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Description
This is a combined synopsis/solicitation for commercial products and commercial services prepared in accordance with the format in Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) subpart 12.6, Streamlined Procedures for Evaluation and Solicitation for Commercial Products and Commercial Services, as supplemented with additional information included in this notice. This announcement constitutes the only solicitation; quotes are being requested, and a written solicitation document will not be issued.

This solicitation is issued as an RFQ. The solicitation document and incorporated provisions and clauses are those in effect through Federal Acquisition Circular 2023-06 (eff. 12/04/2023).

This solicitation is: Unrestricted.

The associated North American Industrial Classification System (NAICS) code for this procurement is 611430, with a small business size standard of $15M.

The FSC/PSC is U004.

The James J. Peters VA Medical Center (Bronx VAMC) is seeking to access a Nurse Training Virtual Simulation Online system with avatars (not manakins). Virtual simulations in nursing are a type of clinical experience where interactions with patients are performed virtually on a computer or other digital learning environment, in ways that parallel real-world engagement. The Bronx VAMC is looking for avatar simulated nursing scenarios that are true to life and can expect our new nurses to encounter. The Bronx VAMC wants the training to take place from a desktop computer or a tablet/iPad. Virtual simulations provide students with a comprehensive and repeatable hands-on learning experience to practice assessment, diagnosis, and clinical procedures in a simulated space.

All interested companies shall provide quotations for the following services:

Each scenario should address the Patient, Diagnosis, and scenario specific Outcomes. The learner is provided clinical experience through virtual simulation.

The James J. Peters nurse educators provide the student with an access code, and the online access becomes available instantaneously once applied. Access codes are to be provided to the nurse educators via email in a spread sheet for providing to the nurses.

The simulation scenarios must be evidenced based and authored by the National League of Nursing. The nurse educators should be able to view the nursing student s competency - for example by how many attempts were made by the nurse in training when it comes to specific nursing procedures.

The virtual simulation must contain the SBAR (Situation Background Assessment Recommendation) tool and be explained to nurses within the scenarios as the hand-off communication method used. The resource is meant to mentor the end user in developing their critical thinking skills needed in practice.

The purpose of these virtual simulation scenarios is for education and training and as an enhancement to the current curricula. Their purpose is not for continuing education (CE) credit.


The Bronx VAMC is looking to cover patient diagnosis and scenario specific outcomes in the following areas:

Health Assessment
Gerontology
Medical Surgical
Fundamentals
Maternity
Mental Health
Pharmacology

Access codes are to be provided to the nurse educators via email in a spread sheet for providing to the nurses to obtain access.

The purchase order/contract period of performance is 30 days after receipt of award.

Place of Performance/Place of Delivery:
Address:
VA Healthcare System
James J. Peters VA Medical Center
130 West Kingsbridge Road
Bronx, NY
Postal Code:
10468
Country:
United States

The full text of FAR provisions or clauses may be accessed electronically at http://acquisition.gov/comp/far/index.html.

The following solicitation provisions apply to this acquisition:
FAR 52.212-1, Instructions to Offerors Commercial Products and Commercial Services (SEP 2023)
(a) North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) code and small business size standard. The NAICS code(s) and small business size standard(s) for this acquisition appear elsewhere in the Request for Quote (RFQ). However, the small business size standard for a concern that submits a quote, other than on a construction or service acquisition, but proposes to furnish an end item that it did not itself manufacture, process, or produce is 500 employees if the acquisition
Is set aside for small business and has a value above the simplified acquisition threshold; or
Uses the HUBZone price evaluation preference regardless of dollar value, unless the quoter waives the price evaluation preference; or

