Sources Sought_FNCP 3-9-23.pdf

Project Title: FORENSIC NURSING CONSULTATION PROGRAM (FNCP)

Small Business - Native American Owned business - Sources Sought Notice Number: 75H70423R00003

This Sources Sought Notice is for informational and planning purposes only and shall not be construed as a solicitation, an obligation or commitment by the Indian Health Service. This notice is intended strictly for Market Research to determine if a 100% Set Aside for Indian Small Business Economic (ISBE)

Enterprise or if a 100% Set Aside for Small business concerns can fulfill the requirements set forth in this request for information.

Your responses to the information requested will assist the Government in determining the appropriate acquisition method, including whether a set-aside is possible. An organization that is not considered a small business or Indian owned firm under the applicable NAICS code should NOT submit a response to this notice. The applicable NAICS code for this acquisition is 541990 - All Other Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services with a size standard of $17M.

A. Background:

The mission of the Indian Health Service is to raise the physical, mental, social, and spiritual health of American Indian and Alaska Natives (AI/AN) to the highest level. Forensic Nursing within the Division of Nursing Services, Indian Health Service Headquarters (IHS/HQ) addresses victimization and promotes the healthcare systems focus on quality care, treatment, and promotion of life, while respecting the wellness and resilience of AI/AN people. While the Indian Health Service (IHS) was previously the principal health care delivery system for AI/AN individuals, there is now a less centralized and more diverse network of care provided by federal, Tribal, and Urban Indian health programs.

Beginning August 2010, the IHS, through its Domestic Violence Prevention Initiative (DVPI), awarded a total of 65 projects that include IHS, Tribal, and Urban (I/T/U) Indian health programs to address domestic and sexual violence. Eight of the 65 projects are geared to developing and implementing hospital or clinic-based sexual assault nurse examiner-sexual assault response team (SANE-SART) programs. The DVPI expanded outreach and increased awareness by funding projects that provide victim advocacy, intervention, case coordination, policy development, community response teams, and community and school education programs. Funding was also committed for the purchase of medical forensic equipment, training medical personnel, and the coordination of sexual assault nurse examiner (SANE)/forensic nurse examiner (FNE), sexual assault forensic examiner (SAFE), and multidisciplinary team (MDT) activities.

AI/AN women experience some of the highest rates of sexual and domestic violence, and are disproportionately affected by crime compared to other populations within the United States. The impact of child abuse and neglect on AI/AN children is profound. Following victimization, individuals could experience a variety of health consequences such as physical, psychological, social, and reproductive health related issues.

B. Purpose and Objectives:

The Division of Nursing Services (DNS) IHS/HQ is committed to providing training resources and technical assistance support to ensure that health care providers are prepared to meet the needs of AI/AN patients following violence. DNS intends to award a contract for the implementation of medical forensic training, education, and technical assistance across the Indian health systems through the Forensic Nursing Program. Under this contract, the contractor is responsible for the development, delivery, and evaluation of in-person and web-based training related to culturally appropriate, trauma-informed medical forensic examinations, including identification, collection, and preservation of evidence obtained during the treatment of patients who have experienced violence (e.g., sexual assault, sexual abuse, domestic violence, intimate partner violence, strangulation, human trafficking, etc.). The contractor shall provide Sexual Assault Examiner (SAE) trainings and Continuing Education/Continuing Medical Education (CE/CME) credits to acquire and maintain knowledge and skills to the hospitals, health clinics, and health stations within the Indian healthcare system. Clinical skills laboratories will be developed to address competent clinical forensic practice. In addition, mentorship programs will be implemented between the contractor and forensic programs, to ensure program development, operation, and sustainability. Development of a website and ongoing maintenance specific to forensic healthcare will be established.

