Inactive

THIS IS NOT A SOLICITATION. This is a Sources Sought Notice only and is issued to conduct market research and gain knowledge of current market capabilities. Responses to this notice are not offers and... THIS IS NOT A SOLICITATION. This is a Sources Sought Notice only and is issued to conduct market research and gain knowledge of current market capabilities. Responses to this notice are not offers and cannot be accepted by the Government to form a binding contract. This notice is issued solely for information and planning purposes and does not constitute a solicitation or a guarantee to issue a solicitation in the future. This notice does not commit the Government to contract for any supply or service. All information submitted in response to this announcement is voluntary; the Government will not pay for information requested nor will it compensate any respondent for any cost incurred in developing information provided to the Government. Not responding to this notice does not preclude participation in any future solicitation, if issued. This announcement is based on the best information available at this time and is subject to future amendment. The Department of Veterans Affairs, Network Contracting Office 4, is conducting a market survey to identify potential sources to perform a firm fixed price contract for procurement of cultural transformation development training services for Wilmington VA Medical Center, 1601 Kirkwood Hwy, Wilmington, DE, 19805-4917, and associated Community Based Outpatient Clinics as follows: DRAFT DESCRIPTION OF REQUIREMENT (NOT A SOLICITATION DO NOT PROVIDE SOLICITATION RESPONSE; PROVIDE ANSWERS TO INFORMATION REQUESTED IN CAPABILITIES STATEMENT AND DOCUMENTATION SECTION BELOW ONLY) Introduction/ Background The overall objective of this acquisition is to implement evidenced-based clinical coaching and cultural transformation program which supports and enhances the Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center, Wilmington, Delaware s (WVAMC) goal to be a high performing organization. As a high performing organization, the WVAMC seeks to consistently provide safe, efficient, and effective Veteran-centered care utilizing high-performing, team-oriented employees who find satisfaction in their careers, coworkers, and working environment. The WVAMC need for cultural transformation includes, but is not limited to, elevating leadership skills, providing executive coaching, improving accountability, enhancing communication on all levels, and improving employee engagement. Potential vendors shall outline in the solicitation response their approach to cultural transformation and clinical consulting, outlining the methods by which these actions will occur, the techniques and/or tools utilized for clinical coaching and cultural transformation, an outline of how an initial organizational assessment will be completed, an outline of training to be provided, and specific existing VA data points that the contractor would request for review and evaluation. The WVAMC requires a phased approach to implementation in the following sequence: Assessment: The vendor shall work with WVAMC to complete a baseline assessment of the organizational culture, identify strengths and opportunity areas, and use the results to implement an organizational-specific approach to clinical consulting and cultural transformation. The vendor shall utilize a variety of online tools, staff interviews, reviews of current policies, and analysis of a variety of WVAMC and Department of Veterans Affairs-specific data points to establish the baseline for measurement of future improvements. Plan Development: Vendor shall describe in solicitation response their process of translating analysis of assessment results to a cultural transformation and clinical consultation plan. Using the principles of Evidence Based Leadership and High Reliability Organizations, the vendor will customize an implementation plan based upon the data gathered in the Assessment. The plan must include measurable performance metrics, a defined end point at which point the overall success of the cultural transformation can be assessed, and elements designed to sustain the transformation once complete. The proposed approach to clinical consulting and cultural transformation will be reviewed and specific execution/implementation plan will be customized by the vendor after the results of the Assessment are completed. The plan must outline specific approaches and/or tactics that will be utilized to implement the clinical coaching and cultural transformation. Implementation: The Vendor begins implementation of the approved plan upon approval by Wilmington VAMC. At that point, the use of metrics to measure success as identified in the plan begins. Monitoring/Feedback: The Vendor shall include in the solicitation response a milestone plan for providing regular feedback on clinical consulting and cultural transformation plan progress to WVAMC. Vendor shall provide WVAMC direct access to performance metric data detailed and collected by the