Dept. of Veterans Affairs Medical Center, 10000 Brecksville Road, Brecksville, OH 44141

Q -- HEALTH PHYSICIST (JR. PHYSICIST) SOL RFQ 541-101-98 DUE 121297 POC Danny O. Freeman, Contracting Officer, (440) 838-6091 This is a combined synopsis/solicitation for commercial items prepared in accordance with the format in Subpart 12.6, as supplemented with additional information included in this notice. This announcement constitutes the only solicitation; quotations are being requested and a written solicitation will not be issued. Solicitation 541-85-98 is issued as a Request For Quotation (RFQ). The solicitation document and incorporated provisions and clauses are those in effect through Federal Acquisition Circular 90-46 F.R. (#58). This is a competitive procurement under the Standard Industrial Classification (SIC) Code 8071 and Small Business Size Standard of $5.0 Million per annum. The Cleveland VA Medical Center intends to contract Sole Source with Vijay A. Harwalkar, Richmond Heights, OH 44143, under authority of 38 U.S.C. 8153 Expanded Sharing. The contractor agrees, in accordance with the terms and conditions stated herein, to furnish to and at the Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center, 10701 East Boulevard, Cleveland (Wade Park Division), Ohio 44106, (hereinafter known as VA), the services specified and at the price specified, for a one (1) year period from date of contract award, in accordance with the terms, conditions, special provisions and schedule of the contract. Offeror should thoroughly review the specifications and be familiar with the area of coverage prior to submitting their offer in order to be fully aware of the supplies and/or services required. Failure to do so will not relieve the offer from performing in accordance with the strict intent and meaning of the specifications without additional cost to the Government. Contractor shall provide Specialized Medical Specialist services of one (1) Full-Time Employee Equivalent (FTEE) Junior Health Physicist, for a total of 2000 hours, to provide Radiation Therapy, at the VA Medical Center, Cleveland (Wade Park Division), Ohio, in accordance with the terms, conditions, special provisions and schedule contained herein. Contractor shall be required to perform dosimetry calculations, construct computer treatment plans, design accessories and equipment, perform machine calibrations, and participate in the design, installation, and acceptance of machines for use in Radiotherapy, which shall include but may not be limited to the following: (a) Contractor shall be responsible for the calibration of radiation therapy equipment; (b) Contractor shall direct the determination of radiation dose distributions in patients undergoing treatment; (c) Contractor shall be responsible for the weekly review of the dose delivered to the patient; (d) Contractor shall certify that the treatment machine is performing according to specifications after it is installed; (e) Contractor shall generate the data necessary for accurate treatment planning and delivery of radiation therapy; (f) Contractor shall outline written Quality Assurance (QA) procedures which shall include tests to be performed, tolerances, and frequency of the tests; (g) Contractor must understand and shall appropriately respond to machine malfunctions and related safety issues; (h) Contractor shall provide backup for Radiation Therapy Program (RTP) and patient dose calculations; (i) Contractor shall assemble patient data required for dose calculations; calculate dose distributions manually and/or by use of the computerized RTP system; and (j) Contractor shall act as primary contact person for Tumor Registry and Dosimetry Support on the RTP System. The services covered by this contract shall be furnished by the contractor as defined herein. The Contractor shall not be required, except the in case of an emergency, to furnish such services on a Federal holiday or during non-working hours as described below: a. Normal Work Hours: Monday through Friday, 8:00 a.m. until 4:30 p.m., excluding Federal holidays. b. Non-Working Hours: 4:31 p.m. through 7:59 a.m. Monday through Friday; 24 hours per day Saturday, Sunday and Federal holidays. c. Federal Holiday: The ten (10) holidays observed by the Federal Government are: New Year's Day, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr's Birthday, President's Day, Memorial Day, Independence Day, Labor Day, Columbus Day, Veterans Day, Thanksgiving, Christmas and any other day specifically declared by the President of the United States to be a national holiday. The services specified in Part I, The Schedule, may be changed by written modification to the contract. The modification will be prepared by the VA Contracting Officer and prior to becoming effective, shall be approved by the VA Medical Center Director or his/her designee. Other necessary personnel for the operation of the services contracted for at VA will be provided by the VA at levels mutually agreed upon which are compatible with the safety of the patient and personnel and with quality medical care programming. The services to be performed by the contractor shall be performed in accordance with VA policies and procedures and the regulations of the medical staff-by-laws of the VA facility. The services to be performed by the contractor shall be under the direction of the Chief of Staff or his/her designee, VA Medical Center, Cleveland, Ohio. The contractor shall be responsible for providing: worker's compensation; professional liability insurance; health examinations; income tax withholding; and social security payments. The parties agree that the contractor shall not be considered a VA employee for