SOLICITATION NOTICE
R -- Grand Rounds for Rural Mental Health: A Telehealth Training Project
- Notice Date
- 4/20/2004
- Notice Type
- Solicitation Notice
- NAICS
- 541990
— All Other Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services
- Contracting Office
- Department of Health and Human Services, Program Support Center, Division of Acquisition Management, Parklawn Building Room 5-101 5600 Fishers Lane, Rockville, MD, 20857
- ZIP Code
- 20857
- Solicitation Number
- Reference-Number-04m000132
- Response Due
- 5/4/2004
- Point of Contact
- Darren Jansen, Contract Specialist, Phone 301-443-1857, Fax 301-443-3238, - Joe Pirrone, Contracting Officer, Phone 301-443-4852, Fax 301-443-3238,
- E-Mail Address
-
djansen@psc.gov, jpirrone@psc.gov
- Description
- SIMPLIFIED ACQUISITION PROCEDURES DATE: APRIL 20, 2004 REQUISITION NO: 04M000132 INTENDED SOURCE: WESTERN INTERSTATE COMMISSION FOR HIGHER EDUCATION (WICHE) PERIOD OF PERFORMANCE: DATE OF AWARD THROUGH TWELVE MONTHS PURPOSE: THE DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES, OFFICE OF PUBLIC HEALTH SERVICES, SUBSTANCE ABUSE AND MENTAL HEALTH SERVICES ADMINISTRATION , THROUGH THE PROGRAM SUPPORT CENTER, PLANS TO AWARD A SOLE SOURCE SIMPLIFIED ACQUISITION TO WICHE. CLOSING DATE IS MAY 4, 2004. THE SPECIFIC OBJECTIVE OF THIS PROCUREMENT IS: CONSISTENT WITH THE MISSION OF SAMHSA/CMHS AND THE RECOMMENDATIONS OF THE PRESIDENT?S NEW FREEDOM COMMISSION ON MENTAL HEALTH REPORT, ACHIEVING THE PROMISE: TRANSFORMING MENTAL HEALTH CARE IN AMERICA, TO ADDRESS THE NEEDS OF PROVIDERS OF MENTAL HEALTH IN RURAL AMERICA, SAMHSA/CMHS PROPOSES A VIRTUAL GRAND ROUNDS SERIES, CONDUCTED VIA ELECTRONIC WEBCAST, TO PROVIDE RURAL AND FRONTIER MENTAL HEALTH AND HEALTH PRACTITIONERS WITH ACCESS TO TRAINING ON KEY TOPICS EMERGENT IN MENTAL HEALTH PRACTICE TODAY. THE WEBCAST FORMAT WILL PROVIDE FOR REAL-TIME AND ASYNCHRONOUS TRAINING OPPORTUNITIES AND CREATE, OVER TIME, AN ARCHIVE OF TRAINING MATERIAL FOR THE FIELD. BACKGROUND: THE SUBSTANCE ABUSE AND MENTAL HEALTH SERVICES ADMINISTRATION(SAMHSA) WAS CREATED IN 1992 TO WORK IN PARTNERSHIP WITH STATES TO IMPROVE PREVENTION, TREATMENT AND REHABILITATION SERVICES FOR INDIVIDUALS WITH MENTAL HEALTH ISSUES AND SUBSTANCE ABUSE DISORDERS. WITHIN SAMHSA THE CENTER FOR MENTAL HEALTH SERVICES (CMHS) PROVIDES NATIONAL LEADERSHIP AND DIRECTION FOR POLICIES, PROGRAMS AND ACTIVITIES DESIGNED TO IMPROVE MENTAL HEALTH PREVENTION AND TREATMENT FOR SERVICES FOR PEOPLE WITH MENTAL HEALTH ISSUES AND THEIR FAMILIES, AND