Loren Data's SAM Daily™

FBO DAILY - FEDBIZOPPS ISSUE OF MAY 22, 2015 FBO #4927
DOCUMENT

R -- SERVICES FOR THE INSTALLATION, SET-UP, AND TRAINING FOR THE NX NURSE STAFF SCHEDULING SYSTEM SOFTWARE. - Attachment

Notice Date

5/20/2015
 

Notice Type

Attachment
 

NAICS

541519 — Other Computer Related Services
 

Contracting Office

Department of Veterans Affairs;Network Contracting Office 9;1639 Medical Center Parkway;Suite 400;Murfreesboro TN 37129
 

ZIP Code

37129
 

Solicitation Number

VA24915N0502
 

Response Due

5/22/2015
 

Archive Date

6/21/2015
 

Point of Contact

Matthew Cox
 

Small Business Set-Aside

Total Small Business
 

Description

The Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center, NCO 9 Network Contracting Office, on behalf of Veterans Administration Medical Center Memphis, is conducting market research through this sources sought notice to seek sources that can provide services for the installation, set-up, and training of the Nurse Staff Scheduling System utilizing the NX Equipment Software and Server. The North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) Code for this acquisition is 541519. Disclaimer and Important Notes: This Sources Sought Notice is for market research purposes only and does not constitute a Request for Proposal/Quotation; and, it is not considered to be a commitment by the Government to award a contract nor will the Government pay for any information provided; no basis for claim against the Government shall arise as a result from a response to this Sources Sought Notice or Government use of any information provided. Failure to submit information in sufficient detail may result in considering a company as not a viable source and may influence competition and set-aside decisions. Regardless of the information obtained from this Sources Sought Notice, the Government reserves the right to consider any arrangement as deemed appropriated for this requirement. 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. No proprietary, classified, confidential, or sensitive information should be included in your response to this Sources Sought Notice. The Government reserves the right to use any information provided by respondents for any purpose deemed necessary and legally appropriate, including using technical information provided by respondents in any resultant solicitation. At this time no solicitation exists; therefore, do Not Request a Copy of the Solicitation. After a review of the responses received, a pre-solicitation notice and solicitation may be published on Federal Business Opportunities (FedBizOpps) website. It is the potential offeror's responsibility to monitor FedBizOpps for release of any future solicitation that may result from this Sources Sought Notice. However, responses to this Sources Sought Notice will not be considered adequate responses to any resultant solicitation. Pursuant to FAR Part 10 (Market Research), the purpose of this notice is to: (1) determine if sources capable of satisfying the agency's requirements exists, (2) determine if commercial items suitable to meet the agency's needs are available or could be modified to meet the agency's requirements, and (3) determine the commercial practices of company's engaged in providing the needed service or supply. Pursuant to FAR Part 6 and FAR Part 19, competition and set-aside decisions may be based on the results of this market research. This notice in no way obligates the Government to any further action. SAM: Interested parties should register in the System for Award Management (SAM) as prescribed in FAR Clause 52.232-33. The SAM can be obtained by accessing the internet at www.sam.gov or by calling 1-866-606-8220. Submission of Information: Companies having capabilities necessary to meet or exceed the stated requirements are invited to provide information to contribute to this market survey/sources sought notice including commercial market information and company information. Companies may respond to this Sources Sought Notice via e-mail to Matthew.Cox@va.gov. The subject line must read Services for the NX Nurse Staff Scheduling System. Responses must be submitted no later than May 22, 2015 at 12:00pm, Central Standard Time with the following information/documentation: 1. Name of Company, Address and DUNS Number. 2. Point of Contact and Phone Number. 3. Business Size applicable to the NAICS Code: a. HuBZone Small Business Concern; b. Service-Disabled Veteran Owned Small Business Concern (SDVOSBC); c. Veteran Owned Small Business Concern (VOSBC); d Small Business Concern; e. Large Business Concern 4. Documentation Verifying Small Business Certification: a. If claiming HuBZone status, provide a copy of your HuBZone Certificate from SBA. b. If claiming SDVOSBC status, provide documentation that shows the Service Disable Veteran (SDV) unconditionally owns 51 % of the business, controls the management and daily operations, and holds the highest officer position in the company. Documentation should also be provided to show that the SDV has a service-connected disability that has been determined by the Department of Defense or Department of Veteran Affairs. Finally, provide documentation that shows the business is small under the NAICS code 541519. c. If claiming VOSBC status, provide documentation that shows the Veteran unconditionally owns 51% of the business, controls the management and daily operation, make long-term decisions for the business, and holds the highest officer position in the company that works at the business fulltime during normal working hours. The documentation should also show the business is small under the NAICS code 541519. d. If claiming Small Business status, provide documentation to show the business is small under NAICS code 541519. 5. Documentation Verifying a Business Associate Agreement with The Department of Veterans Affairs Veteran Health Administration. STATEMENT OF WORK 1. OBJECTIVE: a.There is a need for an acuity/patient classification system to match the changing care needs of the patients to the appropriate staffing level based on the patient condition and the amount of nursing required to manage the care of each patient. Hospital based staffing requires a 24-hour coverage a day, 7 days a weeks. Nursing staff work a variety of shifts that require an hourly rate increase, and contract/agency and travel nurses all have different compensation requirements. Therefore, a Staff Scheduling system needs to accurately correlate and calculate time and cost by work unit, nurse's type and pay variables. Nurse executives need data to plan for current and future staff needs and costs; this system gives them the tools to help manage their workforce. Multiple standardized reports are needed as well as the ability to create ad hoc reports. b.An integrated system and automated data extraction tools are necessary to effectively assign staffing resources and monitor standards of care. This system will pull from systems that already have the data stored to avoid duplicate effort and to feed the other downstream data systems. The primary users of the system will be Staffing Scheduling, so managers can coordinate schedules, capture data, produce reports, and coordinate work assignments to meet patient care needs. 