SOLICITATION NOTICE
B -- SMOKING CESSATION FOR VETERANS-VISN 4 has a requirement to provide smoking cessation counseling services to veteran participants.
- Notice Date
- 4/28/2009
- Notice Type
- Modification/Amendment
- NAICS
- 621999
— All Other Miscellaneous Ambulatory Health Care Services
- Contracting Office
- Department of Veterans Affairs, Wilmington VAMROC, Department of Veterans Affairs Medical and Regional Office Center, Department of Veterans Affairs;Acquisition (460);1601 Kirkwood Hwy.;Wilmington DE 19805
- ZIP Code
- 19805
- Solicitation Number
- VA-244-09-RP-0161
- Response Due
- 3/16/2009
- Archive Date
- 4/15/2009
- Point of Contact
- Irene J. Mancuso302-994-2511 x7525<br />
- Small Business Set-Aside
- N/A
- Description
- DESCRIPTION/SPECIFICATIONS/WORK STATEMENT 1. Definitions: a. "Program" shall mean the tobacco cessation program as described herein. b. "Participant" shall mean those Client Eligibles (VISN 4 Veterans) who are at least 18 years old and who are enrolled in the Program. c. "Registration Specialist" means an individual employed and/or retained by the vendor Contractor who enrolls Eligibles into the Program, and are pre-screened by the contractor and appropriately trained in the contractor tobacco cessation registration practices. d. "Tobacco Treatment Specialist" means the individuals employed and/or retained by the contractor to provide telephonic support, information and counseling to Beneficiaries. Each Tobacco Treatment Specialist is pre-screened by the contractor and appropriately trained in the contractors tobacco cessation practices to provide telephonic support, information, and counseling to beneficiaries under this Contract. e. 1. Contract Officer Technical Representative (COTR): Robert Malec, VISN 4 VA Healthcare System 4 1323 North Shore Drive, Suite 400 Pittsburgh PA 15212 (412) 822-3308 2. Alternate Contract Officer Technical Representative (ACOTR) Louis Biancaniello VA Healthcare System 4 Pittsburgh, PA 15240 (412) 954-5152 f. Program Launch Date is July 1, 2009, which is the date of the Notice to Proceed. 2. GENERAL REQUIREMENTS: a. General Intention - The VISN 4 Healthcare System has a requirement for a Contractor to provide telephonic smoking cessation counseling services as described herein to veteran beneficiaries. The VA will provide pharmacotherapy to veterans enrolled as participants in this program. The telephonic smoking cessation program shall be fully operational no later than six (6) weeks from date of award of this contract. The program launch date shall be mutually agreeable to both parties, and term of contract shall be one year from issuance of Notice to Proceed. Notice to Proceed will be issued BY THE Contracting Officer on agreed upon program launch date. b. The Contractor will provide up to six (6) outbound telephone interventions, and one additional end-of-program data collection call per participant enrolled in the program. The Contractor will determine where and when the participant would like these calls to be delivered. Participants can initiate a call to the Contractor at any time during the work hours indicated and as often as he/she feels the need for additional help for twelve (12) months from the date of enrollment in the program. c. Enrollment is anticipated to be approximately 6000 veteran participants by the end of the twelve-month contract period beginning no later than two (2) months from the date of award of this contract. Veterans will be referred through entry of electronic consults to this program via VA nursing staff and providers and self-referrals who are enrolled in VISTA. Self referrals are eligible veterans who have a need to join the smoking cessation program and are listed in the VISN 4 localities. Patients may self enroll by calling a toll free number which will be answered by the contractor. However, the predominant method of referral will be by VA providers who will enter a CPRS consultation which will be accessed by the vendor who then will call the veteran. If a veteran decides not to be enrolled in the program on the first call, no enrollment will occur. If a veteran enrolls but fails to complete subsequent calls, the veteran will remain enrolled in the program as some choose to reinitiate counseling later. A veteran can only enroll once every 365 days. d. The Contractor will provide to each Participant a "quick kit" of printed materials to assist with tobacco cessation before counseling begins. A "quick kit" is all materials needed for each veteran to participate in the program as designated by the contractor providing the veteran with step-by-step instructions on how the program works and what is expected from the veteran. The kit also includes information for tobacco users about why they should quit tobacco, what steps they need to take to quit and other motivational materials which will be stage appropriate and may include materials for individuals with special needs. e. The Contractor will provide to all participants enrolled in the program a toll-free telephone access to a Registration Specialist and Tobacco Treatment Specialists employed by the Contractor within the work hours identified. f. There shall be offered to every Participant veteran six (6) counseling calls. Each counseling call will be documented as a Progress Note, the content of which will be mutually agreed upon by the Contractor and the VA during implementation planning. When an outbound counseling telephone call is attempted three (3) times without reaching the Participant, a follow-up letter will be sent to the Participant and documented as a Progress Note. All Progress Notes will be entered within two (2) business days of the contact. A Progress Note is the progress report of each individual veteran's summary of their success rate