PEOPLE AT RISK OF MENTAL ILLNESS, STATE AND LOCAL LEVELS TO IMPROVE AND ENHANCE MENTAL HEALTH TREATMENT, ILLNESS PREVENTION, AND SUPPORT SERVICES PLACING THEM WITHIN THE REACH OF ALL AMERICANS, INCLUDING THOSE WHO RESIDE IN RURAL AREAS. WORKFORCE SHORTAGES IN MENTAL HEALTH ARE A NATIONAL PROBLEM AND PARTICULARLY SEVERE IN LARGELY RURAL STATES. AN ESTIMATED 60 MILLION AMERICANS LIVE IN RURAL AREAS OF AMERICA AND THE RATES OF MENTAL DISORDERS ARE NO LESS THAN IN URBAN OR SUBURBAN AREAS. THE PRESIDENT?S NEW FREEDOM COMMISSION ON MENTAL HEALTH INCLUDED IN THEIR FINAL REPORT A SUBCOMMITTEE REPORT ON UNIQUE PROBLEMS IN MENTAL HEALTH CARE FACING AMERICANS LIVING IN RURAL OR FRONTIER REGION. THE COMMITTEE IDENTIFIED SEVERAL KEY ISSUES WITH RESPECT TO MENTAL HEALTH IN RURAL AMERICA: a. THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT LACKS A CONSISTENTLY APPLIED DEFINITION OF RURAL AMERICA. b. THERE ARE CRITICAL GAPS IN ACCESSIBILITY TO SERVICES. c. THERE ARE CRITICAL SHORTAGES IN THE AVAILABILITY OF PROVIDERS AND PROGRAMS. d. ACCEPTABILITY OF CARE IS OFTEN IMPAIRED DUE TO URBAN-BASED MODELS AND STRATEGIES. e. A CLEARLY DEFINED PLAN TO ADDRESS OUT-STANDING RURAL MENTAL HEALTH DISPARITIES DOES NOT EXIST. f. MENTAL HEALTH POLICY IS ROUTINELY ESTABLISHED WITHOUT CONSIDERATION OF ITS RURAL IMPACT. DIFFERENT GOVERNMENT AGENCIES USE DIFFERENT DEFINITIONS OF RURAL, TYPICALLY BASED ON POPULATION DENSITY AND/OR SOCIOECONOMIC FACTORS. RURAL AMERICA IS OFTEN VIEWED AND DEFINED BY WHAT IT LACKS. FOR INSTANCE: OVER 85% OF THE 1669 FEDERALLY DESIGNATED MENTAL HEALTH PROFESSIONAL SHORTAGE AREAS (MHPSAS) ARE RURAL; MORE THAN 60% OF RURAL AMERICANS LIVE IN MHPSAS; OVER 90% OF ALL PSYCHOLOGISTS AND PSYCHIATRISTS, AND 80% OF MSWS, WORK EXCLUSIVELY IN METROPOLITAN AREAS. THE RATIO OF THESE PROVIDERS TO THE POPULATION WORSENS AS RURALITY INCREASES. MORE THAN 65% OF RURAL AMERICANS GET THEIR MENTAL HEALTH CARE FROM THEIR PRIMARY CARE PROVIDER. WORKFORCE SHORTAGES ARE WORSE FOR SPECIALTY AREAS (E.G., CHILDREN?S MENTAL HEALTH, OLDER ADULT MENTAL HEALTH) AND WERE IDENTIFIED AS A HOLE IN THE SAFETY NET IN A RECENT REPORT TO THE SECRETARY OF THE DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES. FOR THE LAST 50 YEARS SIMILAR REPORTS HAVE DISCUSSED THE PERVASIVE PERCEPTION OF PROFESSIONAL ISOLATION AMONG RURAL AND FRONTIER MENTAL HEALTH PROFESSIONALS, THE LACK OF SPECIFIC PRE-SERVICE TRAINING TO PREPARE FOR RURAL PRACTICE, AND LACK OF ON-GOING ACCESS TO CONTINUING EDUCATION AND PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT