing these services? If so, please provide the incumbent contractor name and contract number. One Stop;

Contract # 36F79721D0072

5. Approximately how many FTEs are currently required to support the estimated 33,280 annual hours? 16 FTEE at 2080 hours/year

6. What are the anticipated shift structures (e.g., 8 hour, 10 hour, or 12 hour shifts)? 8.5 hours. This includes 2 – 15 minute breaks and an unpaid half an hour for lunch.

7. Are shifts anticipated to be fixed or rotating? rotating

8. Is there a minimum staffing requirement or staffing matrix by shift or operational area?

• Ten (10) phlebotomists scheduled from 4:00 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. M-F alternating holidays and weekends; Rotational weekend coverage requires two phlebotomists from this group scheduled for Saturday and Sunday each weekend.

• Six (6) phlebotomists scheduled from 12:30 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. M-F alternating holidays and weekends; Rotational weekend coverage requires one phlebotomist from this group scheduled for Saturday and Sunday each week.

9. Will contractor personnel perform services exclusively at the Michael E. DeBakey VA Medical

Center main campus, or are satellite/outpatient clinic locations also anticipated under this requirement? This contract is for the MEDVAMC primary campus only.

10. Has the Government historically utilized additional phlebotomy hours above the estimated annual quantity of 33,280 hours? No. If so, can the Government provide estimated historical peak utilization levels?

11. Does the Government expect contractors to maintain dedicated standby or on call personnel to support the 60 minute replacement requirement? PRN Staff

12. Can the Government clarify whether replacement personnel utilized to satisfy the 60 minute replacement requirement must already possess completed onboarding, mandatory training, and unit orientation prior to assignment? Yes, they must be cleared and trained.

13. What is the estimated timeline for completion of background checks, onboarding, mandatory training, and Specimen Acquisition Unit orientation for newly submitted contract personnel?

Approximately 4 weeks

14. Can the Government provide estimated historical overtime utilization and holiday coverage requirements under the current or prior contract effort? No

15. The price schedule lists 33,280 estimated hours per ordering period. Can the Government confirm whether this estimate is based on 16 full-time equivalents at 2,080 hours per year, or provide the calculation used to develop the annual estimate? Please see questions 5 – 8.

16. The price schedule provides one hourly unit price per ordering period, while the PWS states that overtime is paid at 1.5x Base and holiday pay at 2.0x Base. Should offerors submit only one standard hourly rate, or should separate regular, overtime, and holiday rates be provided?

Offerors will need to submit a 1) hourly base pay rate; 2) hourly holiday pay rate; and 3) hourly

OT rate.

17. For purposes of the 1.5x overtime and 2.0x holiday rates, does “Base” refer to the awarded contract hourly bill rate, the employee’s direct labor rate, or another base rate? Hourly base pay rate.

18. Can the Government clarify whether overtime hours count toward the annual estimated quantity of 33,280 hours? Yes they are included in the total hours.

19. Can the Government provide historical or estimated specimen collection volume by shift, department, inpatient/outpatient area, weekend, holiday, and overnight coverage?

Average yearly workload:

Inpatient Specimen Acquisition: 78,924

Outpatient Specimen Acquisition: 165,227

20. Will contractor phlebotomists be responsible only for venipuncture/blood draw services, or will they also perform specimen labeling, processing, centrifugation, accessioning, internal transport, or documentation in VA systems? All phlebotomy duties.

21. Will contractor staff be assigned to specific units/clinics/draw stations, or will assignments be centrally dispatched by VA laboratory or clinical personnel? The assignments will vary from unit to 1st floor lab clinic, but all performed at Houston VA (main Facility). Contract staff will report to the Inpatient Specimen Acquisition area and be dispatched from that location daily.

22. What are the expected turnaround times (TAT) or response expectations for routine, timed, STAT, urgent, and repeat blood draw requests? Within one hour of order being placed and/or dependent on Veteran’s place in the waiting room for Outpatient.

23. Are contractor phlebotomists permitted or expected to perform capillary collections, blood cultures, timed therapeutic drug levels, or any special-handling collections? Normal phlebotomy duties.

24. Will the VA provide all phlebotomy supplies, PPE, computers, scanners, label printers, communication devices, and workstations, or should the contractor include any supplies/equipment in its pricing? The VA will be providing all phlebotomy supplies.

25. Please clarify the required process and response timeline for replacing an absent, late, removed, or unavailable contractor phlebotomist during a scheduled shift. The VA request(s) any call-in and/or sick employee be replaced within 60 minutes. If the vendor is unable to replace within 60 minutes with a PRN they need to contact the VA and provide an eta of the replacement(s) arrival.