2. MAJOR REQUIREMENTS: a.Utilizes an HL7 interface with Vista that brings in real-time Admit, Discharge, and Transfer information. b.Required functional capabilities: (1)Demographic Tracking tools: maintains employee contact/ emergency contact information. Maintain employee-preferred method of communication. (2)Staffing Scheduling Tools: - Maintain prospective schedules. - Audit Trails for changes to the system - Schedules can be created in advance - Allow staff to make themselves available for overtime. (3)Proficiency System: - Ability to staff and maintain repositories of anecdotal notes for proficiency input, specialty certification tracking, licensure tracking, education (all degrees earned tracking skill based competencies tracking, ACLS/131.5 tracking, continuing education tracking. Mandatory tracking, mandatory health information. - Tools for staff to self- report professional portfolio. (4)Rule engines to facilitate scheduling: Apply regulations - hour limits, time off requirements, staffing ratios, etc) as they apply to individuals being scheduled to work: - Apply union requirements stored in the system to create staffing schedules - Use staff preferences to create staffing schedules. - Match competencies to staffing needs. Match nursing staff with patient needs across the system while maintaining balanced patient workloads - Apply unit preference to competencies, e.g. ICU nurses are ACLS certified. - Apply permanent schedules requests to when generating schedules. - Apply rotating shifts rules when generating schedules. - Capabilities to accommodate scheduling changes based on patient census scheduling. Apply patient acuities to staffing needs - Track hours per patient day - Generate alternate work schedules - Capability to allow or restrict swapping unit assignments based on competencies. - Capabilities to restrict overtime assignment based on regulations. - Predict staffing needs based on previous trends (e4g. high surgery days) - Provide functionality to maintain disaster preparedness (notifications and callbacks). (5)Communication Tools: - Creates a personalized web-based dashboard for all stakeholders - Based for employee access - Web-based for managers access for staff bidding - Staff bidding on open positions (Staff to staff communication, e.g. to swap shifts) - Exchange shifts between co-workers - Alert applicants for checking status - Produce reports for long-term strategy for hiring staff. (6)Training/Implementation: -Vendor to provide on-site training at each facility to super users on general functionality, staff scheduling for end-users, and management reports for resource analysis. On-site implementation of the system is required as follows: Project Definition "Establishing Project Goals "Assigning Project Roles & Workgroups "Define Interfaces "Workload "Define and Document Existing Workflow Processes "Label configuration of job codes and units and leave schedules "Present Projections for Workflow Process System Configuration "System Administrator Training "Security Configuration "Workload and Unit Budget "Validate Interface Data "User Training "Pilot Unit Training User Training "System-Wide Project Role Out "Employee Access "Position Tracking Courses and Consultation "Staffing Methodology Class "Executive Analytics Class "Reports Workshop "Data Mining & Scorecards "Set Up Alerts (7)Security: - Contractor would require VISTA Interface and access to employee and patient information - Contractor staff maintains VHA approved Privacy and Information Security training. They also obtain and maintain Master VPN access - All Memphis VAMC sensitive data will reside on the local server behind the firewall. There is no sensitive data stored on Acustaf server outside of the firewall. c.The Government and the Contractor understand and agree that the services to be delivered under this contract by the Contractor to the Government are non-personal services and the parties recognize and agree that no employer-employee or master-servant relationships exist or will exist under the contract between the Government and the Contractor's employees. 4. GOVERNMENT FURNISHED INFORMATION OR MATERIAL: a.Utilizes VA owned and maintained computer workstations, laptops, monitors. b.This contract does not include Contractor-acquired property (CAP). (1)All available information on CAP, including the make, model, and serial number, if available, of accountable assets with an acquisition cost of $500 or more - N/A (2)Title to CAP shall be vested in the Government upon completion of the project - N/A c.Disposition instructions of all GFP/CAP - N/A. 5. MEETINGS AND REVIEWS: Meeting and reviews set according to set-up and training schedule. 6. TRAVEL REQUIREMENTS: Contractor travel to the facility for set-up and training over a thirty day period during program implementation. 7. CONTRACTING OFFICER'S REPRESENTATIVE (COR): "No Government personnel, other than the Contracting Officer, have the authority to change or alter these requirements. The COR shall clarify technical points or supply relevant technical information, but no requirements in this scope of work may be altered as a sole result of such verbal clarification." 8. CONTRACTOR QUALIFICATIONS: Contractor shall provide the product according to the major requirements specifications and provide reports and deliverables including training. 9. SECURITY/NATIONAL AGENCY CHECK REQUIREMENTS: Security requirements for unclassified information technology resources: The contract shall include the following: "The contractor, their personnel, and their subcontractors shall be subject to the Federal laws, regulations, standards, and VA Directives and Handbooks regarding information and information system security as delineated in this contract." ACCESS TO VA INFORMATION AND VA INFORMATION SYSTEMS a. A contractor/sub-contractor shall request logical (technical) or physical access to VA information and VA information systems for their employees, subcontractors, and affiliates only to the extent necessary to perform the services specified in the contract, agreement, or task order. b. All contractors, subcontractors, and third-party servicers and associates working with VA information are subject to the same investigative requirements as those of VA appointees or employees who have access to the same types of information. The level and process of background security investigations for contractors must be in accordance with VA Directive and Handbook 0710, Personnel Suitability and Security Program. The Office for Operations, Security, and Preparedness is responsible for these policies and procedures. c. Contract personnel who require