C. Contractor Requirements:

IHS anticipates awarding a stand-alone contract type that will be comprised of the following six task areas:

Task 1. Curriculum Development Task 2. Conduct Training for IHS, Tribal, and Urban Indian health care facilities Task 3. Mentorship Programming Task 4. Website and Web-Based Learning Development and Management Task 5. Conduct Site Visits Task 6. Continuing Medical Education (CME) and Continuing Education (CE)

Task Area 1 – Curriculum Development

Develop Adult/Adolescent Sexual Assault Examiner (SAE) curricula for Physicians, Physician Assistants, Registered Nurses, and Advanced Practice Nurses.

Develop Adult/Adolescent Sexual Assault Examiner Clinical Skills Laboratory (CSL) Training curriculum for Physicians, Physician Assistants, Registered Nurses, and Advanced Practice Nurses.

Develop Pediatric Sexual Abuse Examiner (PSAE) curricula for Physicians, Physician Assistants, Registered Nurses, and Advanced Practice Nurses.

Develop Pediatric Sexual Assault/Abuse Examiner Clinical Skills Laboratory (CSL) Training for Physicians, Physician Assistants, Registered Nurses, and Advanced Practice Nurses.

Develop Intimate Partner and Domestic Violence Examiner curricula for Physicians, Physician Assistants, Registered Nurses, and Advanced Practice Nurses.

Develop annual Sexual Assault, Intimate Partner and Domestic Violence awareness training for IHS, Tribal, and Urban Indian health care facilities.

Task Area 2 – Conduct Training for IHS, Tribal, and Urban Indian health care facilities

Conduct 40+ hour Adult/Adolescent Sexual Assault Examiner (SAE) trainings for the Physicians, Physician Assistants, Registered Nurses, and Advanced Practice Nurses.

Conduct 16-hour Adult/Adolescent Sexual Assault Examiner Clinical Skills Laboratory (CSL) Trainings for Physicians, Physician Assistants, Registered Nurses, and Advanced Practice Nurses.

Conduct 40+ Pediatric Sexual Assault/Abuse Examiner Trainings for Physicians, Physician Assistants, Registered Nurses, and Advanced Practice Nurses.

Conduct 16-hour Pediatric Clinical Skills Laboratory (CSL) trainings for Physicians, Physician Assistants, Registered Nurses, and Advanced Practice Nurses.

Conduct 15-hour Intimate Partner and Domestic Violence Trainings for Physicians, Physician Assistants, Registered Nurses, and Advanced Practice Nurses.

Provide culturally appropriate webinar training series in topics of Sexual Assault, Sexual Abuse, Child Maltreatment, Intimate Partner Violence, Domestic Violence, Human Trafficking, Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women (MMIW), etc., across the lifespan.

Provide web-based training through an online learning management system that is fully developed and operational.

Task Area 3 – Mentorship Programming

Implement mentorship programs between the Contractor and three (3) IHS, Tribal, and Urban Indian (I/T/U) health care providers and forensic programs, to ensure program development, operation, and sustainability.

Task Area 4 – Website and Web-Based Learning Development and Management

Develop and maintain a unique website that is specific to medical forensic training and education for Physicians, Physician Assistants, Registered Nurses, and Advanced Practice Nurses.

Ensure rules, regulations, and laws are followed when developing and maintaining the website.

Task Area 5 – Conduct Site Visits

Conduct two (2) day site visits with the Forensic Nurse Consultant at I/T/U sites to provide quality assessment, program mentorship and guidance, up to three (3) sites.

Task Area 6 – Continuing Medical Education (CME) and Continuing Education (CE)

Manage all details associated with the accreditation process. The contractor shall be responsible for obtaining and coordinating the appropriate number of Continuing Medical Education (CME) and Continuing Education (CE) credits from accredited providers for nurses, advanced practice nurses, physicians, physician assistants, and other providers for each relevant training session.

