Q201--VISN 12 Behavioral Health Services for Healthcare Providers

Active

Contract Opportunity

36C25225Q0473 Sources Sought

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SOURCES SOUGHT SYNOPSIS
The Department of Veterans Affairs is issuing this sources sought synopsis as a means of conducting market research to identify firms having an interest in and the resources to support a comprehensive confidential behavioral health teletherapy program for clinicians and non-clinical employees [clients] of the VA Great Lakes Health Care System, Veterans Integrated Services Network (VISN 12) healthcare system with approximately 20,415 employees. The result of this market research may contribute to determining the method of procurement. The applicable North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) code assigned to this procurement is 621330 561790 - Snow plowing driveways and parking lots (i.e., not combined with any other service).
THERE IS NO SOLICITATION AT THIS TIME. This request for capability information does not constitute a request for proposals; submission of any information in response to this market survey is purely voluntary; the government assumes no financial responsibility for any costs incurred.
Tentative requirements:
Provide all personnel, equipment, supplies, facilities, transportation, tools, materials, supervision, and all other items necessary to provide a comprehensive confidential behavioral health teletherapy program for clinicians and non-clinical employees [clients] of the VA Great Lakes Health Care System, Veterans Integrated Services Network (VISN 12) healthcare system with approximately 20,415 employees. Draft Statement of Work is contained within for more detailed requirements.
If your organization has the potential capacity to perform these contract services, please provide the following information: 1) Organization name, address, email address, web site address, telephone number, and size and type of ownership for the organization; and 2) Tailored capability statements addressing the particulars of this effort, pricing model (per session or employee, etc), and documentation supporting claims of organizational and staff capability. If significant subcontracting or teaming is anticipated in order to deliver technical capability, organizations should address the administrative and management structure of such arrangements.
The government will evaluate market information to ascertain potential market capacity to provide services consistent in scope and scale with those described in this notice and otherwise anticipated.
Based on the responses to this synopsis and other market research, this requirement may be set-aside for veteran-owned small businesses (SDVOSBs or VOSBs), small businesses or procured through full and open competition.

Limitations on Subcontracting
13 CFR §125.6 will apply to any procurement set-aside for veteran-owned small businesses (SDVOSBs or VOSBs) or small businesses. 13 CFR §125.6 states:
(a) General. In order to be awarded a full or partial small business set-aside contract with a value greater than the simplified acquisition threshold (as defined in the FAR at 48 CFR 2.101) in paragraph (a) introductory text; and an 8(a) contract, an SDVO SBC contract, a HUBZone contract, a WOSB or EDWOSB contract pursuant to part 127 of this chapter, a small business concern must agree that:
(1) In the case of a contract for services (except construction), it will not pay more than 50% of the amount paid by the government to it to firms that are not similarly situated. Any work that a similarly situated subcontractor further subcontracts will count towards the 50% subcontract amount that cannot be exceeded.
Before any small or large business can be awarded a federal contract, a contracting officer (CO) must affirmatively determine that the firm is responsible to perform the specific contract it is otherwise in line to receive. If an apparent small business successful offeror is denied a contract award because it lacks certain elements of responsibility, the CO will refer the matter to the Small Business Administration. Once a CO s referral is received by the SBA s area office, the SBA will then inform the small business of the CO s determination and offer it the opportunity to apply to the SBA for a Certificate of Competency by a specific date. Burden of proof is on the small business to demonstrate that it meets specific COC eligibility criteria.
After award, if a CO or other VA officials determine a review of limitations on subcontracting compliance is warranted based upon reasonable information of possible noncompliance, a request for review will be submitted to VA s Subcontracting Compliance Review Program.
Submission Instructions: Interested parties who consider themselves qualified to perform the above-listed services are invited to submit a response to this Sources Sought Notice by 15:00 PM CST on May 27, 2025. All responses under this Sources Sought Notice must be emailed to Contract Specialist, Richard Ruffin (richard.ruffin@va.gov) and Contracting Officer, Ashley Johnson (ashley.johnson@va.gov). Telephone inquiries will not be accepted or acknowledged, and no feedback or evaluations will be provided to companies regarding their submissions.


STATEMENT OF WORK (SOW)
Description of Service
The VA Great Lakes Health Care System, Veterans Integrated Services Network (VISN 12) requires a comprehensive confidential behavioral health teletherapy program for clinicians and non-clinical employees [clients] of our healthcare system. Approximate number of employees is 20,415.