access to national security programs must have a valid security clearance. National Industrial Security Program (NISP) was established by Executive Order 12829 to ensure that cleared U.S. defense industry contract personnel safeguard the classified information in their possession while performing work on contracts, programs, bids, or research and development efforts. The Department of Veterans Affairs does not have a Memorandum of Agreement with Defense Security Service (DSS). Verification of a Security Clearance must be processed through the Special Security Officer located in the Planning and National Security Service within the Office of Operations, Security, and Preparedness. d. Custom software development and outsourced operations must be located in the U.S. to the maximum extent practical. If such services are proposed to be performed abroad and are not disallowed by other VA policy or mandates, the contractor/subcontractor must state where all non-U.S. services are provided and detail a security plan, deemed to be acceptable by VA, specifically to address mitigation of the resulting problems of communication, control, data protection, and so forth. Location within the U.S. may be an evaluation factor. e. The contractor or subcontractor must notify the Contracting Officer immediately when an employee working on a VA system or with access to VA information is reassigned or leaves the contractor or subcontractor's employ. The Contracting Officer must also be notified immediately by the contractor or subcontractor prior to an unfriendly termination. VA INFORMATION CUSTODIAL LANGUAGE a. Information made available to the contractor or subcontractor by VA for the performance or administration of this contract or information developed by the contractor/subcontractor in performance or administration of the contract shall be used only for those purposes and shall not be used in any other way without the prior written agreement of the VA. This clause expressly limits the contractor/subcontractor's rights to use data as described in Rights in Data - General, FAR 52.227-14(d) (1). b. VA information should not be co-mingled, if possible, with any other data on the contractors/subcontractor's information systems or media storage systems in order to ensure VA requirements related to data protection and media sanitization can be met. If co-mingling must be allowed to meet the requirements of the business need, the contractor must ensure that VA's information is returned to the VA or destroyed in accordance with VA's sanitization requirements. VA reserves the right to conduct on-site inspections of contractor and subcontractor IT resources to ensure data security controls, separation of data and job duties, and destruction/media sanitization procedures are in compliance with VA directive requirements. c. Prior to termination or completion of this contract, contractor/subcontractor must not destroy information received from VA, or gathered/created by the contractor in the course of performing this contract without prior written approval by the VA. Any data destruction done on behalf of VA by a contractor/subcontractor must be done in accordance with National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) requirements as outlined in VA Directive 6300, Records and Information Management and its Handbook 6300.1 Records Management Procedures, applicable VA Records Control Schedules, and VA Handbook 6500.1, Electronic Media Sanitization. Self-certification by the contractor that the data destruction requirements above have been met must be sent to the VA Contracting Officer within 30 days of termination of the contract. d. The contractor/subcontractor must receive, gather, store, back up, maintain, use, disclose and dispose of VA information only in compliance with the terms of the contract and applicable Federal and VA information confidentiality and security laws, regulations and policies. If Federal or VA information confidentiality and security laws, regulations and policies become applicable to the VA information or information systems after execution of the contract, or if NIST issues or updates applicable FIPS or Special Publications (SP) after execution of this contract, the parties agree to negotiate in good faith to implement the information confidentiality and security laws, regulations and policies in this contract. e. The contractor/subcontractor shall not make copies of VA information except as authorized and necessary to perform the terms of the agreement or to preserve electronic information stored on contractor/subcontractor electronic storage media for restoration in case any electronic equipment or data used by the contractor/subcontractor needs to be restored to an operating state. If copies are made for restoration purposes, after the restoration is complete, the copies must be appropriately destroyed. f. If VA determines that the contractor has violated any of the information confidentiality, privacy, and security provisions of the contract, it shall be sufficient grounds for VA to withhold payment to the contractor or third party or terminate the contract for default or terminate for cause under Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) part 12. g. If a VHA contract is terminated for cause, the associated BAA must also be terminated and appropriate actions taken in accordance with VHA Handbook 1600.01, Business Associate Agreements. Absent an agreement to use or disclose protected health information, there is no business associate relationship. h. The contractor/subcontractor must store, transport, or transmit VA sensitive information in an encrypted form, using VA-approved encryption tools that are, at a minimum, FIPS 140-2 validated. i. The contractor/subcontractor's firewall and Web services security controls, if applicable, shall meet or exceed VA's minimum requirements. VA Configuration Guidelines are available upon request. j. Except for uses and disclosures of VA information authorized by this contract for performance of the contract, the contractor/subcontractor may use and disclose VA information only in two other situations: (i) in response to a qualifying order of a court of competent jurisdiction, or (ii) with VA's prior written approval. The contractor/subcontractor must refer all requests for, demands for production of, or inquiries about, VA information and information systems to the VA contracting officer for response. k. Notwithstanding the provision above, the contractor/subcontractor shall not release VA records protected by Title 38 U.S.C. 5705, confidentiality of medical quality assurance records and/or Title 38 U.S.C. 7332, confidentiality of certain health records pertaining to drug addiction, sickle cell anemia, alcoholism or alcohol abuse, or infection with human immunodeficiency virus. If the contractor/subcontractor is in receipt of a court order or other requests for the above mentioned information, that