Loren Data's SAM Daily™

FBO DAILY ISSUE OF AUGUST 26, 2011 FBO #3562
DOCUMENT

D -- CLASS VIA SATELITE SERVICES - Attachment

Notice Date

8/24/2011
 

Notice Type

Attachment
 

NAICS

518210 — Data Processing, Hosting, and Related Services
 

Contracting Office

Department of Veteran Affairs;SAO east;PCAE STL Contracting Officer;#1 Jefferson Barracks Dr;Saint Louis MO 63125
 

ZIP Code

63125
 

Solicitation Number

VA77711RQ0554
 

Response Due

9/7/2011
 

Archive Date

10/7/2011
 

Point of Contact

William Singleton
 

Small Business Set-Aside

N/A
 

Description

This is a combined synopsis/solicitation for commercial items prepared in accordance with the format in Subpart 12.6, and 13.106, as supplemented with additional information included in this notice. This announcement constitutes the only solicitation; proposals are being requested and a written solicitation will not be issued; The provisions and clauses incorporated herein are those in effect through Federal Acquisition Circular 2005-23, effective June 12, 2008. The Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center/Employee Education Resource Center, St. Louis, MO proposes to enter into a firm fixed price, competitive commercial. This solicitation is unrestricted and The North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) is 517420 and the small business size standard is $15.0 million. The purpose of this contract is to provide monthly satellite broadcasts on current Joint Commission topics by Joint Commission trained staff. The vendor must provide Continiung Education Units (CEUs), a website for VA staff to access post-tests. RESPONSES ARE DUE WEDNESDAY, September 7, 2011 by 4:00pm Eastern Time. E-Mail to: William.Singleton2@va.gov PERFORMANCE WORK STATEMENT 1. Title of Project: 2011 Joint Commission Topical Education 2.0. Scope of Work: The contractor shall provide live interactive satellite educational offerings/services that are geared to the healthcare industry. All such Continuing Education (CE) programs shall be current and accredited by the appropriate accrediting healthcare bodies as outlined herein. Some examples of these bodies are: Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education American Association for Respiratory Care American Health Information Management Association American Society of Radiological Technologists Continuing Education Coordinating Board for Emergency Medical Services Certifying Board for Dietary Managers Dietary Managers Association American Nurses Credentialing Center Accreditation Council on Pharmacy Education American Dietetic Association National Association of Healthcare Quality American College of Healthcare Executives 2.1. CEU is defined as a Continuing Education Unit that has been issued in response to a healthcare professional participating in an accredited program and satisfactorily completing the Post Test & Program Evaluation Form that accompanies each of the programs. Healthcare professionals will record their answers and comments on an optical reader form included in the handout material and submit the form to the contractor for scoring. Credit and a certificate of completion will be issued to individuals receiving a passing score on the post test, by the contractor, within six weeks of form submission. 2.2. Contractor shall provide education programs through the VA's digital satellite network hereafter called VA Knowledge Network (VAKN). Programs are to be delivered throughout the 2011 calendar year. The Department of Veterans Affairs, Veterans Health Administration (VHA) is seeking educational programs that are accredited and provided in a live, interactive satellite format utilizing a combination of Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations (JCAHO) personnel, JCAHO trained surveyors and other healthcare professionals as subject matter experts to analyze, discuss, demonstrate and interpret regulations, and articulate successful compliance of JCAHO strategies to its viewers 3. Background: 3.1. Employee Education System (EES) Services is the largest VA provider for employee education satellite services. As a recognized Veterans Health Administration (VHA) leader and trendsetter in media services, EES delivers the highest quality products using a wide array of media to meet customer expectations. The traditional paper printing methods coupled with the technology advancements in distance learning such as satellite offerings are leveraged to create products in alternative formats to meet the diverse customer needs. As the VHA key source, EES assists it's customers in the conceptual design, media selection, production scheduling, contract specification development, performance monitoring, and delivery through various channels. 3.2. Meeting and maintaining Accredited Status for VHA healthcare facilities is essentially a function of their ability to meet the ongoing requirements and standards of the Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations (JCAHO). The JCAHO reviews each facility through a formal and extensive on-site survey process every three years. This requires an extensive commitment of both staff and financial resources to maintain the necessary educational levels to be successful in the survey process. Maintaining continuous survey readiness is imperative. Medical technological changes are occurring with mind-boggling speed and frequency. 