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FBO DAILY - FEDBIZOPPS ISSUE OF MARCH 09, 2013 FBO #4123
DOCUMENT

A -- Animal Contract - Attachment

Notice Date

3/7/2013
 

Notice Type

Attachment
 

NAICS

541690 — Other Scientific and Technical Consulting Services
 

Contracting Office

Department of Veterans Affairs;Birmingham VA Medical Center;700 South 19th Street;Birmingham AL 35233
 

ZIP Code

35233
 

Solicitation Number

VA24713R0492
 

Response Due

3/11/2013
 

Archive Date

3/17/2013
 

Point of Contact

Richard White
 

E-Mail Address

3-8101
 

Small Business Set-Aside

N/A
 

Description

This Notice of Intent to Sole Source is not a request for competitive proposals. No solicitations documents are available. Under Statutory Authority 41 U.S.C. 253(g), the Birmingham VA Medical Center intends to procure services for the care and feeding of research animals on an other than full and open competition basis with University of Alabama at Birmingham, Animal Resource Facilities, administered in the Research Support Building, 1800 9th AVE S, BIRMINGHAM AL 35294. C.1 Background:The Birmingham VA Medical Center Research and Development Program administers VA Research Grants that have been approved for the use of animals for research. VA animal care and use programs must follow VA policy on the use of animals found in Handbook 1200.7, "Use of Animals in Research", which incorporates compliance with USDA Animal Welfare Act Regulations and PHS Policy. All VA animal care and use programs are accredited by the Association for Assessment and Accreditation of Laboratory Animal Care (AAALAC, International). This station does not have an on-site animal facility for the care and feeding of research animals and must contract this service from another accredited facility in order to support approved and potential research grants. C.2 Scope: a) Contractor shall provide complete 24-hour, 365 days per year husbandry and veterinary care. The feeding and environmental cleaning will occur as many times a day as is the norm for that type of animal as required by the USDA Animal Welfare Act Regulations, PHS Policy, and AAALAC. Procedures shall be in place for daily observation of animals for illness or abnormal behavior and a method for reporting observations (written or verbal). b) Contractor shall provide and maintain physical housing in a constantly clean and controlled environment. Housing should be such that the general health of animals is safeguarded and that undue stress is avoided, with appropriate attention paid to environmental factors such as temperature, ventilation, and humidity. Animals shall be separated first by species and then by health status of the animals. Housing needs include rigid barrier rooms, clean rooms with no known common pathogens, rooms with positive tests for some common, endemic infectious agents, and shared core facilities where common procedures are performed, including but not limited to surgical procedures, specialized imaging, radiation exposures, and euthanasia. Space shall be available to quarantine any ill animals to prevent the spread of disease to other rooms. The animal facility shall be within 1000 feet of the VA investigator's laboratory space to allow for adequate oversite of the animals. c) Contractor shall provide animal procurement services from approved VA vendors and support the import and export of VA animals. Importation oversight is necessary for all non-approved vendors and other research institutions (including investigators housing animals at approved commercial vendors) and shall include health surveillance information representing the animals being imported from the institution of their origin preferably within the last 90 days. Quarantine shall be available for animals coming from unapproved sources before introduction into an established VA animal colony. Similarly, the contractor shall provide support for the export of animals from VA investigators to other institutions, including transportation arrangements. d) Contractor shall provide routine monitoring for known or unknown infectious agents on a regular schedule. Health surveillance must include serological testing, testing for internal and external parasites, and by physical examination. Abnormalities noted on physical examinations shall be followed up by histological examination, bacteriological culturing, or other testing as indicated. e) Contractor shall provide animal transportation from outside sources and their facility as well as from the animal facility to the laboratory as requested by the investigator in keeping with the level of biosecurity, immune status, and specific pathogen status of the animals. f) Contractor shall provide Institutional Animal Care and Use (IACUC) oversight that review all VA animal protocols, modifications, and post-approval oversight. The contractor shall prepare the annual Veterinary Medical Unit report and provide monthly reports to the VA Research and Development Committee. g) Contractor shall provide Institutional Biosafety oversight of all animal work performed by VA investigators. This oversight includes animal projects administering human pathogens or recombinant DNA to animals. Oversight and approval should include the recommended Animal Biosafety Level, any special safety requirements including tests and immunizations required for personnel, planning for appropriate space and equipment, animal husbandry procedures if SOPs are not available, and appropriate signage indicating the potential danger, and protective equipment necessary for the animal contact. h) Contractor shall provide a process to identify, evaluate and control experimental and potential hazards, including but not limited to radiation exposure, chemical agents, animals bites and other injuries, allergens, and zoonoses inherent to the use of animals by VA investigators. C.3 Performance: The services to be performed by the contractor will be performed in accordance with DVA policies and procedures for the care and feeding of laboratory animals set forth in the VHA Handbook 1200.7. The services specified may be changed by written modification to the contract, including the addition of other species of animals. C.4 Reports: The contractor shall provide the Birmingham VA Research Administrative Office a copy of the monthly statement for each VA Research Investigator whose animals are being fed and cared for by the animal facility reflecting the account, building and room number, time period, species, quantity, rate and total. C.5 Personnel Qualifications: Animal care needs to be supervised by a veterinarian experienced in laboratory animal medicine. All personnel must be enrolled in the institutional Occupational Health and Safety Program prior to their contact with animals. C.6 Contractor Qualifications: Contractor shall be Association of Assessment and Accreditation of Laboratory Animal Care International (AAALAC) accredited, OLAW assured, and have a USDA permit. C.8 Place of Performance: University of Alabama at Birmingham, Animal Resource Facilities, administered in the Research Support Building, 1800 9th AVE S, BIRMINGHAM AL 35294. C.9 Period of Performance: This contract is effective for twelve consecutive months from April 1, 2013 through September 30th, 2014 with three (1) one year option renewals. This Notice of Intent is not a request for competitive proposals. No solicitations documents are available and telephone requests will not be honored. However, if a firm believes it can meet the requirements it must furnish information about its products and services, as well as references from other customers who are using these products and service, to the Contracting Officer within three (3) calendar days from the date of publication of this synopsis. Supporting evidence must be furnished in sufficient detail to demonstrate the ability to comply with the above requirements. Information must be sent to the Richard White, Contracting Officer, NCO 7, Birmingham VA Medical Center via e-mail at richard.white7@va.gov. Responses received will be evaluated; however, a determination by the Government not to compete the proposed procurement based upon responses to this notice is solely within the discretion of the Government. IF no responses are received, the contracting specialist will proceed with the sole source procurement with University of Alabama Birmingham.
 

Web Link

FBO.gov Permalink
(https://www.fbo.gov/spg/VA/BiVAMC521/BiVAMC521/VA24713R0492/listing.html)
 

Document(s)

Attachment
 

File Name: VA247-13-R-0492 VA247-13-R-0492.docx (https://www.vendorportal.ecms.va.gov/FBODocumentServer/DocumentServer.aspx?DocumentId=648929&FileName=VA247-13-R-0492-000.docx)

Link: https://www.vendorportal.ecms.va.gov/FBODocumentServer/DocumentServer.aspx?DocumentId=648929&FileName=VA247-13-R-0492-000.docx

 

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

Place of Performance

Address: Birmingham VA Medical Center;700 South 19th Street;Birmingham, AL

Zip Code: 35233
 

Record

SN03005965-W 20130309/130307234340-22cb28c5f6abc9f9f06caadf186eb8a4 (fbodaily.com)
 

Source

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

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