S02 - RFI_Resuscitation Education Products and Services_Nov 2024.docx

Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Veterans Health Administration (VHA) Discovery, Education, Affiliate Networks (DEAN) Office of Healthcare Innovation and Learning (OHIL) VHA Simulation, Learning, Evaluation, Assessment and Research Network (SimLEARN)

Request for Information

THIS IS A REQUEST FOR INFORMATION (RFI) ONLY (as defined in FAR 15.201(e)), this is not a solicitation, a solicitation is not available at this time. Requests for a solicitation will not receive a response. Respondents are advised that the Government is under no obligation to acknowledge receipt of the information received, provide feedback to respondents with respect to any information submitted, or respond to any questions or comments that may be submitted in response to this RFI. This notice does not constitute a commitment by the United States Government and does not obligate the Government to award a contract or otherwise pay for the information provided in response. Responders are solely responsible for all expenses associated with responding to this RFI.

VHA is mandated to maintain compliance with federal healthcare regulations and VHA directives to ensure competency of VHA clinical and non-clinical employees in resuscitation techniques. VHA Directive 1177, Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation, identifies the Resuscitation Education and Innovation (REdI) program, housed within VHA SimLEARN, as the program responsible for standardizing and overseeing resuscitation education, training and readiness across VHA. The REdI program is designed to ensure VHA clinical and non-clinical employees are trained in evidence-based resuscitation practices, aiming to improve outcomes in cardiac arrest and other critical situations through standardized training, innovation and continuous quality improvement. The REdI program establishes policies for resuscitation training, defines the use of technology in education, and outlines the requirements for certification and competency for over 250,000 VHA staff.

The purpose of this RFI is for Market Research and to gather input and expressions of interest from potentially capable vendors to fulfill requirements to provide, deliver and maintain a wide range of resuscitation education products and services, including but not limited to:

1. Mobile cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) training stations and manikins.

2. Electronic courseware.

3. Digital and print education materials to support layperson, basic, advanced, pediatric and stroke life support.

4. Digital platform support and integration, equipment warranty and maintenance support services.

The details of the VHA’s requirement and capabilities are found in RFI Attachment 1: Performance Work Statement - Draft.

1. BACKGROUND:

The Resuscitation Education and Innovation (REdI), within VHA Simulation Learning, Evaluation, Assessment, Research Network (SimLEARN) under the VHA Office of Healthcare Innovation and Learning (OHIL), is the VHA national program that is responsible for providing mandatory resuscitation education and training across the entire construct of the VHA for clinical and non-clinical employees.

VHA is mandated to maintain compliance with federal healthcare regulations and VHA directives to ensure staff competency in resuscitation techniques. Part of the training provision that the REdI program provides is national support services, training materials, standardized equipment, oversight and validation of local VA medical facility comprehensive resuscitation education program. REdI serves as the subject matter expert to identify and administer all necessary courseware related to resuscitation in order to provide the necessary support services for VHA clinical and non-clinical employees to maintain and/or renew their required resuscitation education certification. The current environment consists of resuscitation education products and services to support a wide range of training to include Responder (Layperson training), HeartSaver (HS), Basic Life Support (BLS), Advanced Cardiovascular Life Support (ACLS), Advanced Stroke Life Support (ASLS), Pediatric Emergency Assessment, Recognition, and Stabilization (PEARS) and Pediatric Advanced Life Support (PALS). The requirement for certification is outlined in VHA Directive 1177, Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation, and VHA Directive 1101.14, Emergency Medicine, and defines which clinical and non-clinical VHA employees are required to have the appropriate level of training in order to provide an emergency response to any patients, visitor or employee suffering from a clinical deterioration or medical emergency within a VA medical facility and its surrounding campus.

In 2018, REdI shifted its focus to minimize instructor-led training and implemented a self-directed, digital platform to host select electronic courseware. This technology allows nearly 250,000 VHA clinical and non-clinical employees across 172 VA medical facilities and their 1,200 associated Community Based Outpatient Clinics, to complete online eLearning courseware that uses scenario-based patient cases that facilitate interactive learning, knowledge and confidence assessments, and adaptability followed by a psychomotor skill assessment on a Mobile Cardiopulmonary (CPR) Testing Station with adult and infant manikins. This self-directed skill assessment provides real-time, objective feedback and validation of competency for compressions and ventilations resulting in certification without the support of an instructor for layperson, basic, advanced and pediatric advanced life support. The current digital environment allows for learner flexibility to complete the training every two years (traditional) or in a low-dose, high-frequency approach to validate the on-going maintenance of competency (MOC) in conjunction with federal healthcare regulations (i.e. The Joint Commission).

The current Government environment consists of existing system wide VHA training equipment: 1,445 Mobile CPR Testing Stations utilizing Laerdal QCPR® Adult and QCPR® Infant manikins that currently deploys the Responder (Layperson), BLS, ACLS and PALS courseware on the RQI 1Stop Platform. The current Government environment consists of current edition of digital and print education materials to support Heart Saver, BLS, ACLS, ASLS, PEARS and PALS training facilitated by 1,650 trained and approved VHA instructors.