3.3. Staying abreast of the latest changes in treatment modalities, techniques and regulations not only provide a healthcare environment that keeps the patients healthier, but it also helps mitigate risk inherent in the medical profession. The use of satellite education system enables a much larger percentage of the VHA workforce to receive technical and professional training on a regular basis. A live and interactive televised broadcast provides a communications tool to deliver the most current information and allows viewers to interact with the JCAHO faculty experts. The Department of Veterans Affairs Employee Education System (EES) seeks to provide a series of twelve programs on topics directly relevant to the current JCAHO standards. These sixty minute programs feature a combination of JCAHO personnel, JCAHO trained surveyors and healthcare subject matter professionals on JCAHO curriculum and content. 4. Period of Performance: The period of performance shall be one year from date of award, plus an additional four-one year options. The government has the right to accept or refuse option years. 4.1. Government Recognized Holidays. Unless specifically authorized in writing by the Contracting Officer, no services will be provided and no charges will be incurred and/or billed to any order on this contract on any of the Federal Holidays listed below. New Years Day Labor Day Martin Luther King DayColumbus Day Presidents' DayVeterans' Day Memorial DayThanksgiving Day Independence DayChristmas Day 5. Place of Performance: Work shall be performed at the contractor's site. 6. Type of Contract: The Government anticipates award of a Firm Fixed-Price contract. 7. Contract Award Meeting: The contractor shall not commence performance on the tasks in this PWS until the Contracting Officer has conducted a kick off meeting, or has advised the contractor that a kick off meeting is waived. 8.0. General Requirements: The contractor's fee shall cover all costs of servicing satellite-receiving equipment at the St. Louis, Employee Education Service Satellite Uplink Center that includes the following: "1.2 meter or larger satellite earth station (dish) "A permanently mounted dish with sufficient ballast rated for stability up to 90 miles per hour wind speeds "Two (2) integrated receiver/decoders and up to 150 feet of coaxial cable connecting the dish to the IRD 8.1. With the exception of negligence on the part of the Center or its employees, Contractor shall replace the Equipment that it provides, at Contractor's expense, due to failure or damage. This includes repair and replacement parts and labor. Equipment shall be maintained and repaired by the Contractor, who shall perform on-site maintenance if necessary. Contractor shall maintain on its staff at least one full-time employee to facilitate solving technical issues with the Equipment. The individual should be available one hour before and after, during all satellite broadcasts, via a toll-free telephone number. The Contractor shall perform intensive maintenance, such as work on the receiving dish or the cabling, only after the prior approval of the COTR or Senior Engineer at the Center. 8.2. The contractor shall demonstrate that there is good signal strength and that a clean signal is being received at the Center. Contractor shall maintain reception diagnostic capability at its broadcast headquarters to mirror exactly what the Center is receiving over its satellite equipment. Contractor's technical support personnel on call shall have access to all necessary encryption authorization to reauthorize the Center should it be unable to receive broadcasts. The contractor shall warrant the Equipment and the broadcast signal to be operational for the hours listed in the published schedule. 8.3. The contractor shall supply outage credits for times when: "The contractor is not able to broadcast a signal in accordance with the published program schedule. "The contractor's signal cannot be received or contains sufficient interference to preclude its effective use. 8.4. The situation immediately above must exist for at least 48 continuous hours before outage credits apply. Outage credits shall be in the form of program copies of past programs on videotape provided at no charge. Such outages shall not be considered sufficient grounds for termination of the contract. Task 1: The contractor shall provide a monthly recurring Joint Commission distance education educational programs with accompanying handouts throughout Calendar Year 2011. These programs will be delivered via satellite and broadcast over the VA Knowledge Network (VAKN), a digital satellite network to the nationwide VHA facilities beginning the date of contract award and ending December 2011. Contractor programs are provided in a live, interactive, satellite format utilizing a combination of JCAHO personnel, JCAHO trained surveyors and other healthcare professionals to analyze, discuss, demonstrate and interpret regulations, and articulate successful compliance strategies to its viewers. Contractor's programming shall include coverage on JCAHO Standards for all major hospital staff elements: Administration, Physician, Nurses, Nurse Aide, Medical Records, Medical Technology, Pharmacy, Physical Therapy, Physicians Assistant, Respiratory Therapy, Occupational Therapy, Emergency Medical Technicians, Social Work, Housekeeping, and Maintenance. Each program shall be developed with a multidisciplinary approach in an Educational Design, Level One format (Instructor Lead). Programming shall be held every month held throughout the calendar year. The programs shall be an average of 60 minutes