Courier Laboratory Specimens Services

The Defense Health Agency is soliciting courier laboratory specimens delivery services for Walter Reed National Military Medical Center (Bethesda, Maryland), Navy Health Clinic Patuxent River, and Joint Base Andrews, with proposals due September 16, 2026. This is a total Women-Owned Small Business set-aside under NAICS 492110 (Couriers and Express Delivery Services), with a size standard of 1,500 employees.

Place of performance spans Bethesda, Maryland (WRNMMC), Patuxent River, Maryland (NHC Patuxent River and associated facilities), and Joint Base Andrews across Maryland, Virginia, and the District of Columbia. The contract requires recurring scheduled courier routes (Routes A–K) and 24/7/365 on-demand STAT and routine specimen pickup and delivery services. All personnel must obtain Defense Biometric Identification System (DBIDS) gate certification and current 49 CFR HAZMAT certifications before the September 20, 2026 (WRNMMC) or October 1, 2026 (Patuxent River and JBA) performance start date.

The base period runs 12 months (September 20 or October 1, 2026, through September 19 or 30, 2027) followed by four one-year option periods through September 2031. Specimens transported include blood products, tissue samples in formalin, cultures, and infectious substances. Critical performance standards require 95% on-time arrivals within 15-minute windows for recurring routes, 100% cold-chain integrity, 2-hour STAT response times for WRNMMC and 90-minute response for JBA, and notification of delays exceeding 20 minutes. The contractor must maintain fully insured vehicles compliant with Maryland, Virginia, and DC law, supply dry ice on specified routes, and provide backup drivers and vehicles to ensure uninterrupted service.

Recurring routes are firm-fixed-price monthly invoicing; on-demand services are invoiced per occurrence using Government-established rates rather than offeror-proposed pricing. Questions were due August 26, 2026. Evaluation uses a simplified trade-off process: Technical Approach (Acceptable/Unacceptable, three-page limit), Past Performance (two to three references from the past three years, weighted approximately equal to price), and Price. The Government may award to other than the lowest-priced quoter based on superior past performance and reserves the right to award without discussions.