Is an 8(a), HUBZone, service-disabled veteran-owned, economically disadvantaged women-owned, or women-owned small business set-aside or sole-source award regardless of dollar value.
(b) Submission of Quotes. Submit signed and dated quotes to the office specified in this Request for Quote (RFQ) at or before the exact time specified. Quotes may be submitted on letterhead stationery, or as otherwise specified in the RFQ. As a minimum, quotes must show
           (1) The solicitation number;
           (2) The time specified in the solicitation for receipt of quotations;Â
          (3) The name, address, and telephone number of the quoter;
A technical description of the items being quoted in sufficient detail to evaluate compliance with the requirements in the solicitation. This may include product literature, or other documents, if necessary;
           (5) Terms of any express warranty;
           (6) Price and any discount terms;
           (7) "Remit to" address, if different than mailing address;
(8) A completed copy of the representations and certifications at Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) 52.212-3 (see FAR 52.212-3(b) for those representations and certifications that the quoter shall complete electronically);
           (9) Acknowledgment Request for Quotation amendments;
(10) Past performance will not be considered in simplified acquisition procurements.
(11) Quote should include a statement specifying the extent of agreement with all terms, conditions, and provisions included in the solicitation. Quotes that fail to furnish required representations and certifications, information requested in (1) to (9) and accept the terms and conditions of the solicitation may be excluded from consideration.
(c) Period for acceptance of Quotes. The quoter agrees to hold the prices in its quote firm for 30 calendar days from the date specified for receipt of quotes unless another time period is specified in an addendum to the solicitation.
(d) Product samples. When required by the solicitation, product samples shall be submitted at or prior to the time specified for receipt of quotes. Unless otherwise specified in this solicitation, these samples shall be submitted at no expense to the Government, and returned at the sender s request and expense, unless they are destroyed during testing.
(e) Multiple Quotes. Quoters are encouraged to submit multiple quotes presenting alternative line items (provided that the alternative line items are consistent with FAR subpart 4.10), or alternative commercial products or commercial services for satisfying the requirements of this solicitation. Each quote submitted will be evaluated separately.
(f) Late submissions, revisions, and withdrawals of quotes.
(1) Quoters are responsible for submitting quotes so as to reach the Government office designated in the solicitation by the time specified in the solicitation. If no time is specified in the solicitation, the time for receipt is 4:30 p.m., local time, for the designated Government office on the date that quotes are due.
(2) Any quotation received at the Government office designated in the solicitation after the exact time specified for receipt of quotes is "late" and may not be considered unless it is received before purchase order issuance and the Contracting Officer (CO) determines that accepting the late quotation would not unduly delay the acquisition.
(3) If an emergency or unanticipated event interrupts normal Government processes so that quotations cannot be received at the Government office designated for receipt of quotes by the exact time specified in the solicitation, and urgent Government requirements preclude a notice of an extension of the closing date, the time specified for receipt of quotes will be deemed to be extended to the same time of day specified in the solicitation on the first work day on which normal Government processes resume.
(g) Issuance of Purchase Order. The Government may issue a purchase order to one or more quoters as identified in the Request for Quote (RFQ). Therefore, the quoter s initial quote should contain the best terms from a price and technical standpoint. However, the Government may reject any or all quotes if such action is in the public s best interest. The Contracting Officer (CO) may issue a purchase order to other than the quoter with the lowest priced quotation.
(h) Multiple awards. The Government may issue a purchase order for any item or group of items of a quotation, unless the quoter qualifies the quotation by specific limitations. Unless otherwise provided in the Schedule, quotations may not be submitted for quantities less than those specified. The Government reserves the right to issue a purchase order for a quantity less than the quantity quoted, at the unit prices quoted, unless the quoter specifies otherwise in the quotation.
      (1) Availability of requirements documents cited in the solicitation.
(i) The GSA Index of Federal Specifications, Standards and Commercial Item Descriptions, FPMR Part 101-29, and copies of specifications, standards, and commercial item descriptions cited in this solicitation may be obtained for a fee by submitting a request to- GSA Federal Supply Service Specifications Section Suite 8100 470 East L Enfant Plaza, SW Washington, DC 20407 Telephone (202) 619-8925, Facsimile (202) 619-8978.
(ii) If the General Services Administration, Department of Agriculture, or Department of Veterans Affairs issued this solicitation, a single copy of specifications, standards, and commercial item descriptions cited in this solicitation may be obtained free of charge by submitting a request to the addressee in paragraph (i)(1)(i) of this provision. Additional copies will be issued for a fee.
(2) Most unclassified Defense specifications and standards may be downloaded from the following ASSIST websites:
                (i) ASSIST ( https://assist.dla.mil/online/start/).
                (ii) Quick Search ( http://quicksearch.dla.mil/).          Â
(3) Documents not available from ASSIST may be ordered from the Department of Defense Single Stock Point (DoDSSP) by-
(i)Â Using the ASSIST Shopping Wizard (Â https://assist.dla.mil/wizard/index.cfm);
(ii)Â Phoning the DoDSSP Customer Service Desk (215) 697-2179, Mon-Fri, 0730 to 1600 EST; or
(iii)Â Ordering from DoDSSP, Building 4, Section D, 700 Robbins Avenue, Philadelphia, PA 19111-5094, Telephone (215) 697-2667/2179, Facsimile (215) 697-1462.
(4) Nongovernment (voluntary) standards must be obtained from the organization responsible for their preparation, publication, or maintenance.
(j) Unique entity identifier (UEI). Applies to all quotes that exceed the micro-purchase threshold, and quotes at or below the micro-purchase threshold if the solicitation requires the contractor to be registered in the System for Award Management (SAM).) The quoter must enter, in the block with its name and address on the cover page of its quote, the annotation "Unique Entity Identifier" followed by the unique entity identifier that identifies the quoters name and address. The quoter also must enter its Electronic Funds Transfer (EFT) indicator, if applicable. The EFT indicator is a four-character suffix to the UEI. The suffix is assigned at the discretion of the quoter to establish additional SAM records for identifying alternative EFT accounts (see FAR subpart 32.11) for the same entity. If the quoter does not have a UEI, it should contact the entity designated at www.sam.gov for UEI establishment directly to obtain one. The quoter should indicate that it is a quoter for a Government contract when contacting the entity designated at www.sam.gov for establishing the UEI.
(k)Â [Reserved]
(l)Â Requests for information. The CO will not notify unsuccessful quoters that responded to this Request for Quotation (RFQ). However, quoters may request information on purchase order(s) resulting from this solicitation with the CO.
(End of Provision)
FAR 52.212-3, Offerors Representations and Certifications Commercial Products and Commercial Services (NOV 2023).

