SOURCES SOUGHT
Q -- Therapeutic Radiologic Technologists (TRT) Services for VA Greater Los Angeles Healthcare System (VAGLAHS)
- Notice Date
- 3/25/2022 3:30:35 PM
- Notice Type
- Sources Sought
- NAICS
- 621399
— Offices of All Other Miscellaneous Health Practitioners
- Contracting Office
- 262-NETWORK CONTRACT OFFICE 22 (36C262) Gilbert AZ 85297 USA
- ZIP Code
- 85297
- Solicitation Number
- 36C26222Q0261
- Response Due
- 4/13/2022 10:00:00 AM
- Archive Date
- 06/12/2022
- Point of Contact
- C. Simona Hinsley, Contract Specialist, Phone: (562) 900-6439
- E-Mail Address
-
Corina.Hinsley@va.gov
(Corina.Hinsley@va.gov)
- Awardee
- null
- Description
- THIS REQUEST FOR INFORMATION (RFI) SOURCES SOUGHT IS ISSUED SOLELY FOR MARKET RESEARCH AND PLANNING PURPOSES ONLY AND DOES NOT CONSTITUTE A SOLICITATION. 1. Responses to this Sources Sought must be in writing. The purpose of this Sources Sought Announcement is for market research purposes only, to make appropriate acquisition decisions and to gain knowledge of Small Businesses, Veteran Owned Small Businesses (VOSB), including Service-Disabled Veteran Owned Small Businesses (SDVOSB), interested and capable of providing Therapeutic Radiologic Technologists (TRT) Services, per paragraph five (5) below, for the VA Greater Los Angeles Healthcare System (VAGLAHS). 2. The NAICS for this requirement is NACIS 621399 Offices of all Other Miscellaneous Health Practitioners. The product service code is Q522, Medical - Radiology. 3. Interested and capable Contractors should respond to this notice not later than 10:00 AM (PST) on April 13, 2022 by providing the following via email only to Corina.Hinsley@va.gov. (a) company name (b) address (c) point of contact (d) phone and email of primary point of contact (e) DUNS number (f) Type of small business, if applicable, (e.g. Services Disabled Veteran Owned Small Business (SDVOSB), Veteran-owned small business (VOSB), 8(a), HUB-Zone, Women Owned Small Business, Small disadvantaged business, or Small Business). g) A capability statement that addresses the organization s qualifications and ability to perform as a contractor specifically for the work described in the Performance Work Statement (PWS). Respondents are also encouraged to provide specific examples (e.g. contract number, point of contact information) of the Contractor s experience providing the same or similar services to that described in the DRAFT PWS. 4. Required Services. The Contractor shall furnish all personnel to provide services necessary to perform onsite Therapeutic Radiologic Technologists (TRT) Services to eligible beneficiaries of the Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center, Greater Los Angeles Healthcare System, 11301 Wilshire Blvd., Los Angeles CA, 90073. The Government requires services to begin by September 1, 2022. 5. Please note that if VA s pending market research establishes that two or more VOSB or SDVOSB, who are certified in VA s Vendor Information Pages (VIP) site https://www.vip.vetbiz.gov/, can provide the services, VA will set aside the underlying solicitation per 38 U.S.C. §8127. 6. All Offerors who provide goods or services to the United States Federal Government must be registered in the System for Award Management (SAM) database found at https://www.sam.gov. Registration must include Representations and Certifications. 7. The intended contract period will be for a base year and up to four (4) one-year option periods with the base period of performance anticipated to be from September 01, 2022 August 31, 2023. Draft Performance Work Statement (PWS) QUALIFICATIONS: License: The Contract Therapeutic Radiologic Technologists (TRT) assigned by the Contractor to perform the services covered by this contract shall have a current license to practice in the State of California. All licenses held by the personnel working on this contract shall be full and unrestricted licenses. Board Certification: All Therapeutic Radiologic Technologist s shall be board certified by the American Registry of Radiologic Technologists (T) in Radiation Therapy (ARRT(T). All continuing education courses required for maintaining certification must be kept up to date at all times. Documentation verifying current certification shall be provided by the Contractor to the VA COR on an annual basis for each year of contract performance. The Therapeutic Radiologic Technologists need at least 2 years of current relevant Radiation Therapy experience treating patients. Credentialing and Privileging: Credentialing of Health Care Professionals other than physicians. In accordance with Veterans Health Administration (VHA) Directive 2012-030, all health care professionals who claim licensure, certification, or registration, as applicable to the position (this applies to all who are appointed or utilized on a full-time, part-time, intermittent, consultant , without compensation, on-station fee-basis, on-station contract, or on-station sharing agreement basis) and who are not currently credentialed in accordance with VHA Handbook 1100.19, shall be credentialed in accordance with this directive. Qualifications: Therapeutic Radiologic Technologist s: Shall be a graduate of an