contractor/subcontractor shall immediately refer such court orders or other requests to the VA contracting officer for response. l. For service that involves the storage, generating, transmitting, or exchanging of VA sensitive information but does not require C&A or an MOU-ISA for system interconnection, the contractor/subcontractor must complete a Contractor Security Control Assessment (CSCA) on a yearly basis and provide it to the COR. INFORMATION SYSTEM DESIGN AND DEVELOPMENT a. Information systems that are designed or developed for or on behalf of VA at non-VA facilities shall comply with all VA directives developed in accordance with FISMA, HIPAA, NIST, and related VA security and privacy control requirements for Federal information systems. This includes standards for the protection of electronic PHI, outlined in 45 C.F.R. Part 164, Subpart C, information and system security categorization level designations in accordance with FIPS 199 and FIPS 200 with implementation of all baseline security controls commensurate with the FIPS 199 system security categorization (reference Appendix D of VA Handbook 6500, VA Information Security Program). During the development cycle a Privacy Impact Assessment (PIA) must be completed, provided to the COR, and approved by the VA Privacy Service in accordance with Directive 6507, VA Privacy Impact Assessment. b. The contractor/subcontractor shall certify to the COR that applications are fully functional and operate correctly as intended on systems using the VA Federal Desktop Core Configuration (FDCC), and the common security configuration guidelines provided by NIST or the VA. This includes Internet Explorer 7 configured to operate on Windows XP and Vista (in Protected Mode on Vista) and future versions, as required. c. The standard installation, operation, maintenance, updating, and patching of software shall not alter the configuration settings from the VA approved and FDCC configuration. Information technology staff must also use the Windows Installer Service for installation to the default "program files" directory and silently install and uninstall. d. Applications designed for normal end users shall run in the standard user context without elevated system administration privileges. e. The security controls must be designed, developed, approved by VA, and implemented in accordance with the provisions of VA security system development life cycle as outlined in NIST Special Publication 800-37, Guide for Applying the Risk Management Framework to Federal Information Systems, VA Handbook 6500, Information Security Program and VA Handbook 6500.5, Incorporating Security and Privacy in System Development Lifecycle. f. The contractor/subcontractor is required to design, develop, or operate a System of Records Notice (SOR) on individuals to accomplish an agency function subject to the Privacy Act of 1974, (as amended), Public Law 93-579, December 31, 1974 (5 U.S.C. 552a) and applicable agency regulations. Violation of the Privacy Act may involve the imposition of criminal and civil penalties. g. The contractor/subcontractor agrees to: (1) Comply with the Privacy Act of 1974 (the Act) and the agency rules and regulations issued under the Act in the design, development, or operation of any system of records on individuals to accomplish an agency function when the contract specifically identifies: (a) The Systems of Records (SOR); and (b) The design, development, or operation work that the contractor/subcontractor is to perform; (2) Include the Privacy Act notification contained in this contract in every solicitation and resulting subcontract and in every subcontract awarded without a solicitation, when the work statement in the proposed subcontract requires the redesign, development, or operation of a SOR on individuals that is subject to the Privacy Act; and (3) Include this Privacy Act clause, including this subparagraph (3), in all subcontracts awarded under this contract which requires the design, development, or operation of such a SOR. h. In the event of violations of the Act, a civil action may be brought against the agency involved when the violation concerns the design, development, or operation of a SOR on individuals to accomplish an agency function, and criminal penalties may be imposed upon the officers or employees of the agency when the violation concerns the operation of a SOR on individuals to accomplish an agency function. For purposes of the Act, when the contract is for the operation of a SOR on individuals to accomplish an agency function, the contractor/subcontractor is considered to be an employee of the agency. (1) "Operation of a System of Records" means performance of any of the activities associated with maintaining the SOR, including the collection, use, maintenance, and dissemination of records. (2) "Record" means any item, collection, or grouping of information about an individual that is maintained by an agency, including, but not limited to, education, financial transactions, medical history, and criminal or employment history and contains the person's name, or identifying number, symbol, or any other identifying particular assigned to the individual, such as a fingerprint or voiceprint, or a photograph. (3) "System of Records" means a group of any records under the control of any agency from which information is retrieved by the name of the individual or by some identifying number, symbol, or other identifying particular assigned to the individual. i. The vendor shall ensure the security of all procured or developed systems and technologies, including their subcomponents (hereinafter referred to as "Systems"), throughout the life of this contract and any extension, warranty, or maintenance periods. This includes, but is not limited to workarounds, patches, hotfixes, upgrades, and any physical components (hereafter referred to as Security Fixes) which may be necessary to fix all security vulnerabilities published or known to the vendor anywhere in the Systems, including Operating Systems and firmware. The vendor shall ensure that Security Fixes shall not negatively impact the Systems. j. The vendor shall notify VA within 24 hours of the discovery or disclosure of successful exploits of the vulnerability which can compromise the security of the Systems (including the confidentiality or integrity of its data and operations, or the availability of the system). Such issues shall be remediated as quickly as is practical, but in no event longer than ten (10)business days. k. When the Security Fixes involve installing third party patches (such as Microsoft OS patches or Adobe Acrobat), the vendor will provide written notice to the VA that the patch has been validated as not affecting the Systems within 10 working days. When the vendor is responsible for operations or maintenance of the Systems, they shall apply the Security Fixes within ten (10) business days. l. All other vulnerabilities shall be remediated as