OPPORTUNITIES. STATEMENT OF WORK: SPECIFIC REQUIREMENTS: TASK 1. THE CONTRACTOR SHALL SUBMIT A COMPLETE AND DETAILED WORK PLAN DESIGNED TO MEET THE PURPOSE AND OBJECTIVES OF THE CONTRACT AND TO CARRY OUT ITS SPECIFIC DELINEATED TASK. TASK 2. THE CONTRACTOR WILL DEVELOP A SERIES OF RURAL MENTAL HEALTH TRAINING SESSIONS ON 8 KEY TOPICS. THE CONTRACTOR WILL DELIVER THESE TRAINING SESSIONS THROUGH EIGHT (8), 90-MINUTE WEBCASTS. EACH WEBCAST SHALL BE PRESENTED WITH SUPPORTING MATERIALS AND SHALL FOCUS ON A KEY TOPIC OF INTEREST TO MENTAL HEALTH PROVIDERS IN RURAL AMERICA. THE WEBCASTS SHALL TAKE PLACE OVER A PERIOD OF 12 MONTHS. SIX OF THE 8 TOPICS TO BE USED IN THE TRAINING/WEBCASTS HAVE BEEN SELECTED BY THE GOVERNMENT (BELOW) AND ARE IN ACCORDANCE WITH SPECIFIC NEEDS AND RECOMMENDATIONS OF THE NEW FREEDOM COMMISSION. THE OTHER TWO TOPICS MAY BE RECOMMENDED BY THE CONTRACTOR FOR GPO APPROVAL. YOUTH VIOLENCE PREVENTION AND INTERVENTION. SCREENING FOR DEPRESSION AND SUICIDE. ASSESSMENT & TREATMENT OF MENTAL HEALTH ISSUES IN THE PRIMARY CARE SETTING. UNDERSTANDING RURAL VALUES AND CULTURE AND THE IMPACT ON MENTAL HEALTH PRACTICE. BUILDING CHILD AND FAMILY SYSTEMS OF CARE IN RURAL AREAS OLDER ADULT MENTAL HEALTH ASSESSMENT AND TREATMENT. TASK 3. THE CONTRACTOR SHALL MAKE TRAINING SESSIONS AVAILABLE THROUGH A LIVE INTERACTIVE WEBCAST AND EACH TRAINING SHALL BE STORED FOR ASYNCHRONOUS VIEWING. THE WEBCAST FORMAT SHALL MAKE USE OF BROADCAST SCALABILITY AND FLEXIBLE MODES OF DELIVERY SO AS TO REACH THE MAXIMUM NUMBER OF PARTICIPANTS. THE LIVE WEBCAST SHALL BE ADDED TO THE EXISTING WICHE WEBSITE BY ADDITION TO THE URL ADDRESS OF THE BROADCAST. DURING THE LIVE BROADCAST PARTICIPANTS WILL BE ABLE TO OFFER COMMENTS AND ASK THE PRESENTER QUESTIONS VIA REAL-TIME CHAT OR EMAIL . TASK 4. A. THE CONTRACTOR SHALL SEEK PERMISSION FROM HRSA FOR ASYNCHRONOUS VIEWING THROUGH THE WEBSITE WWW.RACONLINE.ORG SPONSORED BY THE OFFICE OF RURAL HEALTH POLICY. B. THE CONTRACTOR SHALL SEEK PERMISSION TO LINK STORED TRAINING MATERIALS TO OTHER RELEVANT NATIONAL WEBSITES, E.G., NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF STATE MENTAL HEALTH DIRECTORS, NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF RURAL HEALTH, NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF RURAL MENTAL HEALTH. C. MATERIALS RELEVANT TO THE TOPIC WILL BE AVAILABLE ELECTRONICALLY NO LESS THAN 1 WEEK PRIOR TO EACH WEBCAST. D. THERE SHALL BE NO COST TO PARTICIPANTS TO ACCESS THE WEBCAST OR SUPPORTING MATERIALS AT