approved program in Therapeutic Radiologic Technology, evidence by a certificate or an Associate degree from an accredited institution by the Joint Review Committee on Education in Radiologic Technology (JRCERT) and certification by the ARRT. The qualifications of such personnel shall be subject to review by the VA Chief of Staff and approval by the VA Facility Director. Competency requirements shall be defined by the VA Healthcare System. Two (2) years of experience - Knowledge of overall characteristics and clinical relevance of radiation oncology treatment machines and equipment. Shall know ARIA software, CBCT, KV/KV. Two (2) years of experience - Delivery of prescribed therapeutic radiation for the purposes of cancer and abnormal cell growth treatments. Two (2) years of experience in 3-dimensional conformal radiation therapy (3D-CRT), Intensity Modulated Radiation Therapy (IMRT), Image Guided Radiation (IGRT), Stereotactic Body Radiotherapy (SBRT), Stereotactic Radio Surgery (SRS), Stereotactic Radiation Therapy (SRT), RapidArc. Technical Proficiency: Contract TRT(s) 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. The 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. The Contract TRT(s) shall have knowledge of professional care theories, principles, practices, and procedures to serve radiation oncology patient population. Contract TRT(s) shall demonstrate knowledge of growth and development, and pathophysiology of disease processes specific radiation oncology patient population. The Contractor shall provide verifiable evidence of all educational and training experiences including any gaps in educational history and other contract TRT(s) shall be responsible for abiding by the Facility's Staff By-Laws, rules, and regulations that govern staff behavior. Continuing CME: CEU Requirements: The Contractor shall provide the COR copies of current CEUs as required or requested by the VAMC. Contractors registered or certified by ARRT shall continue to meet the minimum standards for CEU to remain current. CEU hours shall be reported to the credential s office for tracking. Training (BLS, EHR and VA MANDATORY): The Contractor shall meet all VA educational requirements and mandatory course requirements defined herein; all training shall be completed by the contractor s TRT s as required by the VA. Other training may become required. VA shall communicate any changes to the training requirement to the contractor. Standard Personnel Testing (PPD, etc.): The Contractor shall provide proof of the following tests for TRT s within five (5) calendar days after contract award and prior to the first duty shift to the COR and Contracting Officer. Tests shall be current within the past year. TUBERCULOSIS TESTING: The Contractor shall provide proof of a negative Tuberculosis Skin Test (TST) or interferon-gamma release assays (IGRA) for all Contractor s TRT s {This is applicable to all health care workers}. A negative chest radiographic report for active tuberculosis shall be provided in cases of positive TST or IGRA results. The TST or IGRA testing shall be repeated annually. MEASLES, MUMPS, & RUBELLA TESTING: Contractors shall provide proof of immunity for all Contractor TRT s {This is applicable to all health care workers}. VARICELLA: Contractors shall provide proof of immunity for all Contractor TRT s {This is applicable to all health care workers}. ACELLULAR PERTUSSIS: Contractors shall provide proof of 1 dose of Tdap vaccination for all Contractor TRT s {This is applicable to all health care workers}. INFLUENZA: Contractors shall provide proof that all Contractor TRT s have received the annual Influenza vaccine unless it is contraindicated. If the Contractor physician has a medical contraindication to the vaccine, they shall be required to wear a mask during the Influenza season. {This is applicable to all health care workers}. OSHA REGULATION CONCERNING OCCUPATIONAL EXPOSURE TO BLOODBORNE PATHOGENS: The Contractor shall provide evidence of completing and passing generic self-study blood-borne pathogen training for all Contractor s TRT(s) {This is applicable to all health care workers}; provide their own Hepatitis B vaccination series and hepatitis B surface antigen test results following the hepatitis B vaccination series; maintain an exposure determination and control plan; maintain required records; and ensure that proper follow-up evaluation is provided following an exposure incident. The VAMC shall notify the Contractor of any significant communicable disease exposures as appropriate. The Contractor shall adhere to current Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and Healthcare Infection Control Practices Advisory Committee (HICPAC) Guideline for Infection Control in health care personnel (as published in American Journal for Infection Control- AJIC 1998; 26:289-354 http://www.cdc.gov/hicpac/pdf/InfectControl98.pdf) for disease control. The Contractor shall provide follow up documentation of clearance to return to the workplace prior to their return. Conflict of Interest: The Contractor and all TRT(s) and other contract provider (s) shall be responsible for identifying and communicating to the CO and COR conflicts