SOURCES SOUGHT
Q -- VAPAHCS 2.0 FTE Cardiac Sonographers
- Notice Date
- 4/12/2023 8:47:55 AM
- Notice Type
- Sources Sought
- NAICS
- 561320
— Temporary Help Services
- Contracting Office
- 261-NETWORK CONTRACT OFFICE 21 (36C261) MATHER CA 95655 USA
- ZIP Code
- 95655
- Solicitation Number
- 36C26123Q0574
- Response Due
- 4/21/2023 1:00:00 PM
- Archive Date
- 06/20/2023
- Point of Contact
- LARRY FACIO, CONTRACTING OFFICER, Phone: 916-923-4553
- E-Mail Address
-
larry.facio@va.gov
(larry.facio@va.gov)
- Awardee
- null
- Description
- This is a SOURCES SOUGHT ANNOUNCEMENT ONLY The intent of this Sources Sought Announcement is to assist in our decision-making process for services procurement. This is not a solicitation, nor request for quotes or proposals. Through the receipt of responses, this will enable a more precise type of procurement process. The Government is not obligated to nor will it pay for or reimburse any costs associated with responding to this sources sought synopsis request. This notice shall not be construed as a commitment by the Government to issue a solicitation or ultimately award of a contract, nor does it restrict the Government to a particular acquisition approach. Any inquiries are to be made in writing by email to the point of contact, Larry Facio, Contracting Officer. Responses to this notice shall be sent by email to larry.facio@va.gov by the due date and time of 04/21/2021 by 1:00 p.m. (Pacific Time). This is for a Base Year Plus Four Option Years contract. The Contractor shall provide two 1.0 FTE Cardiac Sonographers to provide echocardiography services on site in accordance with specifications contained herein to beneficiaries of the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) located at the VA Palo Alto Health Care System. Place of Performance - Contractor shall furnish services at the VAPAHCS Palo Alto VA, located at 3801 Miranda Avenue, Palo Alto, CA 94304, or at other VAPAHCS Community Based Outpatient Clinics, as needed. Certification - All cardiac sonographers have completed an accredited training course in cardiac ultrasound and shall be certified as Registered Diagnostic Cardiac Sonographers (RDCS) by the American Registry for Diagnostic Medical Sonography (ARDMS) or as Registered Cardiac Sonographer (RCS) or Registered Congenital Cardiac Sonographer (RCCS) by the Cardiovascular Credentialing International (CCI), and be currently certified in Basic Life Support (BLS), though Advanced Cardiac Life Support (ACLS) is preferred. All continuing education courses required for maintaining certification must be kept up to date at all times. The Contractor shall provide documentation verifying current certification to the VA COR upon request. Echocardiography Experience: All cardiac sonographers shall have a minimum of 2 years of echocardiography experience. All sonographers should have experience with stress imaging with exercise or pharmacological agents, transesophageal echocardiography, contrast echo, intra operative echocardiography, and 3D echocardiography. Technical Proficiency - Contract personnel shall be technically proficient in the skills necessary to fulfill the government s requirements, including the ability to speak, understand, read and write English fluently. Contractor shall provide documents upon request of the CO/COR to verify current and ongoing competency, skills, certification and/or licensure related to the provision of care, treatment and/or services performed. Training (ACLS, BLS and VA MANDATORY): Contract personnel shall meet all VA educational requirements and mandatory course requirements defined herein; all trainings must be completed by the contract personnel as required by the VA. VA trainings include: Annual Government Ethics Training; Compliance and Business Integrity; Emergency Preparedness; GEMS; Infection Control; Hazardous Material; Medical Equipment Management; Prevention of Workplace Harassment/NO FEAR; Privacy and HIPAA Training; Safety; Security; Staff and Patient Boundaries; Utilities Management; VA Privacy and Information Security Awareness; and Visitation. Basic Life Support (BLS) is required and Advanced Cardiac Life Support is preferred. Clinical/Professional Direction: The qualifications of Contractor personnel are subject to review by VA Medical Center COS or his/her clinical designee and approval by the Medical Center Director as provided in VHA Handbook 1100.19. Clinical/Professional direction of all clinical personnel covered by this contract for quality purposes will be provided by the VAPAHCS COS and/or the Chief of the Service or his designee. A clinical COR may be appointed, however, only the CO is authorized to consider any contract modification request and/or make changes to the contract during the administration of the resultant contract. Non-Personal Healthcare Services: The parties agree that the Contractor and all contract personnel shall not be considered VA employees for any purpose. Inherent Government Functions: Contractor and Contract personnel shall not perform inherently governmental functions. This includes, but is not limited to, determination of agency policy, determination of Federal program priorities for budget requests, direction and control of government employees (outside a clinical context), selection or non-selection of individuals for Federal Government employment including the interviewing of individuals for employment, approval of position descriptions and performance standards for Federal employees, approving any contractual documents, approval of Federal licensing actions and inspections, and/or determination of budget policy, guidance, and strategy. No Employee status: The Contractor