SOURCES SOUGHT
A -- Baltimore Longitudinal Study of Aging (BLSA) Home Visits Program
- Notice Date
- 9/27/2012
- Notice Type
- Sources Sought
- NAICS
- 541990
— All Other Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services
- Contracting Office
- Department of Health and Human Services, National Institutes of Health, National Institute on Mental Health, Contracts Management Branch, 6001 Executive Blvd, Rm 8154, MSC 9661, Bethesda, Maryland, 20892-9661
- ZIP Code
- 20892-9661
- Solicitation Number
- HHS-NIH-NIDA(AG)-RDSS-12-169
- Point of Contact
- Yvette Brown, Phone: 301 443-2696
- E-Mail Address
-
Yvette.Brown@nih.gov
(Yvette.Brown@nih.gov)
- Small Business Set-Aside
- N/A
- Description
- This is a Research and Development (R&D) Sources Sought notice. This is NOT a solicitation for proposals, proposal abstracts, or quotations. The purpose of this notice is to obtain information regarding the availability and capability of all qualified sources to perform a potential R&D requirement. BACKGROUND: The Baltimore Longitudinal Study of Aging (BLSA) supported by the Intramural Research Program (IRP) of the National Institute on Aging (NIA) and active for over half a century continues to pursue the following objectives: (1) describe longitudinal trajectories of the major aging phenotypes, (2) identify genetic, physiological, behavioral and environmental factors that affect the rate of change in these phenotypes and (3) understand the interrelationship between aging phenotypes and highly prevalent chronic conditions and their independent and joint impact on age-related decline in physical and cognitive function. BLSA participants undergo extensive state-of-the-art evaluations during a 3-day stay at the NIA IRP Clinical Unit at Harbor Hospital. When participants become ill, cognitively impaired or disabled they are at high risk for discontinuing active participation in the BLSA, a phenomenon known as "informative censoring". When information on the most debilitated participants is unavailable, downward trajectories of the aging phenotypes may be underestimated and many discrete outcomes such as dementia and disability may become systematically missing for many participants. To address the problem of "informative censoring" defined above, in 2006 the NIA awarded a 5-year contract to: (1) trace BLSA participants lost-to-follow-up and update vital status, participation status and contact information, (2) develop standardized procedures for retaining, recontacting and scheduling BLSA participants for their follow-up visits and (3) design, implement and perform home-based visits for BLSA participants unable or unwilling to come to the NIA IRP Clinical Unit at Harbor Hospital for their usual follow-up evaluation. The tracing project has been completed and the BLSA participant database has been reorganized, updated and maintained; standard procedures and a reliable systematic process for participant retention, recontact and scheduling have been developed and fully implemented and a home visit protocol was designed, field tested and put into practice. The current contract expires in 2012, but the need for participant retention and scheduling activities and home visits remains. PURPOSE AND OBJECTIVES The NIA has a requirement for a four (4) year follow-on contract for BLSA home visits. The scope of work is limited to ongoing retention, recontact and scheduling activities and conduct of BLSA home visits using the protocol and methodology developed and implemented over the last 4.5 years. The primary objectives of this follow-on acquisition are to: 1) maintain a complete and accurate database of BLSA participant contact information and visit and vital status, 2) retain, recontact and schedule the over 1300 active BLSA participants for their regular follow-up clinic visits, 3) conduct follow-up evaluations of BLSA participants who cannot come to Baltimore for their usual assessment using a home visit or telephone interview, 4) provide data on catastrophic health events, disability, cognitive impairment, dementia, frailty and other near end of life parameters, and 5) expand collection of biological samples to participants with substantial comorbidity and disability who are unable to attend their in-clinic visit. The Contractor shall: 1) continue established retention, recontact and scheduling procedures for all BLSA participants and maintain the overall BLSA participant visit and vital status database, 2) schedule, arrange and conduct established home visit protocols for BLSA participants unable to attend their regularly scheduled clinic visit, 3) schedule and arrange blood sample collection for BLSA home visit participants, 4) schedule and arrange the conduct of an EKG for BLSA home visit participants and 5) review, verify and deliver to the NIA all data acquired in the BLSA home visit program. The