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FBO DAILY - FEDBIZOPPS ISSUE OF OCTOBER 31, 2014 FBO #4724
DOCUMENT

R -- AABB ACCREDITATION AND EDUCATION - Justification and Approval (J&A)

Notice Date

10/29/2014
 

Notice Type

Justification and Approval (J&A)
 

NAICS

813920 — Professional Organizations
 

Contracting Office

Department of Veteran Affairs;SAO East;PCAE STL Contracting Officer;11152 South Towne Square;Saint Louis MO 63123
 

ZIP Code

63123
 

Solicitation Number

VA77714Q0259
 

Archive Date

10/10/2014
 

Point of Contact

Wanakee Strickland
 

E-Mail Address

4-6656<br
 

Small Business Set-Aside

N/A
 

Award Number

VA777-14-P-0458
 

Award Date

9/30/2014
 

Description

DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS Justification and Approval For Other Than Full and Open Competition Upon the basis of the following justification, the use of other than full and open competition for the proposed contractual action is hereby approved pursuant to the authority of 41 U.S.C. 253 ( c )(1) and FAR 6.302-1. 1.Contracting Activity: Department of Veterans Affairs, Veterans Administration Central Office(VACO), Pathology and Laboratory Medicine Services Program Office (104PD) Funding - purchase request # 101-14-4-1297-0031 2.Nature and/or Description of the Action Being Processed: The Department of Veterans Affairs, VACO, Pathology and Laboratory Medicine Services Program Office is seeking to obtain a new 12 month firm fixed price contract with 2 (12) month options with American Association of Blood Banks ( AABB ). AABB will provide membership and accreditation to VHA Transfusion and Tissue Services to align with industry standards. 3.Description of Supplies/Services Required to Meet the Agency's Needs: The Veterans Health Administration's (VHA) Pathology and Laboratory Medicine Services (P&LMS) Program Office is responsible for providing guidance, standards, and policy for the administration, accreditation, staffing, and functioning of clinical and anatomic pathology laboratories in the Department of Veteran Affairs (VA) facilities or facilities managed by VA. A recent Congressional inquiry into the way biologics (tissue) is procured, stored, issued, and tracked in VHA has brought about the necessity for improved education, training, and oversight of the processes. The use of AABB standards and accreditation services will assist in closing those identified gaps. AABB accreditation is based on the AABB standards for Blood Banks and Transfusion Services and cellular therapies and has been designated as the industries best practice for the blood bank/transfusion service and cellular therapies. AABB Standards allow for interim and emergent guidance when new scientific evidence supports additional requirements for patient safety. VHA Transfusion and Tissue Services would be able to follow the standards to incorporate a quality management system based on internationally accepted concepts for quality using evidence- based decision making processes. Current professional industry standards and guidelines are essential for VHA Pathology and Laboratory Medicine Services to sustain its mission to provide critical patient care and diagnostic testing that meets accreditation and regulatory requirements. Base year period: 9/30/14 to 9/29/15, Option Year 1: 9/30/15 to 9/29/16, Option Year 2: 9/30/16 to 9/29/17 The estimated cost of a firm fixed priced contract for membership and access to standards and educational materials for 12 months is as follows: Base: $287,555.00, Option 1: $296,181.65, Option 2: $305,067.10. The total for the overall contract is $888,803.75. 4.Statutory Authority Permitting Other than Full and Open Competition: ( X ) (1) Only One Responsible Source and No Other Supplies or Services Will Satisfy Agency Requirements per FAR 6.302-1; ( ) (2) Unusual and Compelling Urgency per FAR 6.302-2; ( ) (3) Industrial Mobilization, Engineering, Developmental or Research Capability or Expert Services per FAR 6.302-3; ( ) (4) International Agreement per FAR 6.302-4 ( ) (5) Authorized or Required by Statute FAR 6.302-5; ( ) (6) National Security per FAR 6.302-6; ( ) (7) Public Interest per FAR 6.302-7; 5.Demonstration that the Contractor's Unique Qualifications or Nature of the Acquisition Requires the Use of the Authority Cited Above (applicability of authority): Transfusion service accreditation is based on standards developed by and agreed on by laboratory community experts and manufacturers. AABB is a highly specialized international, not-for-profit voluntary, professional, scientific, and educational association representing individuals and institutions involved in the field of transfusion services and cellular therapies. AABB is the only vendor capable of providing the supplies and services described in Section III above, without the Veteran's Health Administration experiencing substantial duplication of cost that could not be expected to be recovered through competition. AABB submitted a letter stating they are the sole accreditation organization specialized in transfusion medicine, tissue, and cellular therapies. While there are other sources for accreditation, they are limited or specialize in specific disciplines (e.g. CAP for transfusion medicine, Joint Commission for Health Care). AABB offers comprehensive accreditation standards that are developed by the industry, most used by the industry, and cited by the industry as best in breed. 6.Description of Efforts Made to ensure that offers are solicited from as many potential sources as deemed practicable: Market research was conducted on the GSA Mission Oriented Business Integrated Services (MOBIS) website, and Pathology Laboratory Medicine Professional Organization websites by contracting officer representative Quyhn Vantu on 7/14/2014. Three organizations were located that offer similar services, but could not satisfy the requirement. Wanakee Strickland queried VetBiz and SBA on 9/10/2014 for potential vendors, but no results were returned. AABB submitted a letter to contract specialist Wanakee Strickland stating they are the sole providers specializing in transfusion medicine, tissue, and cellular therapies. 