VA Medical Center Locations

Jesse Brown VA Medical Cetner
820 S. Damen Ave
Chicago, IL 60612

Oscar G. Johnson VA Medical Center
325 E H St.
Iron Mountain, MI 49801

William S. Middle Memorial Veterans Hospital
2500 Overlook Terrace
Madison, WI 53705

Clement J. Zablocki VA Medical Center
5000 West National Ave
Milwaukee WI 53295

Edward Hines, Jr. VA Hospital
5000 S. 5th Ave
Hines, IL 60141

Captain James A. Lovell Federal Health Care Center
3001 Green Bay Rd.
North Chicago, IL 60064

Tomah VA Medical Center
500 E. Veterans St.
Tomah, WI 54660

VA Illiana Health Care System
1900 E. Main St.
Danville, IL 61832

Outpatient Clinics:

Period of Performance
This is a single award contract with one (1) base year and up to four (4) option years:
Year
Begins
Ends
Base
07-01-2025 (target award date)
06-30-2026
Option Year 1
07-01-2026
06-30-2027
Option Year 2
07-01-2027
06-30-2028
Option Year 3
07-01-2028
06-30-2029
Option Year 4
07-01-2029
06-30-2030

Option years will be exercised by the Government at its discretion based on continued need for services, Contractor performance, and availability of fiscal year funds for a given period of performance.
Scope of Work
Services will be performed by the contractor via Zoom, using a confidential and secure HIPPAA-compliant video conference platform for employee [client] sessions.
Service requirements include evaluation, assessment, short-term counseling, referral, critical incident intervention, and workforce education [ examples include Healthcare executive well-being leadership training, workplace violence support and other potential traumatic incidents. Support for Potentially traumatic events (needle stick, splatter incident) and disability leave support, etc.
This would involve contracting providing:
Evaluation and assessment of client needs. This includes, but is not limited to the following: 1:1 short-term therapy with licensed clinicians focusing on issues such as: communication skills, relationships, anger management, grief and loss, trauma, depression and mood, burnout, stress, family issues, career choices and direction, anxious thoughts
Short-term counseling for VISN 12 healthcare employees; contractor shall provide up to three (3) counseling sessions per employee per base or option year period of performance of the contract. Each session is approximately 60 minutes in length.
24/7/365, confidential seven days a week availability
Guaranteed 48-hour availability
24/7 support line
Matched within 24 hours with therapists based upon therapeutic preferences, demographics and language preferences
Help with critical incidents and immediate debriefings
Referrals to appropriate community agencies, as required.
Treatment plans will include measurement-based goals
Unlimited consultations with managers/supervisors regarding job performance, behavioral issues, and other matters, upon request.
Offer behavioral health workshops, as requested by VISN 12 Chief Well-Being Officer. Education/training sessions to be delivered via zoom. Four (4) quarterly sessions (30 min - up to two hours duration) training scheduled and coordinated with VISN 12 Chief Well Being Officer. Desired materials include PowerPoint slides, hand-outs, and resource materials.
Share robust employee marketing, promotional materials and sign up/user registration instructions for VISN 12 healthcare employees to launch the program.
Creation of and distribution of electronic promotional materials, including all fliers, email scripted messaging, video testimonials, and targeted marketing support baseline program awareness for VISN 12 healthcare employees.
Provide quarterly and annual statistical return on investment reports that display cumulative demographic utilization data, improvements in depression (PHQ-9) and anxiety (GAD-7) scores and employee satisfaction. Reports are to be sanitized of identifying data on employees. Demographics will include ethnic background, gender, and the VA locations. Quarterly reports shall be submitted electronically to TPOCs and their designees by e-mail on December 1, March 1, June 1, and September 1 of each calendar year during period of performance of contract. Annual report shall be submitted by October 1 of each calendar year.

Contractor Qualifications

a. Licensed Clinician Therapist Staff:

Professional certification:
Licensed Clinical Social Worker (LCSW)
Psychologist (PhD)
Licensed Professional Counselor (LPC)
Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist (LMFT) and/or other applicable areas to perform the requirements of the contract with specialized background in healthcare settings and healthcare worker well-being
Contractor will provide specialty trained therapists through an American Psychological Association (APA) approved training program, minimum 5 weeks onboarding in duration.
Education: Required: Licensed Clinician therapists/subcontractor clinician s therapists shall hold a master s degree or Ph.D. level credentials in the specialty or applicable subject area.
Work History: Licensed Clinician therapists/subcontractor clinician s therapists shall hold minimally ten (10) years of previous therapy services, specific to a healthcare setting and healthcare worker well-being (within the past 20-year period).

c. Other Qualifications: Contractor employees shall be licensed in a State, Territory, or Commonwealth of the United States or the District of Columbia. All certifications/licenses held by the contractor employee(s) working on this contract shall be full and unrestricted. The qualifications of such personnel shall also be subject to review by the VA. Each person (administrative, counselor, and trainers) assigned to work under this contract shall be certified and trained in therapy services and the supplemental operation of any goods, materials, and equipment used.

Security Requirements
Employee data is needed to sign up/register for a service includes [Name, email, date of birth, address, phone]. Data is stored in a HIPAA-compliant cloud infrastructure through Amazon Web Services. Employee data will be secured, and personal health information protected as required all data is encrypted at rest and in transit and is stored in HIPAA-compliant AWS infrastructure. AdvancedMD is utilized as a HIPAA-compliant Electronic Medical Record system. Data is replicated across a multi-zone cluster in AWS with point-in-time snapshots maintained for 6 months. Data is stored remotely via Amazon Web Services public cloud in ISO 9001/SOC 3 level data centers. All services and infrastructure that are part of the Marvin platform exist on cloud services. Services are replicated in Google Cloud for multi-cloud redundancy. Contractor maintains a role-based access control policy. There is an enforcement of least privilege, maintained with multi-factor authentication (MFA). Marvin staff (technical support and user-success) with elevated RBAC privileges maintain access to client information. Marvin therapists maintain access to their registered client notes in the HIPAA-compliant Electronic Medical Record. Security testing is performed to identify vulnerabilities and security weaknesses in the contractor platform. Different types of security testing are used to identify potential threats, evaluate the probability of exploitation of vulnerabilities, and determine the overall risks faced by the Marvin platform. The actionable insights from these tests are used to identify and reduce any security risks.