specified in this paragraph in a timely manner based on risk, but within 60 days of discovery or disclosure. Exceptions to this paragraph (e.g. for the convenience of VA) shall only be granted with approval of the contracting officer and the VA Assistant Secretary for Office of Information and Technology. INFORMATION SYSTEM HOSTING, OPERATION, MAINTENANCE, OR USE a. For information systems that are hosted, operated, maintained, or used on behalf of VA at non-VA facilities, contractors/subcontractors are fully responsible and accountable for ensuring compliance with all HIPAA, Privacy Act, FISMA, NIST, FIPS, and VA security and privacy directives and handbooks. This includes conducting compliant risk assessments, routine vulnerability scanning, system patching and change management procedures, and the completion of an acceptable contingency plan for each system. The contractor's security control procedures must be equivalent, to those procedures used to secure VA systems. A Privacy Impact Assessment (PIA) must also be provided to the COTR and approved by VA Privacy Service prior to operational approval. All external Internet connections to VA's network involving VA information must be reviewed and approved by VA prior to implementation. b. Adequate security controls for collecting, processing, transmitting, and storing of Personally Identifiable Information (PII), as determined by the VA Privacy Service, must be in place, tested, and approved by VA prior to hosting, operation, maintenance, or use of the information system, or systems by or on behalf of VA. These security controls are to be assessed and stated within the PIA and if these controls are determined not to be in place, or inadequate, a Plan of Action and Milestones (POA&M) must be submitted and approved prior to the collection of PII. c. Outsourcing (contractor facility, contractor equipment or contractor staff) of systems or network operations, telecommunications services, or other managed services requires certification and accreditation (authorization) (C&A) of the contractor's systems in accordance with VA Handbook 6500.3, Certification and Accreditation and/or the VA OCS Certification Program Office. Government-owned (government facility or government equipment) contractor-operated systems, third party or business partner networks require memorandums of understanding and interconnection agreements (MOU-ISA) which detail what data types are shared, who has access, and the appropriate level of security controls for all systems connected to VA networks. d. The contractor/subcontractor's system must adhere to all FISMA, FIPS, and NIST standards related to the annual FISMA security controls assessment and review and update the PIA. Any deficiencies noted during this assessment must be provided to the VA contracting officer and the ISO for entry into VA's POA&M management process. The contractor/subcontractor must use VA's POA&M process to document planned remedial actions to address any deficiencies in information security policies, procedures, and practices, and the completion of those activities. Security deficiencies must be corrected within the timeframes approved by the government. Contractor/subcontractor procedures are subject to periodic, unannounced assessments by VA officials, including the VA Office of Inspector General. The physical security aspects associated with contractor/subcontractor activities must also be subject to such assessments. If major changes to the system occur that may affect the privacy or security of the data or the system, the C&A of the system may need to be reviewed, retested and re-authorized per VA Handbook 6500.3. This may require reviewing and updating all of the documentation (PIA, System Security Plan, Contingency Plan). The Certification Program Office can provide guidance on whether a new C&A would be necessary. e. The contractor/subcontractor must conduct an annual self-assessment on all systems and outsourced services as required. Both hard copy and electronic copies of the assessment must be provided to the COR. The government reserves the right to conduct such an assessment using government personnel or another contractor/subcontractor. The contractor/subcontractor must take appropriate and timely action (this can be specified in the contract) to correct or mitigate any weaknesses discovered during such testing, generally at no additional cost. f. VA prohibits the installation and use of personally-owned or contractor/subcontractor owned equipment or software on VA's network. If non-VA owned equipment must be used to fulfill the requirements of a contract, it must be stated in the service agreement, SOW or contract. All of the security controls required for government furnished equipment (GFE) must be utilized in approved other equipment (OE) and must be funded by the owner of the equipment. All remote systems must be equipped with, and use, a VA-approved antivirus (AV) software and a personal (host-based or enclave based) firewall that is configured with a VA approved configuration. Software must be kept current, including all critical updates and patches. Owners of approved OE are responsible for providing and maintaining the anti-viral software and the firewall on the non-VA owned OE. g. All electronic storage media used on non-VA leased or non-VA owned IT equipment that is used to store, process, or access VA information must be handled in adherence with VA Handbook 6500.1, Electronic Media Sanitization upon: (i) completion or termination of the contract or (ii) disposal or return of the IT equipment by the contractor/subcontractor or any person acting on behalf of the contractor/subcontractor, whichever is earlier. Media (hard drives, optical disks, CDs, back-up tapes, etc.) used by the contractors/subcontractors that contain VA information must be returned to the VA for sanitization or destruction or the contractor/subcontractor must self-certify that the media has been disposed of per 6500.1 requirements. This must be completed within 30 days of termination of the contract. h. Bio-Medical devices and other equipment or systems containing media (hard drives, optical disks, etc.) with VA sensitive information must not be returned to the vendor at the end of lease, for trade-in, or other purposes. The options are: (1) Vendor must accept the system without the drive; (2) VA's initial medical device purchase includes a spare drive which must be installed in place of the original drive at time of turn-in; or (3) VA must reimburse the company for media at a reasonable open market replacement cost at time of purchase. (4) Due to the highly specialized and sometimes proprietary hardware and software associated with medical equipment/systems, if it is not possible for the VA to retain the hard drive, then; (a) The equipment vendor must have an existing BAA if the device being traded in has sensitive information stored on it and hard drive(s) from the system are