shall be responsible for protecting Contract personnel furnishing services. To carry out this responsibility, the Contractor shall provide or certify that the following is provided for all their staff providing services under the resultant contract: Workers compensation Professional liability insurance Health examinations Income tax withholding, and Social security payments. Key Personnel: The VA Full Time Equivalency (FTE) for the echocardiography services required is two 1.0 VA FTE, to provide a total of 4160 hours of service coverage, or 2080 hours for each cardiac sonographer, during the period of performance. The number of cardiac sonographers to provide service on a daily basis (be on site) is two as defined in paragraph Hours of Operation in this section. The Contractor shall be responsible for providing coverage to the VA during extended periods of vacancies of the Contractor s personnel due to sick leave and personal leave. For other requested time off, the contract personnel shall discuss with and obtain approval from the Palo Alto VA Echocardiography Lead Technician. Emergency Substitutions: During the first ninety (90) calendar days of performance, the Contractor shall make NO substitutions of key personnel unless the substitution is necessitated by illness, death or termination of employment. The Contractor shall notify the CO, in writing, within 15 calendar days after the occurrence of any of these events and provide the information required below. After 90 days, the Contractor shall submit the information required below to the CO at least 15 calendar days prior to making any permanent substitutions. The Contractor shall provide a detailed explanation of the circumstances necessitating the proposed substitutions, complete resumes for the proposed substitutes, and any additional information requested by the CO. Proposed substitutes shall have comparable qualifications to those of the persons being replaced. The CO will notify the Contractor within 15 calendar days after receipt of all required information of the decision on the proposed substitutes. The contract will be modified to reflect any approved changes of key personnel. The Government reserves the right to refuse acceptance of any Contractor personnel at any time after performance begins, if personal or professional conduct jeopardizes patient care or interferes with the regular and ordinary operation of the facility. Breaches of conduct include intoxication or debilitation resulting from drug use, theft, patient abuse, dereliction or negligence in performing directed tasks, or other conduct resulting in formal complaints by patient or other staff members to designated Government representatives. Standards for conduct shall mirror those prescribed by current federal personnel regulations. Should the VA COS or designee show documented clinical problems or continual unprofessional behavior/actions with any contract physician(s), s/he may request, without cause, immediate replacement of said contract physician(s). The CO and COR shall deal with issues raised concerning Contract personnel conduct. The final arbiter on questions of acceptability is the CO. Contingency Plan: Because continuity of care is an essential part of VAPAHCS s medical services, The Contractor shall have a contingency plan in place to be utilized if the contract personnel leaves Contractor s employment or is unable to continue performance in accordance with the terms and conditions of the resulting contract. HOURS OF OPERATION VA Business Hours: Monday Friday 8:00 AM 4:30 PM Contract personnel shall be available and present during normal VAPAHCS hours, which will be established, and may be revised, as deemed appropriate for patient care by the Chief of Staff or designee. Currently, normal hours are Monday Friday 8:00 AM 4:30 PM. Off-hours Coverage: Not Applicable. Off-hour onsite coverage is not required. CONTRACTOR RESPONSIBILITIES Clinical Personnel Required: The Contractor shall provide contract personnel who are competent, qualified per this performance work statement and adequately trained to perform assigned duties. Contract personnel shall be responsible for signing in and out when in attendance. Time sheets will be used by the COR to confirm hours/day and services provided against the contractor s invoices. The Contractor and/or contract personnel shall return required Background Investigation paperwork within 10 calendar days of receipt from the COR. Standards of Care: The contract personnel s care shall cover the range of echocardiography services as would be provided in a state-of-the-art civilian medical treatment facility and the standard of care shall be of a quality, meeting or exceeding current national standards recognized by the American Registry for Diagnostic Medical Sonography (ARDMS) or Cardiovascular Credentialing International (CCI). Direct Patient Care: 90% of the time involved in direct patient care. The contract personnel shall perform the following and remain within their scope of practice/privilege at all times: Identify and record anomalies indicative of disease, injury, or other medically significant condition from ultrasound imaging and simultaneous records of the Doppler. Change and develop sounding techniques to accommodate such variables as limited patient mobility, variation in physical condition or dimensions of the patient, presence of prosthesis or foreign objects, and ultrasonic response to different body parts. Produce diagnostic quality images and Doppler frequency recordings using M-mode, two-dimensional, and continuous and pulse wave Doppler and color flow exam. Assist physicians in performing transesophageal echocardiograms for