Sources Sought for Personnel to sterilize hospital and operating room equipment This is a SOURCES SOUGHT NOTICE. This is NOT a solicitation for proposals or quotes. The purpose of this Notice is to obtain information regarding the availability and capability of qualified small business sources that can furnish all labor to sterilize operating room equipment; 1) To determine the availability of potential small businesses. Interested small businesses should indicate their status as: Service Disabled Veteran Owned Small Business, Veteran Owned Small Businesses, HUBZone small business, 8(a), Small businesses with other socio-economic status or Small businesses with no special socioeconomic categories; and (2) Their size classification relative to the North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) code for the proposed acquisition. The NAICS code for this service is 561320 and the size standard is $13.5 million. An organization that is not considered a small business under the applicable NAICS code should not submit a response to this Notice. Contract duration will be a base year and four option years. THIS IS STRICTLY MARKET RESEARCH THAT WILL ASSIST THE DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS, BOSTON HEALTHCARE SYSTEM PLAN THEIR ACQUISITION STRATEGY. Proposals will not be accepted at this time. General Statement of Need The Department of Veterans Affairs, Boston Healthcare System is seeking contractor personnel to sterilize hospital and operating room equipment. The candidates must have detailed knowledge of surgical instruments to include proper function and use in order to identify defective and/or damaged instruments prior to inclusion in the surgical set. They also must be able to recognize a wide variety of instruments and supplies to discriminate among similar appearing instruments vary in size, curvature and tips and nomenclature. Incumbent will receive additional training to determine the correct sterilizing medium according to the item being processed and manufacturer instructions. Basic responsibilities are: 1. Receive contaminated instruments and sets, suction equipment, bedpans, urinals, air/water mattresses, various pieces of rolling stock, clinic instruments and other patient care items and determine the appropriate method of decontamination. 2. Disassemble and inspect items for wear and tear, damage and/or missing components. 3. Operate equipment and instruments to ensure proper functions prior to sterilization or distribution. 4. assemble instrument sets and other trays by selecting an appropriate tray in the correct manner, e.g. hinged instruments in an open position, ring handled instruments on a spreader, heavy instruments on the bottom of the tray, delicate items pre-wrapped to prevent any damage, and blades sharp edges covered to prevent injury and damage. This includes disposable items such as sponges, needles, syringes, suture materials etc needed to complete the list of items to be included in the given set. 5. Strive for a compact logically arranged package that will allow for effective penetration of the sterilization medium. 6. Select correct wrapping material and sterilization indicators. 7. Receive and inspects wrappers and other supplies for holes, rips or tears and any other defects 8. Schedule operations of the steam and gas sterilizers to permit cooling or aeration of sterilized items prior to their use by wards or the operating room. 9. Observe chemical indicator results to confirm a complete sterilization cycle 10. Review the sterilizer recording charts to verify the operating conditions of the sterilizers. 11. Load materials in a manner that allows circulation and permeation by the sterilizing medium. 12. Label all sterilized items with a control number expiration date either 30 days or 1 year. 13. Observe indicator tape on each package for a positive indication of exposure to the sterilant and stores or distributes these items without compromising the sterility of the package. 14. Assemble and loads all ward and operating room carts according to the schedules, fills special and emergency requests for sterile supplies. 15. Periodically inventory medical supplies and equipment, removing outdated items and initiating replenishment needs. 16. Will follow all JCAHO requirements and will adhere to the SPD 7176. The information provided is NOT intended to be a solicitation for proposals but rather for potential small businesses in determining their capability to meet requirements. The exact locations of the equipment and other specifications will be addressed in the solicitation. All qualified and interested small businesses should notify this office in writing (phone calls will not be accepted) by first-class mail (or email to
[email protected]) on or before 10:00 a.m. EST on November 13th, 2009. Responses should include: 1. identification and verification of the company certified by the Small Business Administration and indicating socio-economic category 2. A positive statement of your intent to submit a proposal for the solicitation. This is NOT a Request for Proposals and does NOT constitute any commitment by the Government. Responses to this Sources Sought Notice will be used by the Government to make appropriate acquisition decisions. All interested sources must respond to future solicitation announcements separately from responses to this market research/Sources Sought Notice. Responding small businesses should have an active CCR registration, DUNS number and up to date ORCA registrations. SDVOSBs and VOSBs MUST be registered in VetBiz.gov.