Statement of Work.pdf

WOODROW W. KEEBLE MEMORIAL HEALTH CARE CENTER

SISSETON INDIAN HEALTH SERVICE

100 LAKE TRAVERSE DRIVE

SISSETON, SD 57257

STATEMENT OF WORK

24/7 NURSING TELEPHONE TRIAGE SERVICES

Background of the Contract

The Mission of the Sisseton Indian Health Service is to provide the best possible healthcare services to the patients of the Sisseton Indian Health Service on the Sisseton-Wahpeton Oyate Reservation in South Dakota. To meet this mission, the Sisseton Indian Health Service requires contractor support with a Non-Personal Service contract for 24/7 Nursing Telephone Triage Services.

Purpose of the Contract

The purpose of the contract is for a toll free telephone Nurse Advice line to decrease Emergency Room (ER) visits for American Indian/Alaskan Native patients who live on or near the Lake Traverse Reservation, Sisseton, South Dakota. Great costs are incurred for ER visits which many of these ER visits by patients are unnecessary and/or inappropriate. This toll free access to a Nurse Advice line and the Medical Library line has proven to decrease unnecessary ER visits. It will direct patients to the appropriate care at the WWKMHCC, or to emergent care as needed. The Sisseton Indian Health Service requires these services to continue without interruption during the term of this contract. The Sisseton Indian Health Service is also known as the Woodrow W. Keeble Memorial Health Care Center or WWKMHCC throughout this Statement of Work.

Period of Performance

Date of award for one (1) year, 24 hours per day, 7 days per week, as scheduled with the Director of Nursing or her designee.

The WWKMHCC is open during Federal Government holidays, which are:

• New Year’s Day

• Martin Luther King, Jr.’s Birthday

• Washington’s Birthday

• Memorial Day

• Juneteenth Day

• Independence Day

• Labor Day

• Native American Day

• Veteran’s Day

• Thanksgiving Day

• Christmas Day

Government Furnished Property, Facilities, and Services

WWKMHCC shall provide all medical and non-medical equipment and personnel for the care and management of patients when encounter forms are received from the Contractor within twenty-four (24) hours by telefax, and enter the patient information into the Electronic Health Record system.

WWKMHCC shall provide all required blank and electronic Government forms applicable to the Indian Health Service. An appropriate orientation to the necessity of such forms will be provided by the Director of Nursing or her designee.

WWKMHCC shall provide an ongoing method of monitoring and evaluation of the quality and appropriateness of patient care and of identifying deficiencies in the quality of services performed before the level of performance becomes unacceptable.

WWKMHCC shall notify the Contractor, in writing, thirty (30) days prior, in the event that 24/7 Nurse Call services are no longer required.

Contractor Furnished Equipment, Facilities, and Services

1. The Contractor shall maintain a fax machine, telephones, a toll-free telephone line, Registered Nurses, and personnel to provide these services to the WWKMHCC.

2. The Contractor shall provide toll free telephone access for Nurse Advice and Medical Library on a 24 hours per day/7 days per week basis to the WWKMHCC. All WWKMHCC active beneficiaries will have access to these services. The active beneficiaries population is an estimated 7,008.

3. The Contractor shall define the term “Member” as those members and their immediate family that are beneficiaries of the WWKMHCC active user population.

4. The Contractor shall fax an encounter form within 24 hours to the WWKMHCC Nursing staff and will include all encounters, and the caller’s name, date of birth, purpose of call, and the advice provided to the patient/beneficiary from the Nurse Advice Line.

5. The Contractor shall hold all information provided by the WWKMHCC and its members as confidential, and any and all such information will not be distributed to any third party, especially medical information of the members; and will take all steps necessary to safeguard the privacy of member information.

6. The Contractor shall not be responsible for Acts of God, acts or omissions of the

WWKMHCC or actions beyond the control of the Contractor while performing services under the agreement.

7. The contract nurses shall utilize specialized and appropriate Microsoft-based software, interactive voice response technology, and the Schmitt/Thompson protocols to triage beneficiaries with a state of the art triage supported platform. The readily available and comprehensive protocols should reflect an extensive, high-quality physician written, reviewed, and updated medical knowledge base.