The International Liaison Committee on Resuscitation (ILCOR) is the global network of resuscitation organizations that provides a consensus mechanism and forum for discussion and coordination of all aspects of cardiopulmonary and cerebral resuscitation worldwide. ILCOR evaluates and reviews the latest evidence on Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation (CPR) and Emergency Cardiovascular Care (ECC) protocols that can be further defined by resuscitation organizations. ILCOR releases its updated recommendations in 5-year cycles, with the last round of updates being the 2020-2025 guidelines. Critical updates to resuscitation treatment guidelines, training and education are published based on ILCOR recommendations in 5-year cycles.

Planned Procurement: Second Quarter of Fiscal Year (FY) 25

Delivery Period: Third Quarter of FY25 to Second Quarter of FY30

* The information provided in the RFI is subject to change and is not binding on the Government.

INSTRUCTIONS FOR RESPONDING TO THIS RFI:

CONFIDENTIALITY: No proprietary, classified, confidential, or sensitive information should be included in your response. The Government reserves the right to use any non-proprietary technical information in any resultant solicitation(s).

Response Format/Page Limitations: The overall total page limit for responses to this RFI is twenty (20) pages. Responses should be submitted in Microsoft Word format with 12-point font. Interested parties should limit marketing material to allow sufficient space for adequately, directly, and substantively responding with the information of most interest to the Government. Responses may also optionally include the provision of resumes of qualified personnel that demonstrate expertise in the domains.

The page limit will not count against the information contained in the RFI Attachment 2 – Draft VHA Required Resuscitation Education Products and Services. Please be advised that all submissions become Government property and will not be returned.

COVER SHEET – 1 PAGE:

Please provide the following information:

a. Organization name, address, and web site.

b. Point of contact (POC) to include e-mail address and telephone number.

c. Business size (large or small). If small, please provide type of small business.

d. North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) that best fits these task areas.

e. If applicable, GSA contract number, schedule, and Special Item Number (SIN) category.

INDEX – 1 PAGE:

Please provide an index to assist the Government in identifying where you have addressed each question below in your Capabilities Statement. Please provide question number corresponding page and section heading and/or paragraph number.

Section 1 shall provide administrative information, and shall include the following at a minimum:

a. Name, mailing address, overnight delivery address (if different from mailing address), phone number, fax number, and e-mail of designated POC.

b. The number of pages in Section 1 shall not be included in the twenty (20) page limit. The twenty (20) page limit begins after the completion of Section 1 (Cover Sheet and Index).

c. In all correspondence relevant to this RFI please identify it as a response to the “VHA Resuscitation Education Products and Services Acquisition” in the response and Subject Line of the email).

d. Any organization responding to this notice should ensure that its response is complete and sufficiently detailed. Respondents are requested to limit responses to the information, and in the format provided below.

e. Vendors are encouraged to include any relevant information (specifications, cut sheets, brochures, capability statement, previous experience etc.) to confirm the company’s ability to meet the requirements outlined in this request.

2. GENERAL INFORMATION:

a. Organization Name.

b. Company ownership (public, private, joint venture).

c. Business size designation in accordance with Small Business Administration (SBA) standards for the recommended NAICS code (NAICS 611710 Educational Support Services. The Product Service Code (PSC) is U0006 Education/Training/ Vocational/ Technical.

3. CAPABILITY AND EXPERIENCE INFORMATION:

Interested vendors are requested to provide Capability Statements addressing the following data/information, by the closing date.

a. Company name

b. Company address

c. Company Point-of-Contact (POC)

d. Company phone, fax, and email address

e. Company Tax ID Number (TIN)

f. Company CAGE Code and System for Award Management (SAM) Unique Entity ID

g. Type/Size of Business relative to NAICS Code 61170. If you suggest a more accurate NAICS, as it relates to the services noted herein, please provide it as well.

h. Federal Supply Schedule (FSS) Number (if applicable), meaning your FSS pertains to VHA Resuscitation Education Products and Services.

i. Statement of Capability that demonstrates your business’s capability and past performance in providing the type of service(s) requirement in healthcare and medical facilities; to include data and information stated herein.

1. Provide a case study that describes how you have provided or currently provide a solution for the acquisition, delivery, and support of enterprise-wide resuscitation education products and services to an organization of similar scope, size, and complexity to the VA. Indicate the percentage of the work that was performed by your company in this case study.

2. In a case study, describe how you provided technical and operational readiness of a client you supported with the acquisition and implementation of enterprise-wide resuscitation education products and services. Describe the complexity of the client’s scope and size. Establish a correlation between the size of that customer (Federal or Private Industry). Indicate the percentage of the work performed by your company in this case study.

3. Describe how you provided end-to-end service implementation, coordination of enterprise-wide resuscitation education products and services for a client scope, size, complexity, and contact volume like the VA. Indicate the percentage of the work that was performed by your company in this case study.

4. Provide a list of the number of clients that you have successfully implemented and supported as a contractor. The client’s scope, size, complexity, and patient volume should be comparable to the VA.

