Q--Therapeutic Medical Physicist Services Hines Veterans Affairs Hospital

URGENT SOURCES SOUGHT NOTICE Therapeutic Medical Physicists Hines Veterans Affairs Hospital (VAH) The Great Lakes Acquisition Center (GLAC), on behalf of Edward J. Hines, Jr. VAH located at 5000 South 5th Avenue, Hines, Illinois, 60141, is seeking temporary services of two Board-Certified Physicists - one to act as its Chief Therapeutic Medical Physicist (CTMP) and one staff Therapeutic Medical Physicist (TMP) - in the Radiotherapy Department. The anticipated period of performance is from January 25, 2018 through April 27, 2018. The required duty hours are Monday through Friday from 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Services will not be required on weekends, after normal duty hours, or Federal Holidays. Contract staff shall attend service staff meetings, chart rounds, and quality assurance or peer review meetings as directed by the VA Chief, Radiotherapy Service. Responsibilities of the contract CTMP include, but are not limited to, the duties listed below. Contract CTMP will oversee all physics and dosimetry operations. Contract CTMP shall provide quarterly Quality Assurance reports for the Radiation Safety Officer or COR. Contract CTMP shall track, evaluate, and document all equipment-related quality assurance data including TLD and credentialing measurements for independent 3rd party analysis. Contract CTMP shall also provide shielding surveys, and reports as required by the National Health Physics Program of (NHPP). Contract CTMP shall also be responsible to ensure the Radiotherapy Service has appropriate licenses for users of all our software applications. Contract CTMP shall also be responsible for ensuring continuity of medical physics operations including communication among key personnel. Contract CTMP shall develop/design, implement, oversee, and periodically review all Quality Management Program (QMP) policies and procedures that pertain to or involve the use of radiation therapy equipment, dosimetry system(s) and all applications pertinent thereto. Contract CTMP will oversee the technical activities of all other physicists, dosimetrists, and other staff members assigned to the unit and directs the technical aspects of treatment procedures. Contract CTMP will not perform administrative oversight of federal employees. When newly published techniques or procedures are being implemented for the first time within facility, the contract CTMP shall undertake a systematic literature review, make appropriate site visits, observe procedures, assist the VA Chief, Radiotherapy Services, with the development of standard operating procedures, implement the technique or procedure in clinic, and oversee the training of colleagues who are not familiar with the procedure. The QMP associated with any new procedure should be periodically reviewed and updated. Contract CTMP shall assist with the development of policies and procedures for continuous quality improvement that involve the use of radiotherapy equipment. Contract CTMP shall be responsible for reporting all adverse events in the clinic to NHPP and for the implementation of their follow up recommendations. Contract CTMP shall be responsible for reporting and periodically updating facility profile data required by the NHPP offices. Responsibilities of the contract staff TMP include, but are not limited to, the duties listed below. Contract TMP is primarily and professionally engaged in the design, optimization and technical evaluation of radiation treatment plans as well as ensuring precise and accurate radiation dose delivery, and radiation protection of patients and staff. Contract TMP shall be available, when necessary, for consultation with the Radiation Oncologist and to provide advice or direction to technical staff when radiation treatments are being planned or when patients are being treated. Where possible, should be present to observe and/or help oversee complicated simulations and/or treatment set-ups. Contract TMP shall specify and monitor method(s) to calculate MUs or treatment times and ensure independent review(s) of such calculations. Contract TMP shall develop and maintain a method for the weekly and systematic review of the charts of all patients under radiation treatment. Contract TMP shall perform a final chart review at the end of the course of radiation treatment in order to confirm that the prescribed dose has been delivered, and to document the total doses delivered to critical structures. Contract TMP is responsible for data input into the planning system, which should be based upon measured beam data for the radiation beams in question, and for output from the planning system(s). The output should be tested and documented on a regular periodic basis. Contract TMP will ensure that the treatment planning software updates and bug fixes are installed, tested, and validated in a timely manner. The output should agree within the manufacturer's specifications for the treatment planning system and/or published standards such as those found in the report of AAPM 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 34, 36, 39, 40, 45, 51, 53, 58, 62, 63, 66, 70, 73, 74, 76, 86, 101, 103, 104, 106, 114, 119, 142, 166, 179, and 204. Contractor must provide for any gaps in equipment required for periodic and annual quality assurance testing (i.e., 3D water phantom, TG-51 mini-phantom, electrometers, ion chambers, IGRT phantoms, etc.). Contract TMP is responsible for understanding the calculation algorithm and should document those conditions for which the algorithm and measured data are in disagreement by more than 5%. The output of the planning system should be periodically tested by comparisons to direct measurements of the radiation beams. Contract TMP shall ensure that all users of the treatment planning system receive appropriate training. Contract TMP shall be available to provide information in support of VA s acquisition of radiation-producing machines, accessories, and computerized treatment planning systems. Contract CMP shall also provide information to VA staff on timing of required maintenance of this equipment. Contract TMP shall periodically evaluate all equipment for continued utility, appropriateness, reliable performance, age, and condition and make recommendations to VA staff regarding practical life span, obsolescence, and replacement. Contract TMP shall provide advice and consultation, to VA and third party clinical engineers, for the operation, maintenance, and trouble-shooting of the VA Radiation Oncology s linear accelerators and CT simulation equipment, all relevant accessories and the computerized network interconnectivity; record and verification systems. Contract TMP shall develop and maintain a quality management program (QMP) for the dosimetry system(s) and all applications pertinent thereto. Contract TMP shall coordinate, complete TLD measurements and submit results annually for 3rd party calibration analysis. Contract TMP shall carry out medical dosimetry functions with the Medical Dosimetrist and shall receive technical direction from the VA Radiation Oncologist. Alternatively, medical dosimetry functions may be carried out by a Medical