Sources Sought Notice.pdf

Small Business Sources Sought Notice

This is a small business sources sought notice (hereafter referred to as “notice”) issued for the purpose of planning and market research. This is not a solicitation for proposals or quotations and this does not obligate the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) to award a contract now or in the future.

This is strictly market research. No reimbursement will be made for any costs associated with providing information in response to this announcement and any follow-up information requests.

Respondents will not be notified of the results of the capability assessment. The Government will not entertain questions regarding the results of this market research, and requests for additional information will not be honored. All information submitted in response to this announcement must arrive on or before the closing date. The Government reserves the right to use any submitted data in a resultant solicitation.

The purpose of this notice is to obtain information regarding the availability and capability of qualified small businesses only (including 8(a), service-disabled-veteran-owned-small business (SDVOSB), Historically Underutilized Business Zone (HUBZone) small business, small disadvantaged business (SDB), veteran-owned small business (VOSB), and women-owned small business (WOSB)) to provide Orthotics Technician Services.

This sources sought notice is seeking responses from all small businesses concerns.

Background:

The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), Health Resources and Services Administrations (HRSA), Healthcare Systems Bureau (HSB) provides for care, treatment, education, and research on Hansen’s Disease (HD, Leprosy) through the National Hansen’s Disease Program (NHDP), centered in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. The legislative authority for the National Hansen’s Disease Programs (NHDP) is Public Law 99-117, Section 2. (a.), Section 320, and is guided by Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) regulations. This program has been owned and operated by the Federal Government since 1921 and has statutory responsibility to provide care for patients with HD. Even though HD patients are no longer admitted as residents, NHDP continues to provide care for two (2) to six (6) short term-care patients; outpatients who reside within a 250-mile commuting area of the NHDP; and one (1) long-term care patient at a nursing home facility in Baton Rouge, LA.

Purpose:

The purpose of this requirement is to provide orthotics technician services for the operation of the NHDP Clinical Branch shoe shop. The technician fabricates orthotics and sandals, performs shoe modifications, and maintains inventory and equipment.

Capability Statements:

In response to this notice, HRSA is seeking capability statements from small businesses who can demonstrate experience and expertise in the following areas:

• Constructing, modifying and repairing custom molded sandals using Amfit system, plaster molds/vacuum press, and/or directly moldable materials and securing with strapping to the foot; and modifying and repairing prefabricated sandals.

• Modifying commercially available shoes and repairing both commercially available and custom shoes to include rigid rocker modifications, pressure relief applications, stretching, flares, heel modifications, etc.

• Constructing and modifying total contact orthoses. Fabricating custom orthoses using Amfit system; plaster molds/vacuum press and/or directly moldable materials.

Modifying orthoses with pressure relief techniques, metatarsal pads, toe fillers, etc.

• Providing fabrication of foot models from various molding medium and adjusting foot models as needed. Creating model of patient foot using digital Amfit system, plaster techniques or foam box. Modifying molds as needed to balance foot or relieve high-pressure areas.

• Repairing and/or adjusting belts and prosthetic harnesses.

• Consulting with Physicians, Nurses, Orthopedic Surgeon, Physical Therapists and

Occupational Therapists on patient cases.

• Providing maintenance of inventory by tracking materials and supplies used in the shoe shop using Excel spreadsheet.

• Maintaining and fabricating a stock of monofilaments, cutting out felt and other frequently used clinical items.

• Providing education and training of visiting health care providers in sandal construction, shoe modification, construction of foot models and adjustments, and construction of total contact orthoses.

• Experience working with fabrication of orthotics, insoles, sandals and making shoe modifications.

• Experience scanning feet, designing and fabricating orthotics with the AMFIT system.

• Experience working with individuals affected by Hansen’s disease or an equivalent neuropathic patient.

Capability statements are not proposals or quotes and do not address price/cost. Vendors are asked for information which proves that they have expertise and capacity to meet the requirements of this work. Respondents should provide enough information for HRSA to make an informed determination of their capability to perform the work. Provide a list of contract numbers that your organization has had (if applicable), your role on the contract (prime contractor or subcontractor) and the dollar value/percentage of the work performed. If you were a subcontractor on a particular contract, please clarify the work that you did on that contract.

Respondents are requested to state their capabilities and expertise in clear and concise language.

Cover Page:

Vendors shall include the following Business information on the Cover Page:

• Title and date of issuance

• Unique Entity Identifier (UEI)

• Company Name

• Company Address

• Company Point of Contact, Phone and Email address

• Validation of small business status under NAICS 621399, Size Standard $8.00MIL

Additional information on NAICS codes can be found at www.sba.gov.

Responses Requested:

Submit your responses by 2PM CST, June 27, 2022 in PDF format via email to Charisse Whitney at cwhitney@hrsa.gov in the format below:

Responses are limited to 5 pages. Total page count does not include cover page and appendices.

Note: Language in any resultant solicitation will require all small businesses to recertify their size status at the submission of a quote or proposal. You are not required to respond to this sources sought notice if you cannot recertify your size as small.

Confidentiality:

No proprietary, classified, confidential, or sensitive information should be included in your response. The vendor is responsible for marking each page that contains proprietary data, however, vendors are hereby notified that information may be releasable under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA). The Government reserves the right to use any submitted information in any resultant solicitation(s).

Disclaimer and Important Notes:

As stated above, 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. Information provided will be used to assess alternatives available for the potential requirement and may lead to the development of a solicitation. 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. Respondents will not be notified of the results of this market research. Capability statements will not be returned, and will not be accepted after the due date for responses.

Teaming Arrangements:

Vendors seeking to respond to this notice as a team or to rely on subcontractors to perform any portion of the work must include the above-requested information and certifications for each entity on the proposed team or each proposed subcontractor. Responses must clearly indicate the nature of the teaming arrangement.

The contractor and any subcontractors must not have any relationships or arrangements through business operations or its employees that could be considered as possibly lessening the company’s objectivity concerning any aspect of the proposed tasks. If such relationships or arrangements exist, contractors or subcontractors shall be required, during the procurement process (if one occurs), to identify potential conflicts of interest and discuss how the conflicts will be addressed and mitigated.