being returned physically intact; and (b) Any fixed hard drive on the device must be non-destructively sanitized to the greatest extent possible without negatively impacting system operation. Selective clearing down to patient data folder level is recommended using VA approved and validated overwriting technologies/methods/tools. Applicable media sanitization specifications need to be preapproved and described in the purchase order or contract. (c) A statement needs to be signed by the Director (System Owner) that states that the drive could not be removed and that (a) and (b) controls above are in place and completed. The ISO needs to maintain the documentation. SECURITY INCIDENT INVESTIGATION a. The term "security incident" means an event that has, or could have, resulted in unauthorized access to, loss or damage to VA assets, or sensitive information, or an action that breaches VA security procedures. The contractor/subcontractor shall immediately notify the COTR and simultaneously, the designated ISO and Privacy Officer for the contract of any known or suspected security/privacy incidents, or any unauthorized disclosure of sensitive information, including that contained in system(s) to which the contractor/subcontractor has access. b. To the extent known by the contractor/subcontractor, the contractor/subcontractor's notice to VA shall identify the information involved, the circumstances surrounding the incident (including to whom, how, when, and where the VA information or assets were placed at risk or compromised), and any other information that the contractor/subcontractor considers relevant. c. With respect to unsecured protected health information, the business associate is deemed to have discovered a data breach when the business associate knew or should have known of a breach of such information. Upon discovery, the business associate must notify the covered entity of the breach. Notifications need to be made in accordance with the executed business associate agreement. d. In instances of theft or break-in or other criminal activity, the contractor/subcontractor must concurrently report the incident to the appropriate law enforcement entity (or entities) of jurisdiction, including the VA OIG and Security and Law Enforcement. The contractor, its employees, and its subcontractors and their employees shall cooperate with VA and any law enforcement authority responsible for the investigation and prosecution of any possible criminal law violation(s) associated with any incident. The contractor/subcontractor shall cooperate with VA in any civil litigation to recover VA information, obtain monetary or other compensation from a third party for damages arising from any incident, or obtain injunctive relief against any third party arising from, or related to, the incident. LIQUIDATED DAMAGES FOR DATA BREACH a. Consistent with the requirements of 38 U.S.C. §5725, a contract may require access to sensitive personal information. If so, the contractor is liable to VA for liquidated damages in the event of a data breach or privacy incident involving any SPI the contractor/subcontractor processes or maintains under this contract. b. The contractor/subcontractor shall provide notice to VA of a "security incident" as set forth in the Security Incident Investigation section above. Upon such notification, VA must secure from a non-Department entity or the VA Office of Inspector General an independent risk analysis of the data breach to determine the level of risk associated with the data breach for the potential misuse of any sensitive personal information involved in the data breach. The term 'data breach' means the loss, theft, or other unauthorized access, or any access other than that incidental to the scope of employment, to data containing sensitive personal information, in electronic or printed form, that results in the potential compromise of the confidentiality or integrity of the data. Contractor shall fully cooperate with the entity performing the risk analysis. Failure to cooperate may be deemed a material breach and grounds for contract termination. c. Each risk analysis shall address all relevant information concerning the data breach, including the following: (1) Nature of the event (loss, theft, unauthorized access); (2) Description of the event, including: (a) date of occurrence; (b) data elements involved, including any PII, such as full name, social security number, date of birth, home address, account number, disability code; (3) Number of individuals affected or potentially affected; (4) Names of individuals or groups affected or potentially affected; (5) Ease of logical data access to the lost, stolen or improperly accessed data in light of the degree of protection for the data, e.g., unencrypted, plain text; (6) Amount of time the data has been out of VA control; (7) The likelihood that the sensitive personal information will or has been compromised (made accessible to and usable by unauthorized persons); (8) Known misuses of data containing sensitive personal information, if any; (9) Assessment of the potential harm to the affected individuals; (10) Data breach analysis as outlined in 6500.2 Handbook, Management of Security and Privacy Incidents, as appropriate; and (11) Whether credit protection services may assist record subjects in avoiding or mitigating the results of identity theft based on the sensitive personal information that may have been compromised. d. Based on the determinations of the independent risk analysis, the contractor shall be responsible for paying to the VA liquidated damages in the amount of $______ per affected individual to cover the cost of providing credit protection services to affected individuals consisting of the following: (1) Notification; (2) One year of credit monitoring services consisting of automatic daily monitoring of at least 3 relevant credit bureau reports; (3) Data breach analysis; (4) Fraud resolution services, including writing dispute letters, initiating fraud alerts and credit freezes, to assist affected individuals to bring matters to resolution; (5) One year of identity theft insurance with $20,000.00 coverage at $0 deductible; and (6) Necessary legal expenses the subjects may incur to repair falsified or damaged credit records, histories, or financial affairs. SECURITY CONTROLS COMPLIANCE TESTING On a periodic basis, VA, including the Office of Inspector General, reserves the right to evaluate any or all of the security controls and privacy practices implemented by the contractor under the clauses contained within the contract. With 10 working-days notice, at the request of the government, the contractor must fully cooperate and assist in a government-sponsored security controls assessment at each location wherein VA information is processed or stored, or information systems are developed, operated, maintained, or used on behalf of VA, including those initiated by the Office of Inspector General. The