Accreditation services shall be provided for the following professions:

o Physicians – American Medical Association (AMA) o Nurses – American Nurses Credentialing Center (ANCC)

D. Anticipated Period of Performance:

Period of Performance: Base Year: 08/01/2023 – 08/31/2024 Option Year 1: 09/01/2024 – 08/31/2025 Option Year 2: 09/01/2025 – 08/31/2026 Option Year 3: 09/01/2026 – 08/31/2027 Option Year 4: 09/01/2027 – 08/31/2028

E. Capability Statement/Information:

Interested parties are expected to review this notice to familiarize itself with the requirements of this project. Failure to do so will be at your firm’s own risk. The following information shall be included in the capability statement:

1. A general overview of the respondent’s opinions about the difficulty and/or feasibility of the potential requirement, and any information regarding innovative ideas or concepts.

2. Information in sufficient detail of the respondent’s (a) staff subject matter expertise, including their experience, formal and other training; (b) current capability and capacity to perform the work; (c) prior completed projects of similar nature; (d) organizational experience and management capability; and (e) examples of prior completed Government contracts and other related information.

3. Documented experience in the following:

Forensic nursing training, education, and technical assistance which focused on best practices related to medical forensic healthcare for patients, their families, and communities affected by violence (including and specific to medical forensic healthcare for American Indian/Alaska Native patient populations). In addition, capacity to provide subject matter expertise, training, education, and technical assistance to forensic nursing programs across the country related to medical forensic healthcare, and working collaboratively with other professional organizations to enhance efforts.

4. The respondents’ DUNS number, organization name, address, point of contact, and size and type of business (e.g., 8(a), HUBZone, etc.) Pursuant to the North American Industry Classification System

(NAICS) code: 541990 - All Other Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services with a size standard of

$17M.

5. Any other information that may be helpful in developing or finalizing the requirements of the potential acquisition.

6. The capability statement shall not exceed 10 single-sided pages (including all attachments, resumes, charts, etc.) presented in single-space and using a 12-point font size minimum, in either Microsoft Word or Adobe Portable Document Format (PDF), with 8-1/2 by 11 inch paper size, and 1 inch top, bottom, left and right margins.

7. All proprietary information should be marked as such. Statements should also include an indication of current certified small business status; this indication should be clearly marked on the first page of your capability statement (preferably placed under the eligible small business concern’s name and address).

Responses will be reviewed only by NIH personnel and will be held in a confidential manner.

F. Closing Statement

Point of Contact: Darryl Smith Contracting Officer, at darryl.smith@ihs.gov.

Submission Instructions:

Interested parties shall submit capability via email to Darryl Smith Contracting Officer, at darryl.smith@ihs.gov. Must include Sources Sought Number 75H70423R00003 in the Subject line. The due date for receipt of statements is March 30, 2023, 3:00 p.m. Eastern Time.

All responses must be received by the specified due date and time in order to be considered.

This notice is for information and planning purposes only and shall not be construed as a solicitation or as an obligation on the part of IHS.

IHS does not intend to award a contract on the basis of responses nor otherwise pay for the preparation of any information submitted. As a result of this notice, IHS may issue a Request for Quote (RFQ).

THERE IS NO SOLICITATION AVAILABLE AT THIS TIME. However, should such a requirement materialize, no basis for claims against IHS shall arise as a result of a response to this notice or IHS’s use of such information as either part of our evaluation process or in developing specifications for any subsequent requirement.

Disclaimer and Important Notes. This notice does not obligate the Government to award a contract or otherwise pay for the information provided in response. The Government reserves the right to use information provided by respondents for any purpose deemed necessary and legally appropriate. Any organization responding to this notice should ensure that its response is complete and sufficiently detailed to allow the Government to determine the organization’s qualifications to perform the work.

Respondents are advised that the Government is under no obligation to acknowledge receipt of the information received or provide feedback to respondents with respect to any information submitted.

After a review of the responses received, a pre-solicitation synopsis and solicitation may be published in

SAM.gov. However, responses to this notice will not be considered adequate responses to a solicitation.

Confidentiality. No proprietary, classified, confidential, or sensitive information should be included in your response.