ANYTIME DURING THE LIFE OF THE CONTRACT. TASK 5. THE CONTRACTOR SHALL ESTABLISH A RURAL/FRONTIER MENTAL HEALTH ELECTRONIC TRAINING/EDUCATION ARCHIVE AVAILABLE FOR 24/7 ACCESS FROM THE WICHE WEBSITE. TASK 6. CONTRACTOR SHALL PROVIDE FOR AN ON-LINE EVALUATION AT THE END OF EACH WEBCAST. THE EVALUATION IS TO DETERMINE THE EFFECTIVENESS OF THE BROADCAST AND PROVIDE DATA/INFORMATION FOR IMPROVEMENT(S). THE PROPOSED EVALUATION STRATEGY SHOULD BE APPROVED BY THE GPO PRIOR TO FINALIZING AND IMPLEMENTING. TASK 7. CONTRACTOR SHALL PROVIDE MARKETING FOR THE WEBCAST GRAND ROUND SERIES IN COLLABORATION WITH THE STATE MENTAL HEALTH AGENCIES, THE NATION ASSOCIATION FOR RURAL MENTAL HEALTH, THE NATIONAL RURAL HEALTH ASSOCIATION, CONTACT WITH THE HRSA OFFICE OF RURAL HEALTH POLICY, FEDERATION OF FAMILIES, FAMILY NETWORK GRANTEES, SAMHSA GRANT SITES AND OTHERS. MARKETING WILL BE BY NETWORKING, TELECOMMUNICATION, NATIONAL AND REGIONAL MEETINGS, AND WHEN APPROPRIATE MAIL AND FAX. TASK 8. THE CONTRACTOR WILL SUBMIT 3 QUARTERLY REPORTS AND 1 FINAL REPORT TO THE GPO. THE CONTRACTOR SHALL PROVIDE 3 COPIES OF ALL REPORTS. TASK 9. THE CONTRACTOR SHALL PROVIDE NO FEWER THAN 10 COPIES OF EACH WEBCAST ON CD TO THE GPO. THESE COPIES WILL BE MADE AVAILABLE FOR DISTRIBUTION BY SAMHSA. SOLE SOURCE JUSTIFICATION: WICHE IS A FEDERALLY CHARTERED INTERSTATE COMPACT FOR HIGHER EDUCATION, FOUNDED IN 1953, AND SERVES A SIMPLE, STRAIGHTFORWARD MISSION: TO PROVIDE THE CITIZENS OF THE MEMBER STATES WITH EXPANDED ACCESS TO HIGH-QUALITY POST-SECONDARY EDUCATION, AND TO DO SO BY PROMOTING INNOVATION, COOPERATION, RESOURCE SHARING, AND SOUND PUBLIC POLICY AMONG OUR STATES AND INSTITUTIONS. WICHE DOES SO NOT FOR THE SAKE OF WESTERN HIGHER EDUCATION, BUT FOR THE SAKE OF THE REGION?S SOCIAL, ECONOMIC, AND CIVIC LIFE, WHICH WILL THRIVE ONLY IF WE PROVIDE BROAD ACCESS TO EXCELLENT HIGHER EDUCATION IN THE REGION. THE WICHE FOUNDERS BELIEVED A HEALTHY MIND, AND THUS ACCESS TO MENTAL HEALTH CARE, WAS AN ESSENTIAL COMPONENT IN PROMOTING THIS MISSION. THE MENTAL HEALTH PROGRAM WAS AMONG THE FIRST PROGRAMS ESTABLISHED BY THE COMMISSION, AND BEGAN OPERATIONS IN 1955. THE WICHE MENTAL HEALTH PROGRAM SERVES AS A TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE AND EVALUATION CENTER, WITH NEARLY A HALF-CENTURY OF EXPERTISE IN RESPONDING TO BEHAVIORAL HEALTH ISSUES. IT COLLABORATES WITH EXPERTS IN THE FIELD TO IDENTIFY AND DISSEMINATE BEST PRACTICES IN MENTAL HEALTH AND SUPPORTS PUBLIC BEHAVIORAL HEALTH SYSTEMS IN PROGRAM EVALUATION, CLINICAL