government may conduct a security control assessment on shorter notice (to include unannounced assessments) as determined by VA in the event of a security incident or at any other time. TRAINING a. All contractor employees and subcontractor employees requiring access to VA information and VA information systems shall complete the following before being granted access to VA information and its systems: (1) Sign and acknowledge (either manually or electronically) understanding of and responsibilities for compliance with the Contractor Rules of Behavior, Appendix E relating to access to VA information and information systems; (2) Successfully complete the VA Cyber Security Awareness and Rules of Behavior training and annually complete required security training; (3) Successfully complete the appropriate VA privacy training and annually complete required privacy training; and (4) Successfully complete any additional cyber security or privacy training, as required for VA personnel with equivalent information system access [to be defined by the VA program official and provided to the contracting officer for inclusion in the solicitation document - e.g., any role-based information security training required in accordance with NIST Special Publication 800-16, Information Technology Security Training Requirements.] b. The contractor shall provide to the contracting officer and/or the COR a copy of the training certificates and certification of signing the Contractor Rules of Behavior for each applicable employee within 1 week of the initiation of the contract and annually thereafter, as required. c. Failure to complete the mandatory annual training and sign the Rules of Behavior annually, within the timeframe required, is grounds for suspension or termination of all physical or electronic access privileges and removal from work on the contract until such time as the training and documents are complete. Services will be performed Monday through Friday, excluding federal holidays, between the hours of 8:00 a.m. and 5:00 p.m. Additional time outside specified time may be requested by the VA if determined necessary. The following is a list of U.S. Government holidays. If the holiday falls on a Saturday, the proceeding Friday is observed as the holiday; if the holiday falls on a Sunday, the following Monday is observed as the holiday. HOLIDAYDATE New Year's Day Jan 1 Martin Luther King's Birthday3rd Monday in Jan President's Day3rd Monday in Feb Memorial DayLast Monday in May Independence DayJuly 4 Labor Day1st Monday in Sep Columbus Day 2nd Monday in Oct Veterans Day Nov 11 Thanksgiving Day 4th Thursday in Nov Christmas DayDec 25 *And any other day specifically declared by the President of the United States to be a national holiday. 3. Period of Performance: The Period of Performance for this effort will be a base with four (4) option years with the base year beginning on June 1, 2015. Base Year:06/01/2015 - 05/31/2016 Option Year One:06/01/2016 - 05/31/2017 Option Year Two:06/01/2017 - 05/31/2018 Option Year Three:06/01/2018 - 05/31/2019 Option Year Four:06/01/2019 - 05/31/2020 4. Place of Performance: Memphis VA Medical Center, 1030 Jefferson Avenue, Memphis Tennessee 38104 GENERAL TERMS AND CONDITIONS FOR ALL ACTIONS AND ACTIVITIES UNDER THE CONTRACT: a. The Contractor shall agree that they have no reasonable expectation of privacy in accessing or using any VA, or other Federal Government information systems. b. The Contractor shall consent to reviews and actions by the Office of Information & Technology (OI&T) staff designated and authorized by the VA Chief Information Officer (CIO) and to the VA OIG regarding my access to and use of any information assets or resources associated with my performance of services under the contract terms with the VA. These actions may include monitoring, recording, copying, inspecting, restricting access, blocking, tracking, and disclosing to all authorized OI&T, VA, and law enforcement personnel as directed by the VA CIO without my prior consent or notification. c. The Contractor shall consent to reviews and actions by authorized VA systems administrators and Information Security Officers solely for protection of the VA infrastructure, including, but not limited to monitoring, recording, auditing, inspecting, investigating, restricting access, blocking, tracking, disclosing to authorized personnel, or any other authorized actions by all authorized OI&T, VA, and law enforcement personnel. d. The Contractor shall understand and accept that unauthorized attempts or acts to access, upload, change, or delete information on Federal Government systems; modify Federal government systems; deny access to Federal government systems; accrue resources for unauthorized use on Federal government systems; or otherwise misuse Federal government systems or resources are prohibited. e. The Contractor shall understand that such unauthorized attempts or acts are subject to action that may result in criminal, civil, or administrative penalties. This includes penalties for violations of Federal laws including, but not limited to, 18 U.S.C. §1030 (fraud and related activity in connection with computers) and 18 U.S.C. §2701 (unlawful access to stored communications). f. The Contractor shall agree that OI&T staff, in the course of obtaining access to information or systems on my behalf for performance under the contract, may provide information about me including, but not limited to, appropriate unique personal identifiers such as date of birth and social security number to other system administrators, Information Security Officers (ISOs), or other authorized staff without further notifying me or obtaining additional written or verbal permission from me. g. The Contractor shall comply with VA's security and data privacy directives, handbooks, and, copies of those directives and handbooks can be obtained from the Contracting Officer's Representative (COR). If the contractor believes the policies and guidance provided by the COR is a material unilateral change to the contract, the contractor must elevate such concerns to the Contracting Officer for resolution. h. I will report suspected or identified information security/privacy incidents to the COR and to the local ISO or Privacy Officer as appropriate. GENERAL RULES OF BEHAVIOR a. Rules of Behavior are part of a comprehensive program to provide complete information security. These rules establish standards of behavior in recognition of the fact that knowledgeable users are the foundation of a successful security program. Users must understand that taking personal responsibility for the security of their computer and the information it contains is an essential part of their job. b. VA contractors shall comply with the following rules: (1) Follow established procedures for requesting, accessing, and closing user accounts and access. Contractor shall not request or obtain access beyond what is normally granted to