in the program. g. The Contractor will provide to participants decision support and recommendations for tobacco cessation based on criteria developed by the Contractor. After the Contractor's Tobacco Treatment Specialist assesses the need for pharmacotherapy for a veteran participant and the recommended quantity, this recommendation will be documented in the VA CPRS Progress Note which is entered to document counseling. A VA employee who has prescription privileges will be designated to enter the prescription into CPRS for the veteran. The Tobacco Treatment Specialist will notify this employee (employee's name to be furnished upon award) through having that employee listed as an "additional signer" of the Progress Note. The NRT will then be provided to the veteran through the usual VA pharmacy process. Contractor standard protocol for the nicotine patch is an eight-week course of therapy, and standard protocol for the nicotine gum is a 4- or 5-box course of therapy, depending on level of addiction. h. The Contractor will provide on-going consultation to the VA with an assigned Contractor's Client Services Manager (CSM) regarding the most effective means of marketing and distribution of the Program to veterans. i. The Contractor will provide a monthly Contractor's Participant Activity Report that includes the status of the veterans enrolled in the program for each of the 9 facilities in VISN 4 which are entering into this contract. The Contractor reserves the right to revise the format and content of the Reports for its own business reasons. j. VA will pay for all eligible individuals enrolled in the Program. Names of all enrollees will be made available by the Contractor for a cross-check by the VA. k. The VA will develop with Contractor and carry out a mutually agreeable recruitment plan to encourage self-referrals of eligible veterans to the Program. l. The Contractor shall provide all hardware, software, peripherals, communications lines, maintenance and equipment as mutually agreed by the parties and necessary to access the VISTA system. The Contractor shall be responsible for installation and maintenance of the network infrastructure within the facility including, but not limited to, cabling located inside the walls of the structure. The Contractor shall provide necessary antivirus software for PC's and ensure that data definition files are current. In addition, the Contractor will ensure that all Microsoft critical updates and patches are current. The Contractor will provide connectivity to the Internet via cable modem, DSL or T1 circuits and provide firewall security for this circuit. Connectivity to the VA will be through a VA VPN account utilizing Contractor provided Internet Service Provider (ISP). The Contractor shall be responsible for obtaining a One-VA client VPN account and software to be provided at no charge by the VA. The Contractor shall be responsible for maintenance and on-going technical support for all local network hardware and communications lines installed in support of this contract. The Contractor is responsible for all long distance phone charges related to the use of Contractor installed data lines. m. The Contractor will be required to provide the specific requirements for all of the ten (10) listed items: (1.) Ability to provide intense smoking cessation counseling via the telephone to a large population of smokers. (2). Ability to initiate the program throughout the healthcare system within 2 months of award of the contract. (3). Capable of assessing degree of nicotine dependence and making recommendation about pharmacotherapy for smoking cessation. (4.) Extensive experience in smoking cessation telephonic interventions that would indicate a high chance of success with patients, many of whom who have smoked for many years (5). Evidence of prior success showing smoking cessation one year quit rates that exceed 20%. Evidence of this success should include counting all smokers who enter counseling in the denominator and those who report being totally tobacco free 1 year later as the numerator (also known as intent to treat). Evidence of success should be available in scientific publications based on randomized controlled trials by authors who conducted investigations with the vendor, such that there is high confidence that the rate of tobacco cessation claimed is accurate and conclusions about the success of the program is valid. (6). Ability and track record of ability to work with a large complex geographically disperse organization (7). Counselors who have competency in providing counseling to economically disadvantaged populations and to a population with high prevalence of racial minorities. (8). A well developed approach and evidence of success in recruiting smokers to make a quit attempt with the assistance of telephonic counseling (9). Willingness to document smoking counseling in the VA electronic medical record system. (10). Ability to track quit rates on an ongoing basis and provides frequent data to the VAPHS regarding the number of enrolled patients and employees, and quit rates during the program, at the end of counseling, and after 1 year. Significant interactive discussion" between the vendor's counselors and veterans are required..
- Web Link
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- Place of Performance
- Address: Mutual use of health care resources provided by;the contractor to the VISN 4 Veterans. Locations;are: Philadelphia PA, Coatesville PA, Erie PA,;Wilkes-Barre PA, Wilmington DE, Butler PA,;Clarksburg PA, Altoona PA, and Lebanon PA,<br />
- Zip Code: 19805<br />
- Zip Code: 19805<br />
- Record
- SN01803926-W 20090430/090428221517-52e9152c4b5996b715c527f7d5c5f37d (fbodaily.com)
- Source
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