in length and each program shall be accredited for 1.0 Contact Hour minimum, by a nationally recognized accreditation body for a period of one year for the maximum CE allowed within that professional discipline for the developed satellite content. Within 10 days prior to broadcast, provide Project Manager an e-copy of the handouts, promotional poster/calendar for marketing broadcast and other required supporting material for posting to VA Learning Catalog Deliverable 1.1: Provide a monthly interactive instructor-led closed captioned satellite delivered educational program. Deliverable 1.2: Provide the EES Project Manager with a complete list of program topics and dates for the current year's broadcasts as well as the Contractors contact information for their Educational Consultant point of contact. Task 2: Contractor shall provide an online reporting system so COTR and EES Program Manager are able to pull participants attendance and usage data. Deliverable 2: Contractor shall provide quarterly participant usage reports to the COTR and EES Program Manager. Report shall include VHA facility location, city, state, total number of registered viewers per monthly topic, and cumulative hours of CME provided by facility per quarter. Reports are due no later than the 30th day of the following month (April, July, October, and January) Task 3: The Contractor will provide, install and maintain the necessary reception equipment and the signal for each Joint Commission Topical Education broadcast to the VA's Employee Education System (EES) Broadcast Center (the Center) in St. Louis, Missouri. The Center will be responsible for retransmission of the content broadcast in real time to VHA Medical Facilities. The Contractor's liability for the delivery of the broadcast to the VAMC sites will end at the point of demarcation, a clear broadcast signal of the JCSN program at the Center. The Contractor shall test the Equipment and train the Center's operators within 30 calendar days after award. The contractor shall identify in writing any requirements that cannot be met within the required 30 day delivery time. Satellite receiving equipment will be installed (if necessary) and tested two weeks prior to the broadcast date of the first program. Deliverable 3: Provide COTR and EES Project Manager a report of findings within 15 days after testing and equipment installation. 9.0. Quality Control: The contractor shall develop and maintain an effective quality control program to ensure services are performed in accordance with this PWS. The contractor shall develop and implement procedures to identify, prevent, and ensure non-recurrence of defective services. The contractor's quality control program is the means that the work complies with the requirement of the contract. As a minimum, the contractor shall develop quality control procedures that address the areas identified in Attachment 1, Quality Assurance Surveillance Plan (QASP). After acceptance of the quality control plan the contractor shall receive the contracting officer's acceptance in writing of any proposed change to the Quality Control system. 10. Formal Acceptance or Rejection of Deliverables: The Government will review each deliverable and provide feedback/comments. The contractor shall have five business days to incorporate feedback/comments and make appropriate revisions. The contractor shall provide the revised version of each deliverable to the Contracting Officer's Technical Representative (COTR). The COTR will review and determine final acceptance by the Government. The COTR will notify the contractor of final acceptance within five business days. 11. Changes to the PWS: Any changes to this PWS shall be authorized and approved only through written correspondence from the Contracting Officer. A copy of each change will be kept in a project folder along with all other products of the project. Costs incurred by the contractor through the actions of parties other than the Contracting Officer shall be borne by the contractor. 12. Contractor Reporting Requirements: 12.1. The contractor shall submit a monthly progress report addressing the status of all active efforts. The official reporting for order compliance shall be these monthly reports due on the fifth day of each month. The reports will cover progress made for the prior month. At the conclusion of each task, the contractor shall provide a written memo documenting task completion. 12.2. The monthly progress report shall also identify any problems that may have arisen and an explanation of how each problem was resolved, or where not resolved, a plan for how the problem will be resolved. 12.3. The contractor shall take minutes of all formal conference calls and/or meetings held with the Project Manager. Copies of these minutes shall be attached to the next monthly progress report. 12.4. Monthly progress reports shall contain, but are not limited to, the following: 12.4.1. Status summary 12.4.2. Change request status (new, open, closed since last report) 12.4.3. Issue status (new, open, and closed since last report) 12.4.4. Schedule status 12.4.5. The contractor shall notify the Project Manager, COTR and Contracting Officer, in writing, if problems arise that could adversely impact the performance of the order. 