of interest at the time of proposal and during the entirety of contract performance. At the time of proposal, the Contractor shall provide a statement which describes, in a concise manner, all relevant facts concerning any past, present, or currently planned interest (financial, contractual, organizational, or otherwise) or actual or potential organizational conflicts of interest relating to the services to be provided. The Contractor shall also provide statements containing the same information for any identified consultants or subcontractors who shall provide services. Furthermore, the Contractor shall provide relevant facts that show how it s organizational and/or management system or other actions would avoid or mitigate any actual or potential organizational conflicts of interest. These statements shall be in response to the VAAR provision 852.209-70 Organizational Conflicts of Interest - and fully outlined in response to the subject attachment in Section D of the solicitation document. Citizenship related Requirements: The Contractor certifies that the Contractor shall comply with any and all legal provisions contained in the Immigration and Nationality Act of 1952, As Amended; its related laws and regulations that are enforced by Homeland Security, Immigration and Customs Enforcement and the U.S Department of Labor as these may relate to non-immigrant foreign nationals working under contract or subcontract for the Contractor while providing services to Department of Veterans Affairs patient referrals. While performing services for the Department of Veterans Affairs, the Contractor shall not knowingly employ, contract, or subcontract with an illegal alien; foreign national non-immigrant who is in violation their status, as a result of their failure to maintain or comply with the terms and conditions of their admission into the United States. Additionally, the Contractor is required to comply with all E-Verify requirements consistent with Executive Order 12989 and any related pertinent Amendments, as well as applicable Federal Acquisition Regulations. If the Contractor fails to comply with any requirements outlined in the preceding paragraphs or its Agency regulations, the Department of Veterans Affairs may, at its discretion, require that the foreign national who failed to maintain their legal status in the United States or otherwise failed to comply with the requirements of the laws administered by Homeland Security, Immigration and Customs Enforcement and the U.S Department of Labor, shall be prohibited from working at the Contractor s place of business that services Department of Veterans Affairs patient referrals; or other place where the Contractor provides services to veterans who have been referred by the Department of Veterans Affairs; and shall form the basis for termination of this contract for breach. This certification concerns a matter within the jurisdiction of an agency of the United States and the making of a false, fictitious, or fraudulent certification may render the maker subject to prosecution under 18 U.S.C. 1001. The Contractor shall obtain a similar certification from its subcontractors. The certification shall be made as part of the offerors response to the RFP using the subject attachment in Section D of the solicitation document. Annual Office of Inspector General (OIG) Statement: In accordance with Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) and the Balanced Budget Act (BBA) of 1977, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Office of Inspector General (OIG) has established a list of parties and entities excluded from Federal health care programs. Specifically, the listed parties and entities may not receive Federal Health Care program payments due to fraud and/or abuse of the Medicare and Medicaid programs. Therefore, the Contractor shall review the HHS OIG List of Excluded Individuals/Entities on the HHS OIG web site at http://oig.hhs.gov/exclusions/index.asp to ensure that the proposed contract TRT(s) is not listed. The Contractor should note that any excluded individual or entity that submits a claim for reimbursement to a Federal health care program, or causes such a claim to be submitted, may be subject to a Civil Monetary Penalty (CMP) for each item or service furnished during a period that the person was excluded and may also be subject to treble damages for the amount claimed for each item or service. CMP s may also be imposed against the Contractor that employ or enter into contracts with excluded individuals to provide items or services to Federal program beneficiaries. By submitting their proposal, the Contractor certifies that the HHS OIG List of Excluded Individuals/Entities has been reviewed and that the Contractors are and/or firm is not listed as of the date the offer/bid was signed. Clinical/Professional Direction: The qualifications of Contractor personnel shall be 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 and VHA Directive 2012-030. Clinical/Professional direction of all clinical personnel covered by this contract shall be provided by the Veterans Affairs Medical Center (VAMC), Chief of Staff (COS) and/or the Chief of the Service