The Department of Veterans Affairs VA Connecticut Health Care System (VACHCS) intends to negotiate a commercial (FAR Part 12) sole source contract with Joint commission Resources under the authority of FAR 6.302-1. The solicitation document and incorporated provisions and clauses are those in effect through Federal Acquisition Circular (FAC) FAC 2005-26. Only one responsible source and no other supplies or services will satisfy agency requirements. A justification for other than full and open competition is being prepared in support of this acquisition. Items being procured must be the same as or equal to: For Joint Commission Resources to provide the services of two (2) consultants over three (3) days (November 5-7, 2008) for Medication Management - Medication Reconciliation with on-site consultation, interviews with appropriate staff and a written summary of consulation services, findings and recommendations within 30 days of the consultation. Scope of Work: Joint Commission Resources (JCR) will provide a total of three days (during the month of November 2008) to follow up on the assessment of survey readiness based on compliance with the Joint Commission Hospital and Behavioral Health programs Accreditation Standards that was previously conducted by JCR in October 2008. The focus of this review will be on Medication Management, specifically, the storage, security and administration of medication and Medication Reconciliation current work processes and creating workable solutions to improve the current medication management system. The on-site evaluation for the hospital on Joint Commission preparedness should include a team of medication management experts including pharmacists for three days. Consultants will provide a comprehensive review of current medication management processes throughout the healthcare system. The review should focus on improving inefficiencies, workflow and patient safety within the medication management system. The consultants should assist with identifying and implementing strategies that will improve the medication management process for VACT. The consultants should review pertinent healthcare system documents (healthcare system policies, committee meeting minutes, environment of care manual and any other relevant hospital documents) and provide a summary of findings which will include implementing identified strategies for improvement. As the Joint Commission survey process is unannounced, the situation may present that the consultation dates may post-date, conflict or be in progress during the unannounced Joint Commission survey. If those conditions present, the hospital may elect to stop or cancel the consultation, request the consultant to continue the scheduled consult or assist the organization with survey findings or other activities. JUSTIFICATION FOR SOLE SOURCE :Joint Commission Resources (JCR), a not-for-profit affiliate of The Joint Commission, is a dedicated expert resource for health care organizations worldwide, providing consulting services, educational services, and publications to assist in improving quality and patient safety and to help in meeting the accreditation standards of The Joint Commission. JCR has helped organizations maintain compliance with Joint Commission standards for more than 20 years helping more than 700 organizations across the country. JCR has long standing consulting relationships within the VHA system. JCR has worked in many VHA facilities and VISNs throughout the network with assessing organizational survey readiness for hospital, behavioral long term care and home care programs. They are very familiar with the VHA healthcare system. JCR will customize an accreditation preparation consulting service to meet VACT Health Care System's needs for survey readiness. JCR consultants are standards trained and many have on-site survey experience. No comparable system is currently available as a package assembling comparable capabilities from individual components would be costly to validate. THIS NOTICE IS NOT A REQUEST FOR COMPETITIVE PROPOSALS. All proposals received by 4:00 P.M. eastern Time, Oct 22nd, 2008, will be considered by the Government. A determination by the Government not to compete this proposed contract based on responses to this notice is solely within the discretion of the Government. Information received will be considered solely for the purpose of determining whether to conduct a competitive procurement. Inquiries will only be accepted in writing by e-mail (
[email protected]) or Mail VA Connecticut Healthcare System, 950 Campbell Ave. West Haven, CT 06516, Mail Code 90C --------------------------------------------------------------