any purpose. Contractor shall be required to provide, prior to contract award, evidence of Ph.D., in Physical Science (physics degree) with at a minimum, two (2) years of clinical radiological physics experience in a radiation therapy (radiology department and/or accreditation in dosimetry and Quality Control experience in diagnostic radiology), Furthermore, contractor shall provide Board Certification by the American Board of Medical Physics, or provide proof of eligibility for certification by the American Board of Medical Physics. Said degree, certification/eligibility shall be provided with initial proposal. Contractor shall be required to provideproof of medical liability insurance, in accordance with the requirements of Federal Acquisition Regulation "52.237-7 Indemnification and Medical Liability Insurance". Said insurance verification shall be in the amount as specified by standard industry practices for the state of Ohio, and shall be provided with initial proposal. A sign-in-sign-out log shall be maintained in the office of the secretary, Radiology Service, room G-23 (Basement), of the Wade Park, VA Medical Center. Contractor personnel shall sign-in upon arrival at the VA, Wade Park Division, and sign-out upon departure. Review of the sign-in/sign-out shall be performed by the timekeeper for Radiology Service, prior to payment of invoices to ensure hours requested are actual hours worked. Timekeeper shall make recommendations to the Contracting Officer's Technical Representative (COTR) with regards to hours of service provided by the contractor. Failure of contractor personnel to adhere to the above noted sign-in/sign-out requirements, may haveadverse effect on the processing of invoices and delay payments. Also, failure to comply with the strict intent of the sign-in/sign-out procedures may be considered a breech of the contract and may be considered as grounds for default. Unique qualification consist of the following: Contractor's ability to assemble VA Cleveland patient data required for dose calculations; Contractor's ability to calculate dose distributions manually and/or using the computerized Radiotherapy Treatment Planning (RTP) System; Contractor's knowledge of radiation standards, devices, and techniques including concepts of accumulated dosage and genetic changes, effects of radiation on living organisms and the effects of radiation on patient and operator exposures in order to assure that adequate safeguards are maintained to recognize when changes in sources, and age of sources might result in undue changes in dosage; Contractor's knowledge of aspects of basic physics, including the concepts of energy, electric power and types of electrical circuits, construction and use of x-ray tubes and the properties of x-ray and gamma rays in order to understand the operation of radiation therapy equipment, monitor the equipment for proper operation, make changes to standard procedures to compensate for equipment aging, and determine when maintenance or repair is needed; Contractor's skill in the use and operation of the VA owned Linear Accelerators including Cobalt 60 units and Mega Voltage Therapy equipment; Contractor's knowledge of radiographic exposure techniques including use of formulas for determining technical factors, how to control density, contrast, and distortion has used by VA Cleveland. The provisions at FAR 52.212-1, Instructions to Offerors-Commercial items applies to this acquisition with the following changes, items (e) and (h) of the standard clause are deleted. Offerors shall include a completed copy of the provision at FAR 52.212-3, Offeror Representations and Certifications-Commercial items, with their offer. The clause at FAR52.212-4, Contract Terms and Conditions-Commercial Items, applies to this acquisition. The clause at 52.212-5, Contract Terms and Conditions Required to Implement Statutes or Executive Orders-Commercial Items, applies to this acquisition which shall include the following clauses: 52.203-6, 52.203-10, 52.219-8, 52.219-14, 52.222-26, 52.222-35, 52.222-36, 52.222-37, and 52.225-3. The following standard FAR and VAAR clauses are incorporated and apply to this acquisition: 52.217-8, 52.232-18, 52.232-19 (which provides that funds are not authorized past September 30 of any fiscal year, unless written authorization is received from the Contracting Officer), 52.237-7 (which requires submission of Indemnification and Medical Liability Insurance in an amount consistent with the prevailing rates for the state of Ohio), VAAR 852.219-70 and 852.270-1. Due to the unique nature of this procurement, there is a reasonable basis to conclude that the services required are only available from this source, and no other type of supplies or services will satisfy agency requirements. The proposed contract action is for services for which the Government intends to solicit and negotiate with only one source under the authority of FAR 6.302. Interested persons may identify their interest and capability to respond to the requirement or submit proposals along with a completed copy of the provision at 52.212-3 Offeror Representations and Certifications-Commercial Items. This notice of intent is not a request for competitive proposals. However, all proposals received within the due date for receipt of proposals will be considered by the Government. A Determination by the Government not to compete with this proposed contract based upon responses to this notice is solely within the discretion of the Government. Information received will normally be considered solely for the purpose of determining whether to conduct a competitive procurement. (0336)

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