AHRQ Nursing Home Learning Collaborative

Small Business Sources Sought Notice Introduction: This is a Small Business Sources Sought notice (SBSS). This is NOT a solicitation for proposals, proposal abstracts, or quotations. The purpose of this notice is to obtain information regarding: (1) the availability and capability of qualified small business sources; (2) whether they are small business; HUBZone small businesses; service-disabled, veteran-owned small businesses; 8(a) small businesses; veteran-owned small businesses; woman-owned small businesses; or small disadvantaged businesses; and (3) their size classification relative to the North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) code for the proposed acquisition. Your responses to the information requested will assist the Government in determining the appropriate acquisition method, including whether a set-aside is possible. An organization that is not considered a small business under the applicable NAICS code should not submit a response to this notice. Project Description and Requirements: The Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality’s (AHRQ’s) mission is to produce evidence to make health care safer, and more accessible, effective, affordable and equitable, and to work within the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) and with other stakeholders including patients to make sure that the evidence is understood and used. AHRQ works to fulfill its mission by conducting and supporting health services research, both within AHRQ as well as in leading academic institutions, hospitals, physicians' offices, health care systems, and many other settings across the country. AHRQ research develops and disseminates evidence-based information on healthcare outcomes, quality, patient safety, cost, use and access. In August 2020, as part of a nearly $5 billion allotment to nursing homes, HHS approved utilizing $264 million from the 2nd Skilled Nursing Facility Provider Relief Fund (PRF) distribution to help nursing homes mitigate the spread of Covid-19. As part of this distribution, AHRQ established the AHRQ National Nursing Home COVID-19 Action Network (the Network), a healthcare learning and action network for nursing homes. Building on the work of the Network and aligned with the HHS priority of promoting equity, this acquisition is to establish a new Nursing Home Learning Collaborative (NHLC) for up to 4,000 nursing homes located in socioeconomically disadvantaged communities or serving disadvantaged populations. Disadvantaged populations are especially at risk during public health emergencies because of factors like socioeconomic status, household composition, minority status, or housing type and transportation. The NHLC would focus on promoting well-being and resilience among nursing home leaders, managers and frontline staff. The goals of the NHLC are to support nursing homes serving socioeconomically disadvantaged communities in: Reducing staff stress and anxiety and promoting resilience among all staff Building an inclusive and compassionate culture for collective well-being Promoting peer-to-peer learning and problem solving The Contractor shall develop and support a peer-to-peer learning collaborative for up to 4,000 nursing homes located in socioeconomically disadvantaged communities or serving disadvantaged populations and deliver evidence-based curricula for managers and frontline staff using effective learning methodologies over an 18-month period. The curricula shall focus on organizational and individual strategies to promote well-being and resilience among staff as well as quality improvement techniques to support nursing homes in making lasting changes. To accomplish this, the Contractor shall complete the tasks described below. Overview of Tasks: Task 1 – Recruit nursing homes and implement Learning Collaboratives Develop and implement a methodology for recruiting up to 4,000 nursing homes located in socioeconomically disadvantaged communities or serving disadvantaged populations to participate in learning collaboratives. The methodology shall take into account the CDC/ATSDR Social Vulnerability Index (SVI). Implement, monitor, and support learning collaboratives for participating nursing homes. There shall be three types of learning collaboratives defined by participants’ role in the nursing home: (LC1) Executive Directors, Medical Directors, and/or Administrators; (LC2) Directors of Nursing and Nurse Managers; and (LC3) Frontline Staff, particularly Certified Nursing Assistants (CNAs). Provide live, interactive training and peer-to-peer learning via a virtual platform as well as support for continued connection between group sessions via multiple mechanisms, such as online groups, mobile apps, text, and/or phone. Task 2 – Develop curricula, tools and resources for nursing home leaders, managers and staff The Contractor shall have the capability to identify and develop curricula, tools and resources that promote mental health and resilience among nursing home staff. The contractor shall have the capability to: Assess existing available curricula, tools and resources that focus on organizational and individual evidence-based interventions that promote well-being and resilience. Topics could include strategies to: deal with stress, grief-bereavement, anxiety, depression and other mental health challenges; increase awareness of the role of trauma-informed care and how to apply this approach in the nursing home; prevent and resolve burnout; improve staff morale; successful team building and functioning; improve communication across the organization; disseminate evidence-based strategies; address diversity, inclusion and equity; advance individual and group advocacy; enhance leadership skills to promote organizational well-being and resilience; and quality improvement techniques to implement change within the organization. Conduct a needs assessment of nursing homes to help prioritize topics and inform the development of curricula. Leverage existing evidence-based curriculum as building blocks for curricula to be deployed to the Learning Collaborative. Curricula should be tailored to the unique roles, needs and challenges of each of the three Learning Collaboratives. Develop new tools and resources to supplement the curriculum that focus on organizational and individual interventions to promote well-being and resilience, effective team building and communication, quality improvement management, and other priorities identified by participants and consistent with the goals of the contract. Work with professional accreditation associations to accredit curricula for continuing education/continuing education units (CE/CEU) for relevant groups of health care professionals, including nurses and certified nurse assistants. Task 3 – Engage stakeholders Stakeholder