Vendor. Vendor will advise WVAMC efforts to improve underperforming metrics or address areas of concern. A schedule for regular meetings to assess plan progress will be developed and agreed upon between WVAMC and the vendor upon clinical consulting and cultural transformation plan approval. Success: The clinical consulting and cultural transformation process is complete when: Metrics used to track goals established by the implementation plan meet established compliance rates and the Vendor and Facility bilaterally agree the plan is complete and the cultural transformation can be considered successful. Sustain: Plan elements identified to sustain the cultural transformation process are implemented in the sustainment phase. Identified clinical coaching has been provided by the Vendor and there is demonstration that tools and techniques have been implemented by targeted leaders/units. The Vendor will continue support of sustainability elements as defined within the scope of the awarded contract s performance period. Requirements-WVAMC Focused Phases Phase 1: Assessment The vendor will perform a baseline assessment of the Facility prior to the implementation of a customized clinical consulting and cultural transformation plan. Assessments may be conducted onsite, remotely, or use a blended approach of onsite and remote data gathering. Assessments must incorporate at a minimum, an impact study upon currently utilized Department of Veterans Affairs quality metrics. Specifically, the VA Survey of Healthcare Experiences (SHEP), the VA Strategic Analytics for Improvement and Learning (SAIL), and the All Employee Engagement Survey (AES). New or emerging Department of Veterans Affairs performance metrics will be identified and included as a requirement prior to assessments beginning. Assessments must incorporate, at a minimum, direct feedback from staff, supervisors, physicians, and senior leadership. Phase 2: Plan Customization Prospective Vendors must develop a plan to meet and address the following elements and considerations of clinical coaching and cultural transformation. Training: Training will occur at the main facility, located at 1601 Kirkwood Highway, Wilmington, DE 19805 and at affiliated Community Based Outpatient Clinics (CBOCs) in Delaware and Southern New Jersey. Training modalities may include a blend of on-site and virtual experiences but should be based upon a classroom style format. Vendor shall provide leadership training for up to 600 leaders at WVAMC. Vendor must be capable of training in a large forum setting up to 100 leaders simultaneously. Actual number of participants to be mutually agreed upon by WVAMC and the Vendor after the initial assessment. Large forum training must occur four times per year. Training is performed using Coaching and/or mentoring approach whenever possible. The specific facility staff trained in this modality include: Training/Coaching/Mentoring-Facility Leaders: One on one, small group and/or forum-based leadership development. Sessions must provide real time or near real time feedback to improve effectiveness. The vendor must assist WVAMC in development and execution of the training, including coaching and guiding the curriculum, provide presentations, and introduce new techniques/strategies/tools to training attendees. All resources provided at the training should focus on leader development, fostering a culture of high reliability, safety and performance improvement. Community Based Outpatient Clinics (CBOCs) Focus: These remote outpatient clinics operate semi-autonomously from the main Facility and face unique challenges. The CBOCs must be incorporated into the training. Emergency Room Focus: Staff within the Emergency Room work in a frequently stressful and chaotic environment not encountered in other departments. Training sessions must provide new techniques/strategies/tools to improve overall patient experience, employee satisfaction and implement changes to improve throughput and flow. Training/Coaching/Mentoring- Physician/ Provider: One on one, small group and/or forum-based development. Sessions must provide real time or near real time feedback to improve effectiveness. Training/Coaching/Mentoring- Physician/ Provider Leader: One on one, small group and/or forum-based development. Sessions must provide real time or near real time feedback to improve effectiveness. Training/Coaching/Mentoring-Nursing: The vendor shall provide training via on-site education sessions for nurses. The vendor must consult with WVAMC Nursing Leadership to ensure the curriculum for these forums includes process improvement and development of consistency and standardization across staff. Training topics must align with the goal of Evidenced Based Cultural Transformation. At a minimum, training must address: Creating Goals and plans to achieve them. Physician, Provider, and Nurse rounding. Supervisor leadership rounding Action tracking and monitoring from leadership rounding Peer interviewing. Employee rewards and recognition. Team building. Emotional intelligence. Effective personal