Approval of Contractor Personnel

The Department of Veterans affairs reserves the right to refuse employment under this contract or require dismissal from contract, work of any contractor employee or subcontractor employee who, by reason of previous unsatisfactory performance at any previous VA facility, or for any other rational reason, is considered by the TPOC through coordination with the Contracting Officer (CO), to be objectionable, as long as thirty (30) days written notification of unsatisfactory performance has been provided to the Contractor, and the problem has not been resolved in the thirty (30) day period. Any disagreement about performance still existing at the end of this thirty (30) day period will be handled by the CO. Any criminal offense or that of moral turpitude on part of the contractor employee will result in immediate dismissal, without benefit of a thirty (30) day consideration period.

Personal Standards of Conduct

a. The services to be performed by the contractor will be performed in accordance with VA policies and
procedures, VA directives, and the regulations at the applicable VA facility. The Government may evaluate the quality of professional and administrative services provided and do not retain control over the professional aspects of services rendered (e.g. professional judgments).
b. This contract is a non-personal health care services contract as defined in Federal Acquisition Regulation 37.101 and is as follows: non-personal services contract means a contract under which the personnel rendering the services are not subject, either by the contract terms or by the manner of its administration, to the supervision and control usually prevailing in relationships between the Government and its employees.
c. Under no circumstances will Contractor employees be considered Government employees. The contractor will be responsible for employee wages, income tax withholding, social security and Medicare payments, and all ancillary benefits (health, life, disability, etc.)
d. The Contractor will hold certificates of insurance for general and professional liability, and workmen s
compensation. Within five (5) business days after award of contract, the Contractor shall furnish a Certificate of Liability Insurance evidencing that all required coverage has been obtained. The Contractor shall be responsible for maintaining a current certificate/coverage for the duration of the contract/
e. The contractor shall establish and abide by the Federal Standards 45 CFR Parts 160, 162, and 164, Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA); the National Standards to Protect the Privacy and Security of Protected Health Information (PHI); and the Privacy and Security Rules published by the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). As required by HIPAA, HHS has promulgated rules governing the use and disclosure of protected health information by covered entities. The contractor shall meet all requirements relating to the confidential nature of patient records; see http://www.hhs.gov/ocr/privacy/
f. Any violation of privacy factors will be documented in writing and reported to the CO within
24-hours of its occurrence. The report will include a description of the occurrence, persons names, location, date, and time.
g. Contractor personnel shall be required to maintain the behavior and appearance of civil, courteous, and
friendly professionals in person and via electronic media.

Continuity of Services

The contractor shall ensure that qualified substitute/ backup employees are available to provide coverage during scheduled and unscheduled absences of primary contract staff. Contractor will ensure that all backup employees are held to the same standards as regular contract representatives (e.g. certification/licensure, education and work history credentials, background reference, etc.) per the contract.

Performance Monitoring and Problem Resolution

Monitoring of contractor performance shall be done by the TPOC and/or their designees, including VISN 12 Chief Well Being Officer. Incidents of contractor noncompliance as evidenced by the monitoring procedures shall be forwarded immediately to the CO.
All issues identified by the VISN 12 Chief Well Being Officer shall be acknowledged verbally by Contractor on same business day and via writing within one (1) business day. Contractor shall create corrective action for each problem identified within two (2) business days, unless issue is deemed urgent by Government, in which case corrective action shall be addressed within one (1) business day of issue identified by Government.

Deliverables

Description
Section of SOW
Due By
Address To
Contractor Insurance Certificate
Personal Standards of Conduct
Five (5) business days after award
CO and VISN 12 Chief Well Being Officer via e-mail
Problem Resolution
Performance Monitoring and Problem Resolution
Acknowledged same business day verbally; via writing (1) business day
Corrective action within (2) business days, unless urgent, then (1) business day
CO and VISN 12 Chief Well Being Officer via e-mail
Education/Training Sessions with VISN 12 employees
Scope of Work
Four (4) quarterly sessions approved by VISN 12 Chief Well Being Officer
VISN 12 Chief Well Being Officer
Statistical Return on Investment reports
Scope of Work
Quarterly on December 1, March 1, June 1, and September 1
Annual report due October 1 each year
VISN 12 Chief Well Being Officer

Service Contract Labor Standards
Contractor shall provide hourly wages for affected personnel in accordance with U.S. Department of Labor Wage Determinations and FAR Subpart 22.10 (Service Contract Labor Standards); see Attachment 1 (USDOL Wage Determinations).

Attachments/Links