7E20--Equipment - Howard Medical Carts BPA - VISN 10

Notice of Intent to Sole Source Requirement

The Department of Veterans Affairs, VA Ann Arbor Healthcare System, NCO 10 Contracting Activity intends to negotiate a sole source BPA under Simplified Acquisition Procedures and the authority of FAR 6.103-1, Soliciting from a single source for the following items listed below. The associated NAICS code for this is 334118. The vendor will be Minburn Technology Group, LLC, 9716 Arnon Chapel Road, Great Falls, VA 22066.

Description of requirements:

VISN 10 has a requirement for a Blanket Purchase Agreement with Minburn Technologies Group, LLC for Howard Medical Bar Code Medication Administration (BCMA) equipment. A BPA will streamline the ordering process as the VISN replaces aging equipment and provides new equipment to clinical areas being added through the EHRM implementation process. The current EHRM contractor will utilize barcoding in every procedural and clinical area within a VA hospital facility or outpatient setting.

BCMA carts provide an efficient means of storing, organizing and transporting medications and supplies to patients during the medication administration process, including but not limited, to:

medications that have been delivered by pharmacy to the unit,

medications pulled from the pharmacy dispensing system by nursing staff,

stored ward stock supplies (e.g., cups, syringes) transporting them to the patients,

work surface for preparing of medication at point of administration.

BCMA carts are a point-of-care computing and technology-based medication administration recording system. Transfer carts serve the primary function of transferring medication and supplies securely in storage drawers matching the BCMA carts from the pharmacy and medication cabinets.

The purpose of this BPA is to procure Howard Medical Equipment from Minburn Technologies to support VISN 10 facilities with upcoming Federal EHR implementation. The BCMA system is a vital tool to safely verify a patient s identity and validate medications against active orders for our veterans. All patient care areas use this system to ensure each veteran is receiving the appropriate medications and that all passing of medication is accurately documented and recorded to VistA/CPRS, then the Federal EHR. The BCMA system was an initiative developed by VHA and is used widely throughout every hospital. Now with the Federal EHR, barcoding will be utilized in every patient care area for scanning of medications, specimens, wristband labels, surgery infusions and all procedural areas. VISN 10 is in the process of standardizing all medical carts to Howard Medical carts and requires these additional carts to be compatible with existing Howard Medical equipment, providing interchangeable parts and communication with the existing Power Manager, Med Manager and Power Display software. The carts are programmed with VA- approved Power Manager, Med Manager and Power Display software.

VISN 10 has a requirement for a long term, sustainment plan to meet the needs of additional clinical areas being supplemented with the expansion of barcoding and specimen labeling in the Federal EHR system and to maintain patient identification needs. The current EHRM contractor utilizes barcoding in every procedural and clinical area within each VA hospital facility and outpatient setting, which means barcoding will be used in all 70-plus CBOCs, and every clinical ward and procedure area in all VISN 10 facilities. The Federal EHR implementation Go-Live activities have resumed, and VA will begin to go live in April 2026.

Standardization will ensure continuity and consistency of operations and will eliminate additional training, servicing and procurement costs associated with procuring carts from another manufacturer. Additionally, mitigating patient safety risk due to the transfer of training and historical knowledge of Howard Medical BCMA carts. Clinician familiarity with the Howard Medical BCMA carts eliminates any learning curves and therefore increases productivity since the staff is already fully trained on the proper operation of the Howard Medical BCMA carts. Furthermore, the historical investment in the carts are a key consideration for the continued standardization to the Howard Medical BCMA carts.

Currently, Minburn Technology Group, LLC, is the only authorized distributor and source for the procurement of these carts without the Veteran s Health Administration experiencing substantial duplication of cost that could not be expected to be recovered through competition and unacceptable delays in fulfilling its requirements.

Minburn was responsible for the onsite set-up and integration of the carts under the Phase I and Phase II orders for the Howard carts. Minburn has intimate knowledge and familiarity with the existing systems, configuration and needs of the VISN 10 medical centers to ensure that the work is completed, and equipment is integrated and functioning properly with no delays as effectively and efficiently as practicable.

A firm fixed price 5-year ordering period BPA is anticipated and shall be awarded. It is the Government's belief that only the proposed candidate possesses the required capabilities to successfully meet this requirement. It is the Government's intention to solicit and negotiate with only this source.

This notice of intent is not a request for competitive proposals. It is not a solicitation or request for offers. No solicitation package is available. Any response to this notice must show clear and convincing evidence that competition would be advantageous to the Government. Responses must be received no later than 4:30 pm on Friday, November 14, 2025.

Kellie Konopinski

Contracting Officer

(734) 222-4330

Kellie.Konopinski@va.gov