PERFORMANCE MEASUREMENT, AND DATA DRIVEN DECISION SUPPORT. THE WICHE MENTAL HEALTH PROGRAM HAS FOCUSED ON THE TRAINING NEEDS OF THE MENTAL HEALTH WORKFORCE IN THE WEST AS A MAJOR PART OF ITS AGENDA FOR MORE THAN FORTY YEARS. SINCE THE EARLY 1980S THE WICHE MENTAL HEALTH PROGRAM HAS BEEN WORKING TO IMPROVE RELATIONSHIPS BETWEEN PUBLIC MENTAL HEALTH SYSTEMS AND HIGHER EDUCATION. WICHE WAS AT THE FOREFRONT OF PUBIC-ACADEMIC LINKAGE (PAL) PROJECTS. THESE PROJECTS INCLUDED EMPHASES ON CURRICULUM DEVELOPMENT RESPONSIVE TO THE MISSION OF PUBLIC MENTAL HEALTH; RESEARCH LED BY ACADEMIA WITH THE OBJECTIVE TO TRANSLATE FINDINGS INTO PRACTICE; TELECOMMUNICATION STRATEGIES TO EXTEND UNIVERSITY-BASED EXPERTISE TO PRACTICING MENTAL HEALTH PROFESSIONALS IN THE RURAL WEST; AND THE DEVELOPMENT OF CURRICULA FOR TWO-YEAR COLLEGES TO BETTER SERVE THE WORKFORCE NEEDS OF THEIR PARTICULAR COMMUNITIES. AS AN INTERSTATE COMPACT ORGANIZATION, WICHE IS A REGIONAL GOVERNMENTAL ENTITY AND HAS A GOVERNMENT-TO-GOVERNMENT RELATIONSHIP WITH OUR MEMBER STATES. THE WICHE MHP IS UNIQUE IN THIS INTEGRATED LINKAGE TO STATE GOVERNMENTS, STATE MENTAL HEALTH AUTHORITIES, AND HIGHER EDUCATION IN THE WEST, AND AFFORDS A VERY EFFECTIVE FOUNDATION TO BUILD WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT EFFORTS. THE WESTERN COOPERATIVE FOR EDUCATIONAL TELECOMMUNICATION (WCET) IS A PARALLEL WICHE PROGRAM. AN INTERNATIONALLY RECOGNIZED LEADER IN THE USE OF TELECOMMUNICATIONS IN HIGHER EDUCATION, THE RESOURCES OF WCET ARE ESPECIALLY UNIQUE TO THE PROJECT PROPOSED TO CMHS, AND ADD A LEVEL OF EXPERTISE SIMPLY UNAVAILABLE TO MOST ORGANIZATIONS THROUGH DIRECT RELATIONSHIP. THE PROPOSED SIMPLIFIED ACQUISITION IS FOR SERVICES FOR WHICH THE GOVERNMENT INTENDS TO SOLICIT AND NEGOTIATE WITH ONLY ONE SOURCE (FAR 6.302-1). A DETERMINATION BY THE GOVERNMENT NOT TO COMPETE THIS PROPOSED SIMPLIFIED ACQUISITION BASED UPON RESPONSES TO THIS NOTICE IS SOLELY WITHIN THE DISCRETION OF THE GOVERNMENT. CONTRACTORS MAY FORWARD CAPABILITY STATEMENTS TO THE REFERENCED ADDRESS. INFORMATION RECEIVED WILL NORMALLY BE CONSIDERED SOLELY FOR THE PURPOSES OF DETERMINING WHETHER TO CONDUCT A COMPETITIVE PROCUREMENT. FOR FURTHER INFORMATION, PLEASE CONTACT DARREN JANSEN, IN ROOM 5C-13, PARKLAWN BLDG., 5600 FISHERS LANE, ROCKVILLE, MD 20857 OR ON 301-443-1857.
- Record
- SN00569175-W 20040422/040420211706 (fbodaily.com)
- Source
-
FedBizOpps.gov Link to This Notice
(may not be valid after Archive Date)
| FSG Index | This Issue's Index | Today's FBO Daily Index Page |