SOW - Mortuary Services FTW.pdf

MORTUARY SERVICES

STATEMENT OF WORK

Subject

Federal Bureau of Prisons, Federal Medical Center, Fort Worth, Texas, intends to make a single award to a firm for the provision of mortuary services for the inmate population at Federal Medical Center (FMC), Fort Worth, Texas and 3150 Horton Road, Fort Worth, Texas 76119.

Place of Performance

Mortuary services will be performed at the contractor’s funeral home.

Schedule

These services are a contractual agreement. The services will be provided on an as needed basis with the contractor. Telephone calls will be made to the contractor from the Contracting Officer only. Contractor must be available for telephone calls 24-hours a day, 7 days a week, to include holidays. Service will not be required to take place on holidays.

Qualifications

The contractor must be properly licensed to perform these services in the state of Texas. The contractor must agree that the quality of all materials and services furnished will not be inferior to the specifications. All state and interstate shipment laws relating to the embalming, preparation, burial, and shipment of the body must be fully observed and complied with, and in any case wherein state law contains requirements more rigid than the requirements set forth herein, such laws will be controlling.

Supplies and Equipment

All supplies will be provided by the contractor.

Description of Duties

The services provided, being professional in nature, will be provided in the manner as considered appropriate in the local community. The services will be reviewed and verified by the designated Contracting Officer’s Representative (COR).

The contractor shall call for the body and transport remains to the contractor’s funeral home in a suitable closed conveyance. After embalming and dressing the contractor shall transport the body to the railway station, air terminal, or local cemetery as directed by the Contracting Officer.

Cemeteries located within a 30-mile radius of the institution will be considered local cemeteries for local burial purposes unless the Contracting officer specifies otherwise.

The contractor shall secure or furnish all necessary papers and permits for shipment or interment.

Suitable space in the undertaking establishment shall be available for the performance of postmortem examinations when requested by the Government.

The contractor will provide services including embalming, casket, and preparation for transportation. The following specifications indicate the quality and character of material and service the Bureau requires. The contractor agrees that the quality of all material and services furnished hereunder will not be inferior to these specifications unless otherwise specified and completely described in a letter accompanying the proposal. All state and interstate shipment laws relating to the embalming, preparation, burial, and shipment of bodies must be fully observed and complied with, and in any case wherein the state law contains requirements more rigid than the requirements set forth herein, such laws will be controlling.

A. Preparation of Body. Complete embalming services will be performed including all standard practices to conform to applicable state laws.

There are, in general, two different types of cases. Each body shall be embalmed according to its condition and in a manner to ensure thorough preservation of all tissues. All body orifices shall be treated and closed in accordance with state laws.

(1) Normal Cases. This will usually be where death has been due to disease or other causes, and where there has been little or no mutilation or breakdown of body tissue. For such cases, preservation shall be accomplished by a thorough cavity treatment.

Standard preservative solutions shall be used for the arterial injections and cavity saturation.

(2) Autopsy Cases. This will be where a partial or complete autopsy has been made to an extent which will not permit a normal arterial embalming operation. Sectional embalming shall be used to thoroughly preserve the body, including organs, and the inside of the body cavity shall be treated with a hardening compound. The cranial cavity shall be filled with plaster of pares or other suitable material and the calvarium securely replaced. All incisions shall be tightly sutured and treated to prevent leakage.

NOTE: The need for an autopsy will be determined by the Warden of FMC Fort Worth. For those deaths at the institution, the coroner will be notified and the body will be removed by the coroner. For those deaths at a local health care facility, the autopsy will be performed at their facility. Costs of the autopsy will not be the responsibility of the contractor. These costs will be handled separately by the institution.

(3) A post-embalming inspection of each body shall be made by the embalmer to determine whether the preservation is uniform and complete, or whether further treatment is required. If further treatment is required, it shall be given before final delivery of the body. The body must be in an acceptable state of preservation at the time of final delivery.

(4) The contractor shall restore the body to be as lifelike in appearance as is possible, including shaving face and neck, trimming hair of head, neck, and face, dressing hair properly, applying suitable cosmetics, performing derma surgery and other restorative work as may be necessary.

(5) The contractor will furnish and dress the body in all necessary clothing, including cotton undershorts and undershirts, regular length socks, manufactured burial suit of dark or conservative color. Clothing for females will include suitable undergarments, hose, and a manufactured burial dress of conservative style and color.

(6) The body will be placed in the casket in such a manner as to create an appearance of rest and composure, and to assure maintenance of position during shipment or local burial.