8. When patients in need of medical assistance call the Nurse Advice Line, they will first hear a disclaimer stating that if they are experiencing an emergency, they should hang up and call 911 or their appropriate emergency number. Phone calls will be answered by specially trained Health Service Specialists who will obtain patient demographics (name, dob, phone number) and the reason for call. If required, the call is transferred to the nurse; otherwise, the caller will receive a callback from the nurse. Calls are prioritized for callback, higher priority symptoms receive callback on average within 10 minutes, and non-urgent calls within 30 minutes.

9. The Contractor shall indemnify and hold WWKMHCC harmless from any claim, demand, loss, lawsuit, settlement, judgement, or other liability, and all related expenses which may arise from a negligent act or omission of the Contractor, its agents, or employees.

WWKMHCC shall indemnify and hold the Contractor harmless for any claim, demand, loss, lawsuit, settlement, judgement, or other liability, and all related expenses which may arise from or in connection with a claim of a third party arising from a negligent act or omission of the WWKMHCC, its agents, or employees. Indemnity shall include damages, reasonable costs, reasonable expenses, and reasonable attorney’s fees as incurred by the party indemnified. The foregoing indemnification provision shall survive the expiration or termination of this contract.

10. The Contractor shall meet all applicable Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare

Organizations standards during the performance of this contract.

11. The Contractor and contract Registered Nurses shall comply with Section 231 of the Crime Control Act of 1990, P.L. 101-647; the Indian Child Protection and Family Violence Prevention Act, P.L. 101-630; the Privacy Act of 1974; and the HIPPA Act of 1996. Failure to comply with these statutes will result in immediate removal. The Contractor and contract Registered Nurses shall be subject to a background investigation.

12. The Contractor and contract Registered Nurses shall respect and maintain the basic rights of patients, to include but not be limited to personal dignity.

13. The Contractor shall be responsible for travel, lodging, meals, labor, fringe benefits, Life

Insurance, Social Security, Federal, State, and Local taxes, plus any other costs pertinent to the performance of this contract.

Registered Nurse Qualifications

It is a condition of this contract that all required certifications in this Statement of Work remain current during the life of this contract.

The contract Registered Nurses must hold a current unrestricted state license from any of the fifty

(50) states of the United States of America, a current basic life support (BLS) certification, and one (1) year experience as a Registered Nurse.

The contract Registered Nurses must have passed the NCLEX (National Council of Licensure Examinations).

The contract Registered Nurses shall speak, understand, read, and write English fluently and communicate with sufficient clarity to be understood by WWKMHCC personnel and its patients.

The Contractor and contract nurses shall possess the skill, knowledge, and sufficient initiative, interpersonal relationship skills, and social sensitivity all with full consideration of the mental, emotional, physical, and cultural factors, such that he/she can relate constructively to patients from Native American communities.

Verification of Licensure

To ensure that Registered Nurses are properly licensed and WWKMHCC is aware of any disciplinary actions taken against such nurses, the Contractor shall:

1. Verify through the State Board of Nursing that the Registered Nurse holds a current, active nursing license in good standing.

2. Inform WWKMHCC of the status of all licenses for each contract nurse who would provide services under this contract.

Technical Requirements

The Contractor shall possess the following:

1. Ability to provide Contract Registered Nurses who are currently registered with their respective State Board of Nursing.

2. Ability to provide Contract Registered Nurses who can interact with patients and clinical staff in a customer friendly and culturally sensitive manner.

Contracting Officer’s Representative Designation

The Contracting Officer’s Representative (COR) representing the Government for the purpose of this contract shall be designated in writing by the Contracting Officer at the Great Plains Area Indian Health Service.

The COR is responsible for:

1. Monitoring the Contractor’s technical progress including surveillance, assessment, and performance and recommending to the Contracting Officer changes in requirements,

2. Interpreting Statement of Work.

3. Performing technical evaluation as required.

4. Performing technical inspection and acceptance required by this contract.

5. Assisting the Contractor in the resolution of technical problems encountered during

Performance.

6. Serving as systems manager to ensure compliance with the Privacy Act.

The designated COR for this contract is:

Ella Mae Greybuffalo, Procurement Administrative Assistant 100 Lake Traverse Drive Sisseton, SD 57262 Direct Phone: (605) 742-3643 Fax: (605) 742-3896 Ella.Greybuffalo@ihs.gov

Issuance of changes which affect the articles, terms, or conditions of this contract will be accomplished through the Contracting Officer who is the only party authorized to bind the Government to the contract.

mailto:Ella.Greybuffalo@ihs.gov