communication skills. Change management. Service level interdisciplinary leadership. Personal and Institutional approaches to eliminate burnout. Developing an effective Shared Governance model. Self-motivational techniques. Perpetuating a culture of zero-harm. Reducing patient anxiety. Vendor trainers must meet the following criteria: The vendor training staff must include licensed healthcare professionals. This must include, but not be limited to Physicians, Nurse Executives, Clinical Nurses, and Emergency Management trained physicians. Vendor trainers must have coaching and/or mentoring experience in their areas of expertise as evidenced by educational degrees or certifications. Vendor trainers must possess at least one year of coaching and/or mentoring training in a healthcare setting. This includes having available coaching staff with at least three years of experience for Health Care Executives (such as Medical Center Director/CEO, Associate Director/COO). Experience in the Department of Veterans Affairs healthcare system is preferred. Technology The Vendor must use technology to improve the end user learning experience and enhance data collection and interpretation. Technology must also be used to improve patient medical record documentation and rounding. Rounding must also extend to supervisors and leadership. The combination of software technologies implemented by the Vendor must be able to interface with each other and the Vendor must confirm this in the solicitation response. Technology elements must address: Training and Resource Materials All training materials must be in digital format and accessible to staff via Facility interfaces (desktop PC, laptop, tablet, etc.). Additional training resources must be available through a web-based media library or similar database. Material must be relevant to the cultural transformation process in a healthcare environment. All source material must be from credible references. Content must be accessible to all Facility staff 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. The Vendor must have the ability to provide direct technical assistance to Staff, at a minimum, from 9am to 5pm Monday through Friday excluding Federal holidays. Assistance may be telephonic, or web based. Clinical Documentation Improvement Improve the quality and accuracy of patient record documentation. Improve the accuracy of patient coding. Improve communication between coding professionals and direct patient care providers. Capture lost reimbursement opportunities from improper or inaccurate coding. Conduct audits of patient records to determine effectiveness. Identify areas of focus for remedial or supplemental training. Rounding Software Improve the quality and accuracy of patient rounding by Staff. Allow Supervisors and Leadership to electronically document rounding conducted on Staff. Allow Supervisors and Leadership to electronically document rounding conducted upon each other. Provide authorized staff access to collected data through a web-based platform. Data must be available in real time. Data must be statistically summarized to easily identify trends and performance improvement opportunities. Vendor must include in solicitation response how patient information is collected and stored, and how software complies with federal and VA policy protecting PHI and PII. Post Discharge Patient follow up Enhance Provide Care Teams abilities to follow up with patients after inpatient and/or outpatient care. Special considerations include the ability to address and support the success of Department of Veterans Affairs patient care initiatives. Allow documentation of patient follow ups in medical records. Technology may be implemented within various phases of the project to improve success and as an adjunct to primary elements of the implementation plan. Any technology used must be compliant with the Federal Government and the Department of Veterans Affairs information technology guidelines. Trademarked products must be approved for use through the Federal Risk and Authorization Management Program (FedRamp) and Department of Veterans Affairs Software as a Service (SaaS) portals. Technology used must be Section 508 compliant. Performance Assessment Software The awarded Vendor must utilize metrics based upon statistical principles to measure success. Targeted improvement goals for each measure must be clearly articulated and based upon accepted industry standards. Goals may also be based upon Vendor experience implementing similar cultural transformation programs within comparable Department of Veterans Affairs healthcare systems. At a minimum, the following indicators must be incorporated, tracked, and reported: Identified Facility Leadership engagement with the cultural transformation plan. Physician Leader engagement with the cultural transformation plan. Physician/Provider engagement with the cultural transformation plan. Nursing engagement with the cultural transformation plan. Supervisory/Service Chief training, development and engagement with the cultural transformation plan. Nursing