users or by what is outlined in the contract. (2) Use only systems, software, databases, and data which the contractor is authorized to use, including any copyright restrictions. (3) Contractor shall not use other equipment (OE) (non-contractor owned) for the storage, transfer, or processing of VA sensitive information without a VA CIO approved waiver, unless it has been reviewed and approved by local management and is included in the language of the contract. If authorized to use OE IT equipment, the contractor must ensure that the system meets all applicable 6500 Handbook requirements for OE. (4) Shall not use the contractors position of trust and access rights to exploit system controls or access information for any reason other than in the performance of the contract. (5) Shall not attempt to override or disable security, technical, or management controls unless expressly permitted to do so as an explicit requirement under the contract or at the direction of the COR or ISO. If the Contractor os allowed or required to have a local administrator account on a government-owned computer, that local administrative account does not confer me unrestricted access or use, nor the authority to bypass security or other controls except as expressly permitted by the VA CIO or CIO's designee. (6) Contractors' use of systems, information, or sites is strictly limited to fulfill the terms of the contract. No personal use is authorized. The Contractor shall only use other Federal government information systems as expressly authorized by the terms of those systems. The Contractor shall accept that the restrictions under ethics regulations and criminal law still apply. (7) Grant access to systems and information only to those who have an official need to know. (8) Protect passwords from access by other individuals. (9) Create and change passwords in accordance with VA Handbook 6500 on systems and any devices protecting VA information as well as the rules of behavior and security settings for the particular system in question. (10) Protect information and systems from unauthorized disclosure, use, modification, or destruction. The Contractor shall only use encryption that is FIPS 140-2 validated to safeguard VA sensitive information, both safeguarding VA sensitive information in storage and in transit regarding my access to and use of any information assets or resources associated with my performance of services under the contract terms with the VA. (11) Follow VA Handbook 6500.1, Electronic Media Sanitization to protect VA information. Contact the COR for policies and guidance on complying with this requirement and will follow the COR's orders. (12) Ensure that the COR has previously approved VA information for public dissemination, including e-mail communications outside of the VA as appropriate. The Contractor shall not make any unauthorized disclosure of any VA sensitive information through the use of any means of communication including but not limited to e-mail, instant messaging, online chat, and web bulletin boards or logs. (13) Not host, set up, administer, or run an Internet server related to my access to and use of any information assets or resources associated with my performance of services under the contract terms with the VA unless explicitly authorized under the contract or in writing by the COR. (14) Protect government property from theft, destruction, or misuse. Follow VA directives and handbooks on handling Federal government IT equipment, information, and systems. The Contractor shall not take VA sensitive information from the workplace without authorization from the COR. (15) Only use anti-virus software, antispyware, and firewall/intrusion detection software authorized by VA. Ccontact the COR for policies and guidance on complying with this requirement and will follow the COR's orders regarding my access to and use of any information assets or resources associated with my performance of services under the contract terms with VA. (16) Not disable or degrade the standard anti-virus software, antispyware, and/or firewall/intrusion detection software on the computer used to access and use information assets or resources associated with my performance of services under the contract terms with VA. Report anti-virus, antispyware, firewall or intrusion detection software errors, or significant alert messages to the COR. (17) Understand that restoration of service of any VA system is a concern of all users of the system. (18) Complete required information security and privacy training, and complete required training for the particular systems to which requires access. ADDITIONAL CONDITIONS FOR USE OF NON- VA INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY RESOURCES a. When required to complete work under the contract, the Contractor will directly connect to the VA network whenever possible. If a direct connection to the VA network is not possible, then VA approved remote access software and services shall be used. b. Remote access to non-public VA information technology resources is prohibited from publicly-available IT computers, such as remotely connecting to the internal VA network from computers in a public library. c. The Contractor shall not have both a VA network line and any kind of non-VA network line including a wireless network card, modem with phone line, or other network device physically connected to my computer at the same time, unless the dual connection is explicitly authorized by the COR. d. The Contractor shall not obviate or evade responsibility to adhere to VA security requirements by subcontracting any work under any given contract or agreement with VA, and that any subcontractor(s) engaged shall likewise be bound by the same security requirements and penalties for violating the same. ACKNOWLEDGEMENT AND ACCEPTANCE The contractor shall comply with the terms and conditions of this Statement of Work and any additional VA warning banners, directives, handbooks, notices, or directions regarding access to or use of information systems or information. The terms and conditions of this document do not supersede the terms and conditions of the signatory's employer and VA.
 

Web Link

FBO.gov Permalink
(https://www.fbo.gov/spg/VA/NaVAMC/VAMCCO80220/VA24915N0502/listing.html)
 

Document(s)

Attachment
 

File Name: VA249-15-N-0502 VA249-15-N-0502.docx (https://www.vendorportal.ecms.va.gov/FBODocumentServer/DocumentServer.aspx?DocumentId=2059985&FileName=VA249-15-N-0502-000.docx)

Link: https://www.vendorportal.ecms.va.gov/FBODocumentServer/DocumentServer.aspx?DocumentId=2059985&FileName=VA249-15-N-0502-000.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: Memphis VA Medical Center;1030 Jefferson Avenue;Memphis, TN

Zip Code: 38104
 

Record

SN03737227-W 20150522/150520234706-c75aef82634534c8b406e7333e862ee5 (fbodaily.com)
 

Source

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

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