or his designee. A clinical COR may be appointed, however, only the Contracting Officer (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 TRT(s) and other contract provider (s) shall not be considered VA employees for any purpose. Inherent Government Functions: The Contractor, Contract TRT(s), and other contract provider (s) 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 TRT(s) and other contract provider (s) 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. Tort Liability: The Federal Tort Claims Act does not cover the Contractor or the Contract TRT(s) and other contract provider (s). When a Contractor or Contract TRT(s) and/or other contract provider (s) has been identified as a provider in a tort claim, the Contractor shall be responsible for notifying their legal counsel and/or insurance carrier. Any settlement or judgment arising from a Contractor s (or contract TRT(s) or other contract provider (s)) action or non-action shall be the responsibility of the Contractor and/or insurance carrier. Key Personnel: The Contractor shall provide the number of qualified staff as is necessary to perform the services required under this contract, at the staffing level determined to be professionally acceptable by the VA Chief of Staff and in accordance with American Society for Radiation Oncology (ASTRO), Accreditation Program for Excellence (APEx) staffing guidelines. The VA Full Time Equivalency (FTE): FTE is defined by VA as a minimum of 80 hours every two weeks and does not include holidays. The Contractor shall be responsible for providing coverage to the VA during periods of vacancies of the Contractor s personnel due to sick leave, personal leave, vacations, and additional coverage as required. In the event a scheduled Contract TRT is unable to complete an assigned shift, the Contractor shall provide replacement Contract TRT coverage within 2 hours and notify the Contracting Office Representative (COR) at the VAGLAHS immediately of the schedule change. 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 shall notify the Contractor within 15 calendar days after receipt of all required information of the decision on the proposed substitutes. The contract shall be modified to reflect any approved changes of key personnel. For temporary substitutions where the key person shall not be reporting to work for 3 consecutive workdays or more, the Contractor shall provide a qualified replacement for the key person. The substitute shall have comparable qualifications to the key person. Any period exceeding two weeks shall require the procedure as stated above. 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 TRT(s), s/he may request, without cause, immediate replacement of said contract TRT(s). The CO and COR shall deal with issues raised concerning Contract TRT(s) conduct. The final arbiter on questions of acceptability is the CO. Contingency Plan: Continuity of care and uninterrupted operations of a Radiation Oncology Program are essential components of this contract and shall be primary factors in Contractor s assignment of staff and frequency of substitutions. The Contractor shall have a contingency plan in place to be utilized if the Contract TRT(s) and other contract provider (s) leaves Contractor s employment or is unable to continue performance in accordance with the terms and conditions of the resulting contract. VA HOURS OF OPERATION/SCHEDULING: VA Business Hours: Normal business hours for the VAGLAHS Radiation Oncology Department are 8:00am 4:30pm Monday through Friday. However, there may be some circumstances when Contract TRT s shall be scheduled to work after those hours and/or on weekends and holidays. Work Schedule: Monday through Friday 8:00am 4:30pm excluding weekends and holidays Patients shall be seen by a Contract TRT(s) on-site at VAGLAHS in a timely manner in accordance with VA Rules and Regulations on clinic wait times. The Contractor shall notify the COR at least monthly about any obstacles to meeting this performance measure. The Contract TRT s shall be available and present in clinic during normal VAGLAHS clinic hours, which shall be established, and may be revised, as deemed appropriate for patient care by the Chief of Staff. Currently, normal clinic hours are Monday through Friday, 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Federal Holidays: The following holidays are observed by the Department of Veterans Affairs: New Year s Day President s Day Martin Luther King s Birthday Memorial Day Juneteenth Independence Day Labor Day Columbus Day Veterans Day Thanksgiving Christmas Any day specifically declared to be a national holiday. Cancellation/Rescheduling: If a VAGLAHS treatment machine is not functional and requires service, the patient s treatment may be re-scheduled, and the Contract TRT s work hours may be rescheduled accordingly. The Contract TRT s shall only be paid for the time they have worked according to the rescheduled work hours however a minimum of 4 hours shall be paid to the Contractor as long as the provider reported for duty at the normally scheduled time. In case of prescheduled machine down time due to service or hardware/software upgrade, the work hours