Physicist or supervised designee. In either case, the Contract Medical Physicist shall oversee the medical dosimetry functions of the Radiation Oncology Service, functions as a technical advisor of medical dosimetry services and oversees medical dosimetry quality assurance activities. Contract TMP shall oversee, in conjunction with the Dosimetrist, 2D, 3D, and IMRT treatment planning as required by the service. No Brachytherapy is currently authorized for this facility. Contract TMP shall oversee the design of treatment plans by means of computer and/or manual computation that will deliver a prescribed radiation dose and field placement technique in accordance with the VA Radiation Oncologist prescription to a defined tumor volume. Contract TMP shall consider dose-limiting structures in the design of treatment plans and document dose in accordance with VA Radiation Oncologist prescription. Contract TMP shall oversee treatment simulations and tumor localization on dedicated devices, including computer tomography and MRI, when indicated, for radiation therapy treatment planning. Contract TMP shall oversee assist in planning and oversee fabrication of compensating filters, custom shields, wedges, and other beam modifying devices. Contract TMP shall oversee and supervise production of molds, casts, and other immobilization devices. Contract TMP shall assist radiation therapy staff in the implementation of the treatment plan including the correct use of immobilization devices, compensators, wedges, field arrangements, and any treatment variable associated with treatment planning implementation. Contract TMP shall perform calculation methods for the delivery of prescribed dose, and subsequent documentation in patient files, and verification of the mathematical accuracy of all calculations. All Physicist candidates must meet the minimum requirements below. Hold a Master's degree or higher (PhD is preferred) in a physics, science, or engineering discipline recognized by an accredited college or university with at least 30 semester hours in medical physics, health physics, radiological science, physics, engineering, chemistry, or biology; or an equivalent foreign degree and coursework substantiated by the National Association of Credential Evaluation Services. Be Board-Certified in the field of therapeutic medical physics by an approved certifying body. This board certificate must be current and the candidate must abide by the certifying body's requirements for continuing education. The three approved certifying bodies are as follows: (a) The American Board of Radiology (ABR) in any of the following field titles: 1. Therapeutic Medical Physics, 2. Therapeutic Radiologic or Therapeutic Radiological Physics, or 3. Radiologic Physics or Radiological Physics. (b) The American Board of Medical Physics (ABMP) in the subfield of Radiation Oncology Physics. (c) The Canadian College of Physicists in Medicine (CCPM) in the subfield of Radiation Oncology Physics. Ability to read, write, and speak English fluently. Possess and maintain certification in Basic Life Support (BLS) and/or Advanced Cardiac Life Support (ACLS). Possess knowledge of professional care theories, principles, practices, and procedures to serve radiation oncology patient population. Contractor s physicist (s) and other contract provider (s) shall demonstrate knowledge of growth and development, and pathophysiology of disease processes specific radiation oncology patient population. Have experience with the following technologies: Varian linear accelerators (Varian Clinac 21iX linacs and TrueBeam); Eclipse treatment planning software (version 11 or higher); Aria Record & Verify Information System (version 11 or higher); IMRT/VMAT planning and quality assurance measurements and equipment including water phantoms, anthropogenic phantoms, and cheese phantoms; 3D CRT; IGRT; TG-51 calibration protocol, and TG-142 comprehensive quality assurance protocol and procedures. The CTMP must have a minimum of 5 years experience working in a clinical radiation therapy department. It is preferred that candidates have worked previously at a VA, have experience working in an academic environment, and have publication records of scientific research. Additionally, physicists shall have their own, or be able to obtain access to, equipment used for periodic and annual quality assurance testing. The NAICS for this requirement is 561320 - Temporary Help Services, which has a small business size standard of $27.5 million. It is the intent of the VA to establish fixed (unit) price task order or contract. Upon award, each accepted physicist shall undergo a mandatory National Agency Check and Inquires (NACI) Background Investigation. Concurrently with the initiation of the BI, the Hines VAH will credential the candidates and seek approval from the VA National Radiation Oncology Program Office (NROP) for the CTMP registration certificate. Physicists cannot perform any services at the Hines VAH prior to being approved by NROP, successfully credentialed, and scheduled for a background investigation. The current fee associated with the NACI background investigation is $381.00 per individual. This Sources Sought Notice will be used to identify potential vendors that would be interested and capable of providing qualified physicist candidates, and to assist the Contracting Officer in making a set-aside determination. It is for market research purposes only and shall not be considered as a request for quote or as an obligation on the part of the Government to acquire any services. No entitlement to payment of direct or indirect costs or charges by the Government will arise as a result of the contractor submission of this Sources Sought Notice or the Government's use of such information. The Government reserves the right to reject, in whole or in part, any contractor's input resulting from this Sources Sought Notice. No contractual arrangement will be made as a result of this announcement. Information submitted in response to this Sources Sought Notice will not be returned. All interested parties capable of providing the required the above Physicist services shall submit a response via email to [email protected] no later than Wednesday, January 3, 2018 at 10:00 a.m. central time. To be considered complete, the responses shall address the information below. Provide a list of potential physicists (CTMP & TMP) who are interested and available to start by January 25, 2018. Indicate whether they have prior VA experience and/or completed NACI Background Investigation. Provide CVs for all physicists identified on the list above. Provide a brief description of the company background, capabilities relating to this requirement, socioeconomic status, past performance with Government contracts, and contractor DUNS number. Provide an all-inclusive estimated hourly rate and overtime rate for the physicist services required above (local candidate and traveler). Provide proof of VET-biz (VIP) verification if claiming Veteran-Owned Small Business or Service-Disabled, Veteran-Owned Small Business socioeconomic status. Provide a copy of current certificate of liability insurance. All information should be UNCLASSIFIED or NON-PROPRIETARY.