outreach, engagement and partnerships are a fundamental component of the NHLC. Successful stakeholder engagement requires recruiting multiple experts from diverse fields and diversity among experts. The Contractor shall have the capability to: Develop a stakeholder engagement plan for assisting AHRQ in engaging with national nursing home associations and trade organizations; leading nursing home experts; and representatives from federal agencies. Convene and coordinate three stakeholder groups on a monthly or quarterly basis depending on the group. Stakeholder meetings shall be convened virtually using Zoom or similar technology. Develop all meeting materials (agenda, participant list, etc.) Provide notetaking and produce summary reports of meeting activities Task 4 – Create and coordinate communication and dissemination activities The Contractor shall disseminate communication materials that describe the goals of the learning collaborative, its approaches and methods, and tools and resources used. The Contractor shall have experience in creating promotional material, including but not limited to: website content newsletters blogs social media messages including the use of relevant hashtags Task 5 – Compensate nursing homes Nursing homes participating in the Learning Collaborative will receive compensation for meeting minimum participation requirements. The contractor shall have adequate capital to be able to pay nursing homes before requesting reimbursement from the government. Payments may amount to up to a total of $70 million. The contractor shall have the capability to provide thorough financial documentation and reporting. Specific capabilities will include: Developing minimum participation requirements for receiving payment. Developing an invoice and payment process to issue financial payments to nursing homes. Documenting and reporting all financial payments issued. Task 6 – Project management and administrative services The Contractor shall provide administrative resources to implement and oversee the NHLC. These capabilities include: Providing management, oversight and communication of all activities Managing subcontractors Developing and submitting progress reports Quality control Adherence to federal regulations including FISMA, 508 compliance, and records management Anticipated period of performance: 18-months Other important considerations: This contract will be funded by the Provider Relief Fund (PRF) which was established in the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (CARES Act) to reimburse, through grants or other mechanisms, eligible health care providers for increased expenses or lost revenue attributable to Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19). The PRF has specific terms and conditions for payment eligibility. The prime contractor for the AHRQ Nursing Home Learning Collaborative and all participating nursing homes must be eligible to receive payments from the PRF. To be eligible for PRF General Distributions, a provider must have billed Medicare fee-for-service in 2019, be a known Medicaid and CHIP or dental provider and provide or provided after January 31, 2020 diagnoses, testing, or care for individuals with possible or actual cases of COVID-19. A description of the eligibility can be found here (https://www.hrsa.gov/provider-relief/faq/general?categories=198&keywords=) . The use of PRF requires thorough oversight, tracking, and reporting. Sources shall have the ability to conduct multiple activities simultaneously at the scale described above. Sources are expected to have personnel and corporate history adequate for promoting the use of evidence-based safety practices and quality improvement techniques to make and sustain change at the organization and individual level. Information Sought: The tailored response to this Small Business Sources Sought notice should describe the requested information below. Respondents must provide, as part of their response, information concerning: a) Staff expertise, including their availability, experience, and formal and other training; b) Current in-house capability and capacity to perform the work; c) Corporate experience and management capability; and d) Prior completed projects of similar size; e) Examples of prior completed Government contracts, references, and other related information. f) Eligibility to receive payments from the Provider Relief Fund (i.e., CMS Certification Number (CCN) and/or any other information demonstrating eligibility as described in the HRSA guidance: https://www.hrsa.gov/provider-relief/faq/general?categories=198&keywords=). Contractors must describe their capacity and experience as it relates to the project requirements described above. Information Submission Instructions Interested qualified small business organizations should submit a tailored capability statement for this requirement. The cover page must include the following: DUNS number Organization name Organization address Size and type of business (e.g., 8(a), HUBZone, etc.) pursuant to NAICS code 541990. Technical point(s) of contact, including names, titles, addresses, telephone, and e-mail addresses. All Capability Statements sent in response to this SMALL BUSINESS SOURCES SOUGHT notice must be submitted electronically (via e-mail) to Lisa Slavin, Contract Specialist, [email protected] in MS Word, or Adobe Portable Document Format (PDF), no later than 10:00 AM EST on October 12, 2022. Responses should not exceed 10 single-sided pages (including the cover page, all attachments, resumes, charts, etc.) presented in single-space and using a 12-point font size minimum, that clearly details the ability to perform the aspects of the notice described above. Disclaimer and Important Notes This notice does not obligate the Government to award a contract or otherwise pay for the information provided in response. The Government reserves the right to use information provided by respondents for any purpose deemed necessary and legally appropriate. Any organization responding to this notice should ensure that its response is complete and sufficiently detailed to allow the Government to determine the organization’s qualifications to perform the work. Respondents are advised that the Government is under no obligation to acknowledge receipt of the information received or provide feedback to respondents with respect to any information submitted. After a review of the responses received, a pre-solicitation synopsis and solicitation will be published in Federal Business Opportunities. However, responses to this notice will not be considered adequate responses to a solicitation. Confidentiality No proprietary, classified, confidential, or sensitive information should be included in your response. The Government reserves the right to use any non-proprietary technical information in any resultant solicitation(s).