of the Contract TRT s shall be rescheduled without pay. CONTRACTOR RESPONSIBILITIES: Services required: The Contractor shall provide up to 10,400 hours (5 qualified FTE s) of Therapeutic Radiologic Technologist services. The Contractor shall provide upon request (2 qualified FTE s) initially when the contract is awarded, and up to a total of (5 qualified FTE s) as requested by VAGLAHS. If it is an advantage to the government, we may award to more than one offeror. The department has one CT Simulator for patient setup simulation and three linear accelerators for patient treatments. The CT scanner requires one therapist to operate and each of the linear accelerators requires two therapists at all times. The successful Contract TRT candidate shall meet the minimum qualification as stated above and have experience in the specific treatment modalities such as SRS, SRT, SBRT, IGRT, and RapidArc. In addition, the Contract TRT shall know ARIA software, CBCT, KV/KV Standards of Practice: The patient care provided by the Contractor shall be evidence based best practices that meet or exceed all standards of professional practice and performance measures applicable to VAGLAHS medical professionals, including, but not limited to and The Joint Commission (TJC) standards and APEx current practice guidelines in radiation oncology. The Contractor s care shall cover the range of services as would be provided in a state-of-the-art civilian medical treatment facility. The Contractor shall provide evidence the Contractor s radiation oncology standard of care is of a quality that meets or exceeds currently recognized VA and APEx national standards as established by: APEx Standards https://www.astro.org/Daily-Practice/Accreditation/About-APEx/APEx-Standards The professional standards of the TJC or equivalent accreditation: http://www.jointcommission.org/standards_information/hap_requirements.aspx The requirements contained in this PWS Medical records: Authorities: The Contract TRT(s) providing healthcare services to VA patients shall be considered as part of the Department Healthcare Activity and shall comply with the U.S.C.551a (Privacy Act), 38 U.S.C. 5701 (Confidentiality of claimants records), 5 U.S.C. 552 (FOIA), 38 U.S.C. 5705 (Confidentiality of Medical Quality Assurance Records) 38 U.S.C. 7332 (Confidentiality of certain medical records), Title 5 U.S.C. § 522a (Records Maintained on Individuals) as well as 45 C.F.R. Parts 160, 162, and 164 (HIPAA). HIPAA: This contract and its requirements meet exception in 45 CFR 164.502(e), and do not require a Business Associate Agreement (BAA) in order for Covered Entity to disclose Protected Health Information to: a health care provider for treatment. Based on this exception, a BAA is not required for this contract. Health records generated by this contract or provided to the Contractors by the VA are covered by the VA system of records entitled Patient Medical Records-VA (24VA10A7). The Contractor generated VA Patient records are the property of the VA and shall not be accessed, released, transferred, or destroyed except in accordance with applicable laws and regulations. Contractor shall ensure that all records pertaining to medical care and services provided to VA patients are captured in the VA electronic health record system as required by VA policy as discussed in 4.4.4. Disclosure: The Contract TRT(s) may have access to patient medical records for the purpose of providing medical care and services to VA patients and performing services under the contract; however, the Contractor shall obtain permission from the VA before disclosing any patient information outside VA. VA authorizes the Contractor to discuss patient health information for coordination of care within community health care providers in compliance with VA regulations, HIPAA, and VHA Handbook 1605.1, Privacy and Release of Information. The penalties and liabilities for the unauthorized disclosure of VA patient information mandated by the statutes and regulations mentioned above, apply to the Contractor. Professional Standards for Documenting Care: The Care shall be appropriately documented in medical records in accordance with standard commercial practice and guidelines established by VHA Handbook 1907.01 Health Information Management and Health Records: https://www.va.gov/vhapublications/ViewPublication.asp?pub_ID=3088 and all guidelines provided by the VAMC. Release of Information: The VA shall maintain control of releasing any patient medical information and will follow policies and standards as defined, but not limited to Privacy Act requirements. The Contractor shall not release or disclose copies of records and shall refer such requests to the Release of Information Department at the VA facility. --End of Sources Sought Announcement--
- Web Link
-
SAM.gov Permalink
(https://sam.gov/opp/3c34f05588be406eb8791255640ddfd0/view)
- Place of Performance
- Address: Department of Veteran Affairs Greater Los Angeles Healthcare System 11301 Wilshire Blvd., Los Angeles 90073
- Zip Code: 90073
- Zip Code: 90073
- Record
- SN06280075-F 20220327/220326171931 (samdaily.us)
- Source
-
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