Contractor must provide a dedicated staff person to work directly with NIA staff and other contractors at the NIA IRP Clinical Unit at Harbor Hospital to coordinate visit scheduling and travel including cancellations, rescheduling and other trouble-shooting activities. The Contractor must provide home visit examination staff, conduct required training, oversight and certification activities; assure compatibility with established procedures and methodologies and arrange both local and distant travel. The Contractor must secure a qualified provider to perform EKG testing and blood draws for all home visits. Ideally, since the majority of home visits are within driving distance of the NIA IRP Clinical Unit at Harbor Hospital, home visit examination staff should be stationed proximate to this Unit. REPORTS/DELIVERABLES: The following reports will be required: Project Plan, Monthly Progress Reports and Final Report. ANTICIPATED PERIOD OF PERFORMANCE: The anticipated period of performance is four (4) years to begin on or about July 1, 2013. OTHER IMPORTANT CONSIDERATIONS: The Government is expected to use procedures in FAR Par 15, Contracting by Negotiations. The North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) Code is 541990 with a size standard of $14.0 million dollars. CAPABILITY STATEMENT/INFORMATION SOUGHT: Respondents to this notice must provide, as part of their responses, a capability statement to include the following: (1) information regarding the respondents' (a) staff expertise, including their availability, experience, and formal and other training; (b) current in-house capability and capacity to perform the work as specified in paragraph "Background/Purpose and Objectives/Project Requirements" above; (c) prior completed projects of similar nature; (d) corporate experience and management capability; and, (e) examples of prior completed Government contracts, references, and other related information; and (2) respondents' DUNS number, organization name, address, point of contact, and size and type of business (e.g., 8(a), HUB Zone, etc.) pursuant to the applicable NAICS code. INFORMATION SUBMISSION INSTRUCTIONS: Respondents should provide responses accordingly: (1) submit information both electronically and by mail. No telephone or facsimile responses will be accepted; (2) format capability statements using Microsoft Word or Adobe PDF including attachments, resumes, charts, etc. Use single space, 12 font minimum and 8 ½ x 11 size paper; (3) organize material in such a manner that clearly identifies and address capability requirements and provide an executive summary; (4) capability statement should not exceed ten (10) single sided pages including references; (5) respondents must send two original copies via mail and one electronic copy via email; (6) responses should be received no later than October 12, 2012 at 4:00 PM Local Time; (7) include respondents' technical and administrative points of contact, including names, titles, addresses, telephone and fax numbers, and e-mail addresses; and (8) send responses to this notice via email to ybrown@mail.nih.gov. The original statements mailed using the U.S. Postal Service should be sent to ATTN: Yvette Brown, National Institutes of Health, Office of Acquisitions - NIDA Neuroscience COAC, NIA R&D Contracts Management Section, 6001 Executive Boulevard, Room 8154, MSC 9661, Bethesda, MD 20892-9661. If using a courier service such as the UPS, Federal Express, etc., change the City, State and Zip Code to Rockville, MD 20852. (Please be aware that the U.S. Postal Service's "Express Mail" DOES NOT deliver to the Rockville, Maryland address.) DISCLAIMER AND IMPORTANT NOTES: This notice does not obligate the Government to award a contract or otherwise pay for the information provided in response. The Government reserves the right to use information provided by respondents for any purpose deemed necessary and legally appropriate. Any organization responding to this notice should ensure that its response is complete and sufficiently detailed to allow the Government to determine the organization's qualifications to perform the work. Respondents are advised that the Government is under no obligation to acknowledge receipt of the information received or provide feedback to respondents with respect to any information submitted. After a review of the responses received, a pre-solicitation synopsis and solicitation may be published in Federal Business Opportunities. However, responses to this notice will not be considered adequate responses to a solicitation. CONFIDENTIALITY: No proprietary, classified, confidential, or sensitive information should be included in your response. The Government reserves the right to use any non-proprietary technical information in any resultant solicitation(s).
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