NOTE: Inspection of the remains will be done by the Contracting Officer prior to the shipment of the body to its final destination.

B. Casket. A standard size casket, manufactured in accordance with industry standards of modern practice, shall be furnished as follows:

(1) Metal. State perfection cut, 20 gauge steel shell, light copper with no shading, lacquer finish, interior plain panel, ivory twill, no shirring, copper hardware;

OR

(2) Wood, Cloth Covered. State perfection cut, exterior steel plush, interior crushed panel ivory twill, solid shirred, silver hardware;

ALTERNATE

(3) Sealed Casket. Metal, 20 gauge steel shell, constructed in accordance with industry standards of commercial practice so as to form a hermetic seal which will prevent leakage or escape of odors when properly closed and sealed. This item to be furnished only when ordered, as in the case of death by a communicable disease, to meet pertinent state or interstate regulations, or in cases of badly decomposed or odoriferous body; or

(4) When required due to size of the deceased, an extra size casket shall be furnished without additional cost.

C. Outside Container. Each casket shall be furnished with one of the following types of outside containers, depending upon the type of service required:

(1) In cases of shipment by air, either a commercial air shipping bag used by commercial airlines or an air shipment tray available for purchase and use by Funeral Directors shall be provided.

(2) In case of shipment by rail and/or foreign shipments, the outside shipping container shall be constructed of one inch seasoned wood in accordance with best modern practices and equipped with bolted handles complying with laws governing the same.

(3) In cases of local burial, rules and regulations of the cemetery in which interment is made shall govern the type of container to be furnished. Unless otherwise specified, the outside container furnished shall be constructed of one inch seasoned wood manufactured in accordance with the best modern practice. No handles will be required.

D. Shipping of Body. In the event of an inmate death the same regulations apply as those for transportation for a release, i.e., the Bureau pays for transportation to:

(1) residence of record; or

(2) place of trial.

The contractor is responsible for making all shipping arrangements for transportation (i.e., air travel, train, etc.). If location is such that transportation by ambulance or hearse is beneficial to the Government, the burial contract mileage rate will be the rate in the burial services contract.

Accordingly, when the deceased inmate's record of residence is outside the United States, transportation to the residence of record is appropriate. Contractor is responsible for all related clearances for bodies that will be returned to foreign countries.

If the family wants the body returned elsewhere, other than the two alternates mentioned above, the family is responsible for pickup of the body from that point, or directly from the burial service contractor.

If the deceased inmate is an alien, Unit Staff or Inmate Systems Management will contact the Regional Immigration and Naturalization Office or the Consulate.

E. CREMATION

Occasionally the legal next of kin makes a written request for cremation.

(1) If requested by the Government, OR due to extended time between death and receipt of all necessary legal documentation, normal arterial embalming will be performed in accordance with all standard practices, conformance with applicable Texas state laws and as outlined above (A. Preparation of Body).

(2) Contractor will be notified as soon as WRITTEN VERIFICATION has been received authorizing cremation.

(3) The contractor will provide for crematory services that conform to standard practices and all applicable Texas state laws and shall ensure the identity of the remains.

(4) A standard container shall be provided that is sealed and capable of transportation through the U.S. Mail or other common carrier.

(5) Shipment of remains to the next of kin will be made by either the contractor or the crematory, and will be sent first class, certified return receipt. Reimbursement at the rate of $20.00 per mailing (unless there is a postal rate increase) will be paid by the Government.

Inmate Management

There may be an occasion where the contractor will be required to acquire the body from the institution. The contractor awarded this contract will not be subjected to frequent contact with inmates. As a contractor, you are not subject to Government supervision, except for security related matters. However, contractor performance will be closely monitored while in the institution.

Institution Security

The contractor agrees to adhere to all regulations prescribed by the institution for the safety, custody, and conduct of inmates. The contractor will attend an orientation program prior to assuming institutional involvement. As mentioned, an occasion may arise that will require the contractor to enter the institution.

Release of Information

After normal working hours and holidays, the Contracting Officer or Medical Duty Officer will provide the contractor with the inmate’s name, social security number, and location of the body.

The institution staff will always be the first to notify the next of kin regarding the death of an inmate and will communicate the family’s wishes to the contractor. During normal working hours, the Contracting Staff will be the only personnel authorized to notify the contractor with the above information.

The contractor shall not provide the news media with any information. The contractor will be required to notify the Contracting Officer of any outside requests for information. The Contracting Officer will then submit the information to the Executive Assistant.