5. Share a case study that describes your capability to collect and use national performance data to improve an overall hospital or enterprise-wide resuscitation program. What metrics were tracked and how was this data used to make informed changes to a program, either locally or enterprise wide.

6. Indicate whether your proposal solution has the ability to provide the necessary products and services identified in RFI Attachment 2 – Draft VHA Required Resuscitation Education Products and Services and how the vendor’s solution meets the requirement. If these cannot be entirely met, contractor shall identify which capabilities are shortfalls, and can possibly be met with a business process outsourcing solution. This must include a detailed percentage breakdown related to sub-contracted work to satisfy the requirements. Identify alternative approaches to meeting the capabilities if available. Attachment 2 does not count against the page count of the response.

7. Define if you are the manufacturer, distributor, or an equivalent solution to the items being referenced in Attachment 2 – Draft VHA Required Resuscitation Education Products and Services.

8. Vendors proposing the implementation of resuscitation education products and services that extend outside/beyond the VHA’s existing Government environment shall provide:

a. Compelling justification with detailed justification of how and why your solution should be considered outside of the existing Government environment. This should include evidence of unique value, such as cost savings, enhanced training outcomes, scalability, or significant innovation in resuscitation education.

b. Comparative advantages describing your solution in terms of effectiveness, efficiency, ease of integration or innovation compared to existing options.

c. Integration strategy outlining how your solution can be integrated with or support the VHA’s existing resuscitation education systems.

d. Provide a comprehensive plan detailing the approach to facilitating and implementing an enterprise-wide change, to include, but not limited to, resuscitation education equipment, course materials, instructor readiness and supplies, to ensure a seamless and efficient transition while maintaining high standards of clinical readiness across all VHA.

In addition to providing your company’s capability statement as it pertains to the requirements of this RFI, interested and capable vendors are also required to provide answers to the following questions:

a. [ ] Yes [ ] No Does your company exceed the required number of employees/millions based on the appropriate NAICS Code that the VA is requesting?

b. [ ] Yes [ ] No Will at least 50 percent of the cost of performance incurred be expended for employees of your concern or employees of other eligible SDVOSB/VOSB concerns?

c. [ ] Yes [ ] No Will your company supply the end item of a small business manufacturer, processor or producer made in the United States, or obtains a waiver of such requirement pursuant to paragraph (b)(5) CFR 121.406.

“Small business concern” means a concern, including its affiliates, that is independently owned and operated, not dominant in the field of operation in which it is bidding on Government contracts, and qualified as a small business under the criteria and size standards in 13 CFR part 121. A small business concern for the purposes of this procurement is generally defined as a business, including its affiliates, averaging no more than $24 million dollars in annual receipts. Annual receipts of a concern that has been in business for 3 or more complete fiscal years means the annual average gross revenue of the concern taken for the last 3 fiscal years. Annual receipts of a concern that has been in business for less than 3 complete fiscal years means its total receipts for the period it has been in business, divided by the number of weeks including fractions of a week that it has been in business, and multiplied by 52. Responders are cautioned, however, that this is a general description only. Additional standards and conditions apply. Please refer to Federal Acquisition Regulation FAR 19 for additional detailed information on Small Business Size Standards. The FAR is available at http://www.arnet.gov.

5. RESPONSES:

THERE IS NO SOLICITATION AT THIS TIME.

Responses to this notice are not offers and cannot be accepted by the U.S. Government to form a binding contract or agreement. This notice shall not be construed as a commitment by the Government to issue a solicitation, or ultimately award a contract, nor does it restrict the Government to a particular acquisition approach. The Government will in no way be bound to this information if any solicitation is issued. Submission of any information in response to this market survey is purely voluntary; the Government assumes no financial responsibility for any costs incurred. Your responses may be shared with all stakeholders, thus, information received will not be considered proprietary.

Respondents may optionally identify other activities, capabilities, or deliverables they believe would be of benefit to this tasking.

The purpose of this RFI is for Market Research and to gather input for use in further defining the requirement only, and to identify interested and potentially capable vendors.

Submission: Responses to this RFI shall be submitted via email to the Contracting Officer, Caitlin.Ruc@va.gov and Contract Specialist, jaime.bennett@va.gov no later than 4:30 PM Eastern Standard Time (EST) on December 23, 2024.

Questions: No Questions are being accepted. Depending upon the responses received, VA may request additional information, may conduct future question and answer sessions, or may conduct meetings or an industry day.

52.215-3 Request for Information or Solicitation for Planning Purposes (Oct 1997)

(a) The Government does not intend to award a contract based on this RFI or to otherwise pay for the information solicited except as an allowable cost under other contracts as provided in subsection 31.205-18, Bid and proposal costs, of the Federal Acquisition Regulation.

(b) Although “proposal” is used in this Request for Information, your response will be treated as information only. It shall not be used as a proposal.

(c) This Request is issued for the purpose of: Information.

Please see the following attachments to support this RFI below.

Attachments:

a. Attachment 1 – Draft Performance Work Statement

b. Attachment 2 – Draft VHA Required Resuscitation Education Products and Services