26. Is an onsite supervisor, lead phlebotomist, program manager, or 24/7 contractor point of contact required, and should such management coverage be included in the hourly rate or priced separately? No

27. PWS Section 3.4 states that if the contractor is unable to perform the contracted services, the VA reserves the right to obtain the service from another source and charge the contractor with any excess cost, and that VA will be the sole judge in determining when to order service from another source. For pricing purposes, can the Government clarify how “excess cost” will be calculated and documented? Only provide pricing for listed Line Items on Price Schedule

28. PWS Section 5.1 states that VA training will be provided at Government expense and that most training may be completed during regularly scheduled shifts. Are mandatory orientation, annual training, privacy/HIPAA training, safety training, and computer training hours billable under the contract? Items required for background checks are unpaid. Whereas, onsite training, orientation

& others are paid.

29. The RFQ requires replacement coverage within 60 minutes, and replacement personnel must already have completed required VA training/orientation. Will the Government allow onboarding/orienting backup personnel who may not be assigned regular shifts, and will those orientation/training hours be billable? Items required for background checks are unpaid. Whereas, onsite training, orientation & others are paid.

30. PWS Section 9.5 states that the contractor must reimburse the VAMC for background screens/investigations. What is the current cost per candidate, and will the cost apply to all submitted candidates, only selected candidates, or only candidates who complete onboarding? All forms are submitted the Veterans Service Center – Security Services Department by the VAMC.

VSC determines the cost directly with the vendor. This cost applies only to candidates selected by

VA for onboarding and for whom a background investigation is initiated by the VA Personnel

Security office.

31. If a candidate is delayed or rejected due to Government background investigation, credentialing, PIV, or orientation processing, will the contractor be held responsible for coverage gaps during that period? No

32. PWS Section 5.3 requires the contractor to provide health examinations. Can the Government specify the required health examination elements, such as TB testing, immunizations, drug screening, flu vaccine, COVID requirements, Hepatitis B, MMR, varicella, or other occupational health requirements?

Here is what the policy says:

• The requirements in general are for onboarding as part of pre-placement:

• TB screening done within 90 days

• Proof of vaccination

• Urine drug screen

• Physical exam if requested by HR

33. Are offerors expected to provide any supplies, uniforms, or equipment? No but phlebotomists will require scrubs to perform their duties.

34. Will parking be provided for contractor personnel at MEDVAMC? Yes

35. PWS Section 3.3 states that the contractor’s replacement list may also be used to replace VA staff who call in sick or are on vacation. Will these requests be issued as additional ordered hours, and will they be billable at the awarded contract rates? PRNs will only be used to cover tours listed in questions 5 – 8.

36. FAR 52.222-42 is incorporated by reference. Can the Government provide the Statement of

Equivalent Rates for Federal Hires applicable to the phlebotomist requirement? No

37. We request the government provide a list of minimum requirements for every phlebotomist to meet the Standard of Phlebotomy Staffing. For example, a National Certification from NHA, NPCT, or NPA (the state of Texas has no phlebotomy cert).

Minimum Phlebotomy Skills:

Technical Proficiency:

• Venipuncture & Capillary Collection: Learn proper techniques for drawing blood.

• Equipment Use & Selection: Master use of needles, vacutainer holders, micro-collection devices, tourniquets, PPE, and safety-engineered sharps.

• Specimen Handling & Labeling: Ensure correct tube selection, immediate labeling at bedside, proper mixing, storage, transport, and avoiding contamination.

• Infection Control & Safety: Execute proper hand hygiene, glove use, alcohol swabbing, waste disposal, and handling of biohazard materials.

Foundational Knowledge:

• Anatomy & Physiology: Understand circulatory anatomy, vein selection, blood components, and how to locate and access veins effectively.

• Legal & Ethical Standards: Learn about obtaining informed consent, maintaining patient confidentiality, and appropriate documentation.

Interpersonal & Communication Skills:

• Patient Interaction: Practice explaining procedures, addressing patient anxieties, ensuring comfort, introducing yourself, and obtaining consent.

• Professionalism: Develop strong communication, empathy, teamwork, and stress management abilities.

Problem-Solving & Decision Making:

• Troubleshooting Difficult Draws: Gain strategies for handling veins that are hard to access, managing hematomas, and adjusting techniques.

• Complication Management: Learn to respond to fainting, nerve irritation, hemolysis, and other adverse events.

Documentation & Record-Keeping:

• Accurate Paperwork: Practice detailed recording of patient identifiers, collection time, specimen type, and collector initials, ensuring accuracy and traceability.

• Chain of Custody & Special Handling: Understand protocols for temperature-sensitive specimens, blood cultures, and legally important samples.