engagement with the cultural transformation plan. Facility staff not identified above engagement with the cultural transformation plan. Best Places to Work metric on the All Employee Survey (AES). Veteran Experience (through SHEP). Facility Quality measures (through SAIL or other specified Department of Veterans Affairs quality metric). Emergency Department Throughput/Flow. Rounding efficiency with demonstrated results for employees and patients. The Vendor must provide access to and interpretation of facility performance data. Data must: Be accessible to all identified leadership stakeholders at the Facility. Be easily interpreted for positive or negative trends. Provide insight on the factors impacting successes and failures. Be made available monthly. Timeline A kickoff meeting between the vendor and WVAMC to review and agree upon an overall milestone plan must occur within 15 days of contract award, with initial assessment to commence within 30 days of contract award. Vendor is responsible for communicating potential issues that impact the agreed upon milestone plan, proposing a solution, and providing a revised milestone plan as necessary. These potential changes must be communicated within two business days of an identified issue to the WVAMC. Sustainability Plan The Vendor will provide tools and/or continued training to ensure the success of the cultural transformation and clinical consulting plan. The sustainability plan will be implemented immediately after the determination of success date, and may continue into contract option periods. Sustainability is based upon a one-year model and must include at least quarterly assessments of continued success utilizing the indicators identified in section 2), b), i), (3) of this document. Utilize established performance metrics to assess the status of the sustainability plan. The Vendor must identify, and report underperforming metrics and establish retraining plans. Retraining plans must be articulated and approved by WVAMC. Capabilities Statement and Documentation: Companies are invited to provide their capabilities, experience and knowledge in the provision of cultural transformation development training services. Sources are asked to provide information to demonstrate their answers to the following items of information: 1. General information about your company to include: Company Name: Company Address: Socioeconomic Status: GSA Contract Number covering these services and Expiration Date (if applicable): Company DUNS: Company NAICS Code(s): Point of Contact Name: Point of Contact Phone Number: Point of Contact Email Address: Company Website (if available): 2. The North American Industry Classification System Code (NAICS) is 611430, Professional and Management Development Training, and the Small Business Size Standard is $12 million. 3. Based on market response, the following clauses may be included in a resulting solicitation, should one be issued: VAAR 852.219-10, VA Notice of Total Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned Small Business Set-Aside VAAR 852.219-11, VA Notice of Total Veteran-Owned Small Business Set-Aside FAR 52.219-6, Notice of Total Small Business Set-Aside Accordingly, prospective contractors will be required at time of solicitation response to certify to the applicable limitation on subcontracting requirements in 13 CFR 125.6, with reference to the appropriate set-aside. Please include in the response to this sources sought notice your ability or inability to certify to the clause applicable to your organization. 4. Provide a summary of your firm s ability to provide the services described in this announcement. In addition to a Capability Statement, submissions can include specifications, brochures, and manuals as attachments. ***Note specifically any previous experience providing these services to Department of Veterans Affairs medical facilities. Submit responses via email to Contract Specialist Thomas Cossentino at thomas.cossentino@va.gov no later than 2:00 PM EST, 12/13/2021, with Sources Sought number 36C24422Q0178 in the subject line. Telephone responses shall not be accepted. The government will not provide feedback in response to vendor questions about the requirement at this time. If you identify ambiguities or have concerns about anything in the description of the requirement, however, please include them with your response. Confirming receipt of the response is the responsibility of the contractor. Contact the contract specialist if the government does not confirm receipt of the sources sought response within 2 business days. Prospective Contractors are reminded that in accordance with FAR 4.11 they shall be registered in the System for Award Management (SAM) database and shall complete electronic annual representations and certifications in SAM prior to award of a contract. SAM is located at https://sam.gov/SAM/ and consolidated the capabilities of CCR/FedReg, ORCA, and EPLS. There is NO cost to use SAM. No solicitation document is available at this time; this notice is to acquire information only.