7.Determination by the Contracting Officer that the Anticipated Cost to the Government will be Fair and Reasonable: IAW FAR 13.106-3, pricing was compared with similar items in a related industry. Pricing was compared with two other vendors COLA and CAP that offer similar accreditation services. COLA's estimated amount for the base year was $456,000.00, CAP's estimated amount for the base year was $1,100,638.50 and AABB was $287,555.00. There is a significant variance in all three prices, however, AABB are the sole proprietors of their accreditation educational services, which allows them to offer their services at a significantly lower price. In addition, AABB's price offered to the government is the same price offered to the commercial market place. 8.Description of the Market Research Conducted and the Results, or a Statement of the Reasons Market Research Was Not Conducted: AABB submitted a letter stating they are the sole providers specializing in transfusion medicine, tissue, and cellular therapies. In addition, contract specialist Wanakee Strickland validated market research by searching the internet on 9/10/2014, and found many sites were all linked to AABB. Wanakee also searched Vet Biz and SBA.gov, but did not find any other organizations to provide the services. Market research was conducted 7/14/2014 by contracting officer representative Quynh Vantu on the GSA Mission Oriented Business Integrated Services (MOBIS) website, and Pathology Laboratory Medicine Professional Organization websites. While all did not satisfy the requirements needed to be met by the requested procurement, the survey located 3 organizations that offer industry standards subscription services and they are as follows: CAP Headquarters College of American Pathologist 325 Waukegan Road Northfield, IL 60093-2750 Phone (800) 323-4040 CAP limits its focus to quality monitors and patient outcomes. CAP does not provide specialized educational materials in the disciplines of hematopoietic, cellular and gene therapies, transplantation, and relationship testing; nor do they provide standard requirements for tissues and derivatives. COLA 9881 Broken Land Pkwy Suite 200 Columbia, MD 21046-3016 Phone (800) 981-9883 | Fax (410) 381-8611 COLA does not provide specialty transfusion medicine and cellular therapies. COLA does not provide specialized educational materials in the disciplines of hematopoietic, cellular and gene therapies, transplantation, and relationship testing. COLA does not offer the entire range of services required; services are limited to transfusion. This acquisition requires transfusion and tissue accreditation, in addition to education. This particular vendor offers accreditation to outpatient clinics and physician offices; the government needs accredited transfusion service in the hospital setting. The Joint Commission One Renaissance Blvd Oakbrook Terrace IL 60181 Phone (630) 792-5000 Joint Commission does not provide transfusion, cellular therapies, and tissue specialty. AABB is the industry standard and Joint Commission references AABB standards for this specialty. 9.Any Other Facts Supporting the Use of Other than Full and Open Competition: There were no other supporting facts. 10.Listing of Sources that Expressed, in Writing, an Interest in the Acquisition: There were no other sources. 11.A Statement of the Actions, if any, the Agency May Take to Remove or Overcome any Barriers to Competition before Making subsequent acquisitions for the supplies or services required In an effort to overcome barriers to competition, market research will be conducted to determine and validate if any other vendors have entered the marketplace with the ability to meet the government's needs. AABB is the industry standard for transfusion medicine, tissue, and cellular therapies. It is imperative that option years are included due to the ongoing requirement of transfusion medicine accreditation. Currently, the VA is required to follow AABB standards for transfusion medicine in an effort to address the standard of care. 12.Requirements Certification: I certify that the requirement outlined in this justification is a Bona Fide Need of the Department of Veterans Affairs and that the supporting data under my cognizance, which are included in the justification, are accurate and complete to the best of my knowledge and belief. _____________________________ ________________________ Michael Icardi, MDDate National Director Pathology & Laboratory Medicine Service 13.Approvals in accordance with FAR 6.304 a.Contracting Officer's Certification: (required) I certify that the foregoing justification is accurate and complete to the best of my knowledge and belief. _____________________________ ________________________ Name: Cindy ShowersDate Title: Supervisory Contracting Officer Facility: Program Contracting Office East b.NCM/PCM (Required $3k and Above ) I certify the justification meets requirements for other than full and open competition. _____________________________ ________________________ Date Name: Douglas E. Leedy Title: Network Contract Manager Facility: Program Contracting Office East c. VHA HCA Review and Approval: I have reviewed the foregoing justification and find it to be complete and accurate to the best of my knowledge and belief and recommend approval (if over $12.5 million) or approve ($650K to 12.5 million) for other than full and open competition. _____________________________ ________________________ Name: Norbert DoyleDate Chief Procurement and Logistics Officer VHA Head of Contracting Activity (HCA)
 

Web Link

FBO.gov Permalink
(https://www.fbo.gov/spg/VA/VAAAC/VAAAC/VA77714Q0259/listing.html)
 

Document(s)

Justification and Approval (J&A)
 

File Name: VA777-14-P-0458 VA777-14-P-0458_1.docx (https://www.vendorportal.ecms.va.gov/FBODocumentServer/DocumentServer.aspx?DocumentId=1703158&FileName=-4801.docx)

Link: https://www.vendorportal.ecms.va.gov/FBODocumentServer/DocumentServer.aspx?DocumentId=1703158&FileName=-4801.docx

 

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

Record

SN03561430-W 20141031/141030002559-d5f14031cc807ca68997ed0d22db7dc9 (fbodaily.com)
 

Source

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

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