38. Page 10, B.3 PWS 1.4.1 states “Each Phlebotomist must have at least two years of work experience in the field of phlebotomy and perform within the last 3 years, prior to being submitted to the VA.”. The current VA 0645-Medical Technician Qualification standard does not require two years of experience as an entry level Technician. We request the government amend the requirement to allow Phlebotomists with 1 year of experience as the minimum standard.

Without a change to the PWS qualification a phlebotomist with 22-months of experience can/will be rejected for not meeting the standard; additionally, there is no unusual requirement in the PWS compared to other Phlebotomy contracts at the VA that would seem to require an increased cost to the VA for candidates with 2-years of experience.

Each contract phlebotomist must meet one of the following qualifications:

• Be a recent graduate of an accredited phlebotomy program; or

• Hold a valid phlebotomy certificate; or

• Possesses at least two years of recent experience performing phlebotomy duties

39. We request the government provide the process and procedures it will follow in the event a Shift start or end time changes at the discretion of the Specimen Acquisition Section Supervisors.

Please advise how the government will communicate this to the Vendor who will then communicate with the phlebotomist. Additionally, how much advance notice will the Vendor and

Phlebotomist be afforded by the government when making these types of changes to a Contract

Phlebotomist’s work schedule? Prior to any changes being made the vendor will be notified. If the change is required while a phlebotomist is on duty; the phlebotomist will be first asked if they are able to stay; if they say yes, the vendor will be notified and the contractor will receive OT; if no, the contract phlebotomist will go home.

40. Page 11 B.3 PWS 3.4 states “A contractor’s employee must be present at the VA facility and actually perform the required services for the period specified in the task order.” This is very confusing; there is no other way for a Phlebotomist to perform Phlebotomy Support unless they are on-site. This is to clarify that the phlebotomist must be on site performing work in order to be paid.

41. Page 11 B.3. PWS 3.5 states “Substituted contract employees must be approved by the Pathology

& Laboratory Medicine Service and must be credentialed.” Nowhere in the scope of work does the government provide any information about the credentialing process/requirements of this contract, the VetPro process, the current Timeframe it takes to process a phlebotomist through

Vetpro/Credentialing, or if the Phlebotomists in fact must be Certified by a National Body, or

Credentialed by the VA at all. We request the government provide all Credentialing requirements and processes affiliated with placing Phlebotomists on this contract at your Houston VAMC in the Scope of Work, to include the current time frame your credentialing department is taking to clear healthcare providers through Vetpro. The timeframe required to onboard and clear a potential candidate is dependent upon the receipt of a complete packet from the vendor per candidate. Please see the section titled "Candidate Submission to VAMC”.

42. Can the government please provide the following information/clarification: 1) How often does the

MEDVAMC provide in-house Phlebotomy orientation? Ie Every week? Every Other week? Once a month?; 2) How long is the MEDVAMC provided in-house Phlebotomy orientation? Ie 2 days?

A week?; and 3) Does the MEDVAMC provide shadow shifts post orientation? How many shadow shifts does the VAMC require prior to the Phlebotomist taking on a schedule independently? Training is not limited to a set schedule it is dependent upon the availability of a qualified candidate being cleared.

43. Page 15-16 B.3. PWS 8.2.1 states “Measure: Personnel Performance Requirement: Provide required phlebotomy services as specified in the requirements of Performance Work Statement

Paragraphs 1.4 and 2.1. Standard: Qualified personnel are available and in location as needed to properly perform tasks as specified. Acceptable Quality Level: 100%. Surveillance Method:

Random inspection, review of time and attendance sheets, and quality assurance reports.

Incentive: Favorable contractor performance evaluation. By the government’s own Scope of

Work verbiage and timeframes provided in this Solicitation, no vendor can maintain a 100%

AQL. The AQL should now reflect 90%.

44. PWS 3.2 states “The contractor shall provide replacement coverage within 60 minutes of the start of the shift requiring coverage.” - that is automatically not meeting the AQL at 100% based on it taking 60 minutes to get there, or the is a break in coverage just to get a replacement. AQL should now reflect 90%. Please see questions 5 – 8.

45. PWS 3.3 states “It shall be the sole responsibility of the contractor to provide immediate coverage for an emergency absence of one of the contractor’s assigned staff.” - that is automatically not meeting the AQL at 100% just based on how long it could take a replacement to get there. AQL should now reflect 90%. Please see questions 5 – 8.

46. PWS 3.6 States “A list of all contractor-furnished Phlebotomists shall be made available to the facility for a background check within 7 days of contract award” – every vendor will automatically not meet the AQL at 100% with a 7-day window empty just to present candidates.

AQL should now reflect 90%. Please see question 3.