outpatient, inpatient, and intra operative procedures. Assist Cardiology fellows in performing and interpreting echo exams and present information to the interpreting physicians. Perform stress echocardiograms with and without pharmaceuticals. Use problem-solving skills to optimize the evaluation and adjust the exams to ensure that they are comprehensive and accurate. Use independent judgment in applying knowledge of clinical cardiology and ultrasound, and Doppler principles. Independently set, calibrate, and operate all echocardiography machinery/equipment. Have intimate knowledge of thoracic anatomy and physiology as related to cardiovascular function. Receive patients and explain procedures to patient and family members. ADMINISTRATIVE: 10% of time not involved in direct patient care Quality Improvement Meetings: If applicable, the contract personnel shall participate in continuous quality improvement activities and meetings with committee participation as required by the VAPAHCS Chief of Service, Chief of Staff, or designee. Meetings will be on an as-needed basis and will occur during regular working hours. Staff Meetings/Rounds: The contract personnel shall attend staff meetings as required by the VAPAHCS Chief of Service, Chief of Staff, or designee. Contractor to communicate with COR on this requirement and report any conflicts that may interfere with compliance with this requirement. QA/QI documentation: The contract personnel shall complete the appropriate QM/PI documentation pertaining to all procedures, complications and outcome of examinations as needed. Patient Safety Compliance and Reporting: The contract personnel shall follow all established patient safety and infection control standards of care. Contract personnel shall make every effort to prevent medication errors, falls, and patient injury caused by acts of commission or omission in the delivery of care. All events related to patient injury, medication errors, and other breeches of patient safety shall be reported to the COR VA Safety Policy. As soon as practicable (but within 24 hours) Contractors shall notify COR of incident and submit to the COR the Patient Safety Report, following up with COR as required or requested. Medical Records: The contract personnel shall complete all required clinical and medical record documentation for echocardiography services within the required timeframe. The contract personnel shall utilize VA s electronic medical record system for all patient care documentation, where applicable, including the Computerized Patient Record System (CPRS). Invoicing/Billing: In order to adequately document services provided under this contract, a record keeping system of Contractor work hours shall be established and implemented by the COR. Payment for services will not be made until all required documentation related to the services has been submitted. Contractor shall submit monthly invoices within 30 days. Response Method: The Government requests capability statements and comments from interested businesses regarding the requirements described above. Responsible sources are encouraged to submit a response to this notice with a statement of interest on company letterhead. When responding, in Subject line insert: Sources Sought VAPAHCS Cardiac Sonographers. At a minimum, the following information shall be provided: 1. Company Name; 2. Company Mailing Address; 3. Point(s) of Contact including telephone number(s) & email address(es); 4. Socio-Economic (i.e. Small/Large Business, HUBZone, Service Disabled Veteran Owned, 8(a), etc.) as it relates to NAICS Code 561320 ($30 Million). 5. Provide a summary of the type of services performed and experience as it relates to providing staffing and Cardiac Sonographers. 6. SAM UEI Number 7. Additional information and/or comments. Veterans First Contracting Program and the VA Rule of Two (Kingdomware v. United States) 38 U.S.C. 8127 - 8128: Service-disabled veteran owned small business (SDVOSB) or Veteran owned small business (VOSB) concern must be registered and verified in VA's Vendor Information Pages (VIP) database at www.vip.vetbiz.gov to be eligible for award as a SDVOSB or VOSB if/when a solicitation is issued for this requirement as a SDVOSB or VOSB set aside. In addition, this requirement has been determined to be set aside as SDVOSB or VOSB acquisition, only SDVOSB or VOSB that respond to this specific notice with in the above stated due date will be eligible for award. As this is a service acquisition, the Small Business Administration and the Federal Acquisition Regulation have a Limitations on Subcontracting requirement. For all small businesses, to include SDVOSB and VOSB, At least 50 percent of the cost of contract performance incurred for personnel shall be expended for employees of the concern. See FAR 52.219-14 and FAR 52.219-27 available in full text at https://www.acquisition.gov/far/html/52_217_221.html The anticipated need for the Health Care Systems may be significant, and the needs may change significantly over the course of the next few weeks and months. Contractors must be able to quickly identify, screen, and process employees for rapid on-boarding with the healthcare facilities identified. Contractors must be able to quickly adapt to changing needs.
- Web Link
-
SAM.gov Permalink
(https://sam.gov/opp/4d0473ec228a40b29fcb9af897808aa8/view)
- Place of Performance
- Address: VA Palo Alto Health Care System 3801 Miranda Avenue, Palo Alto 94304
- Zip Code: 94304
- Zip Code: 94304
- Record
- SN06649004-F 20230414/230412230113 (samdaily.us)
- Source
-
SAM.gov Link to This Notice
(may not be valid after Archive Date)
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