13. TRAVEL: 13.1. Travel and per diem is a cost reimbursable item and shall be reimbursed in accordance with VA/Federal Travel Regulations (FTR). Each contractor invoice must include copies of ALL receipts that support the travel costs claimed in the invoice. The contractor is only entitled to actual cost spent while on travel that falls within the perimeters as set forth within the FTR, to include food. Travel must be pre-approved by the COTR. Travel must be priced separately in the price schedule. Local travel within a 50-mile radius from the contractor's facility is considered the cost of doing business and will not be reimbursed. This includes travel, subsistence, and associated labor charges for travel time. Travel performed for personal convenience and daily travel to and from work at the contractor's facility will not be reimbursed. Travel, subsistence, and associated labor charges for travel time for travel beyond a 50-mile radius of the contractor's facility are authorized on a case-by-case basis and must be pre-approved by the COTR. Estimated LocationsEstimated number of trips per contract periodEstimated number of contractor personnel per tripEstimated number of days per trip St. Louis, MO113 plus (2 days travel) 14. GOVERNMENT RESPONSIBILITIES [If applicable] [Tells what the Government will provide, for example: office space, telephone service, and Government-furnished equipment; and procedural guides, reference materials and program documentation.] 15. CONTRACTOR EXPERIENCE REQUIREMENTS - KEY PERSONNEL 15.1. These skilled experienced professional and/or technical personnel are essential for successful contractor accomplishment of the work to be performed under this contract and subsequent task orders and option. These are defined as key personnel and are those persons whose resumes were submitted. The contractor agrees that the key personnel shall not be removed, diverted, or replaced from work without approval of the CO and COTR. 15.2. Any personnel the contractor offers as substitutes shall have the ability and qualifications equal to or better than the key personnel being replaced. Requests to substitute personnel shall be approved by the COTR and the CO. All requests for approval of substitutions in personnel shall be submitted to the COTR and the CO within 30 calendar days prior to making any change in key personnel. The request shall be written and provide a detailed explanation of the circumstances necessitating the proposed substitution. The contractor shall submit a complete resume for the proposed substitute, any changes to the rate specified in the order (as applicable) and any other information requested by the CO needed to approve or disapprove the proposed substitution. The CO will evaluate such requests and promptly notify the contractor of approval or disapproval thereof in writing. 16. Confidentiality and Disclosure: 16.1. It is agreed that: 16.1.2. The preliminary and final deliverables, and all associated working papers, application source code, and other material deemed relevant by VA which have been generated by the contractor in the performance of this contract, are the exclusive property of the U.S. Government and shall be submitted to the Contracting Officer at the conclusion of the contract. VHA facilities will be at liberty to duplicate the handouts and supporting materials as needed within the facility for distribution. The content of these handouts and supporting materials will include program objectives, program outline, faculty biographies and sections covering the case studies in the program, post-test/audience evaluation forms, and all necessary documents for participants to receive continuing education credit. The VHA will be allowed to record and rebroadcast each program and place a digital copy on the VAKN/CDN website at their discretion for a period of one year from the original broadcast date. 16.1.3. The Contracting Officer will be the sole authorized official to release, verbally or in writing, any data, draft deliverables, final deliverables, or any other written or printed materials pertaining to this contract. No information shall be released by the contractor. Any request for information relating to this contract, presented to the contractor, shall be submitted to the Contracting Officer for response. 16.1.4. Press releases, marketing material, or any other printed or electronic documentation related to this project, shall not be publicized without the written approval of the Contracting Officer. All Contractors MUST be registered and in good standing with the following: CCR (www.ccr.gov) ORCA (orca.bpn.gov) D&B (www.dnb.com) *Must have SQR rating of 6 or better Business Partner Network (www.bpn.gov) Vets 100 (www.vets100.com) ) *If veteran owned business Vet Biz (www.vetbiz.gov) *If veteran owned business CONTRACTORS ARE ENCOURAGED TO REGISTER AT the eCMS Vendor Portal to do business with VA: https://www.vendorportal.ecms.va.gov/eVP
 

Web Link

FBO.gov Permalink
(https://www.fbo.gov/spg/VA/VAAAC/VAAAC/VA77711RQ0554/listing.html)
 

Document(s)

Attachment
 

File Name: VA-777-11-RQ-0554 0001 VA-777-11-RQ-0554 0001.doc (https://www.vendorportal.ecms.va.gov/FBODocumentServer/DocumentServer.aspx?DocumentId=241492&FileName=VA-777-11-RQ-0554-0001000.doc)

Link: https://www.vendorportal.ecms.va.gov/FBODocumentServer/DocumentServer.aspx?DocumentId=241492&FileName=VA-777-11-RQ-0554-0001000.doc

 

Note: If links are broken, refer to Point of Contact above or contact the FBO Help Desk at 877-472-3779.
 

Record

SN02546830-W 20110826/110824235218-27c78cfd4ff92963f406a748ddb49f2f (fbodaily.com)
 

Source

FedBizOpps Link to This Notice
(may not be valid after Archive Date)

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