47. Page 15-16 B.3. PWS 8.2.2 Measure: Shift Coverage Performance Requirement: Provide required coverage for contract phlebotomist absences, as specified in the Performance Work Statement

Section 3: Staffing. Standard: Qualified personnel are available and in location as needed to properly perform tasks as specified. Acceptable Quality Level: 100% Surveillance Method:

Random inspection, review of time and attendance sheets, and quality assurance reports.

Incentive: Favorable contractor performance evaluation. By the government’s own Scope of

Work verbiage provided in this Solicitation, no vendor can maintain a 100% AQL. Privacy and

HIPAA requirements will remain at a 100% AQL level in order for a phlebotomist to perform work. AQL of 90% will be utilized for staffing levels which will be calculated on a recurring basis utilizing total hours available (for a set timeframe) by total hours worked for the same timeframe.

48. Page 17 B.3. PWS 9.3 States The Phlebotomist packet/resume should include the following items: Phlebotomist’s Full Name (Including Middle Name); Work Address; Date of Birth; Social

Security Number; Home Address; Phone number; E-mail address; Most recent facility worked as a phlebotomist; Three Professional references preferably Supervisor/Work Leader with current phone numbers; Basic Life Support (BLS) Certificate; and Phlebotomy Certification. Can the government please clarify and advise on the following: Full Name (including Middle), Date of

Birth & Social Security - this is PII that most candidates will not provide prior to approval because, frankly, they think they are being scammed. This information can all be found by the government on the Security Forms required post-approval in PWS 9.4. This PII is absolutely not needed by the government for candidate review prior to approval and is not needed by the VA until security processing/VetPro paperwork is filled out. Additionally, any PII must be sent through Secure Transmission to any VA email. We request you remove this requirement. That is correct the information is on the other security forms. However, by having all of the information provided up front onboarding time can usually be completed in less than 4 weeks.

49. Price quotations will be evaluated to determine price reasonableness - We request the government modify its evaluation criteria to include Price Realism. This is a Comparative Evaluation

50. How often has the additional 11,050-hour surge capacity been exercised in prior contracts? No previous history but we anticipate a potential need.

51. What is the mechanism for exercising surge hours (advance notice period, task order, modification)? CO and/or CS will modify the contract.

52. Please clarify the relative importance of Technical Capability, Past Performance, and Price within the comparative evaluation process. Specifically, are non-price factors, when combined, significantly more important than Price, approximately equal to Price, or less important than

Price? (Ref.: E.3 Addendum to 52.212-2 Evaluation-Commercial Products and Commercial

Services). This is a Comparative Evaluation

53. Are offerors permitted to exceed minimum staffing or performance standards, and will this be evaluated favorably? Yes, but total contract hours awarded cannot be exceeded.

54. Section E.3 references evaluation of capability to provide “Teleradiology Services,” while the solicitation otherwise identifies the requirement as onsite phlebotomy staffing services. Can the

Government confirm that this reference is a typographical error and that evaluation will be based on onsite phlebotomy services? This is a phlebotomy services contract only.

55. In the event of an alleged privacy or PHI-related incident, could the Government clarify the expected contractor response timeline, reporting chain, and whether corrective action procedures will be coordinated jointly with the COR and facility privacy office? This should be reported immediately to an onsite supervisor, COR and vendor.

56. If incumbent personnel are interested in continued performance under a new contractor, would the Government permit continuity of personnel through contractor transition? The Contractor is responsible for providing their staff

57. Will you guys conduct the background check of the phlebotomist or do that runs through the prime?

The VA will conduct background investigation for all phlebotomists who require access to VA facilities or systems.

58. Where are the candidates submitted? To the COR after contract award.

59. How many vendors are being utilized? Only 1

60. What specific systems (e.g., VistA, CPRS, laboratory information system) will contract phlebotomists be required to use, and is system-specific orientation included in the VA's in-house

Specimen Acquisition Unit orientation referenced in PWS 5.1? All computer systems utilized while performing work at the MEDVAMC will have training provided for their use.

61. For candidates who have worked at a VA facility within the past two years (PWS 9.4), can the

Government confirm that the Self-Certification Form fully substitutes for full background re-screening, and describe the typical expedited onboarding timeline for such candidates? For candidates who have worked at a VA facility within the past two years, the Self-Certification of

Continuous Service Form is generally accepted in lieu of a full background re-investigation, provided the candidate meets eligibility criteria and the form is approved by VA Personnel

Security. Acceptance of this form typically allows for expedited onboarding, which can often be completed in a few days to a week, subject to local administrative processing. However, final eligibility is determined by the facility’s Personnel Security office, and additional screening may be required in some cases.

Onsite Phlebotomy Services- Houston, TX