Offerors must complete annual representations and certifications electronically via the System for Award Management (SAM) website located at https://www.sam.gov/portal in accordance with FAR 52.212-3, Offerors Representations and Certifications Commercial Products and Commercial Services. If paragraph (j) of the provision is applicable, a written submission is required.

The following contract clauses apply to this acquisition:
FAR 52.212-4, Contract Terms and Conditions Commercial Products and Commercial Services (NOV 2023).

FAR 52.252-2, Clauses Incorporated by Reference (FEB 1998). This contract incorporates one or more clauses by reference, with the same force and effect as if they were given in full text. Upon request, the Contracting Officer will make their full text available. Also, the full text of a clause may be accessed electronically at these address(es): http://www.acquisition.gov/far/index.html (FAR) and http://www.va.gov/oal/library/vaar/index.asp (VAAR).

52.212-5 Contract Terms and Conditions Required to Implement Statutes or Executive Orders--Commercial Products and Commercial Services (DEC 2023).
The following subparagraphs of FAR 52.212-5 are applicable:
(a) The Contractor shall comply with the following Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) clauses, which are incorporated in this contract by reference, to implement provisions of law or Executive orders applicable to acquisitions of commercial products and commercial services:
(1) 52.203-19, Prohibition on Requiring Certain Internal Confidentiality Agreements or Statements (Jan 2017) (section 743 of Division E, Title VII, of the Consolidated and Further Continuing Appropriations Act, 2015 (Pub. L. 113-235) and its successor provisions in subsequent appropriations acts (and as extended in continuing resolutions)).
(2) 52.204-23, Prohibition on Contracting for Hardware, Software, and Services Developed or Provided by Kaspersky Lab Covered Entities (Dec 2023) (Section 1634 of Pub. L. 115-91).
(3) 52.204-25, Prohibition on Contracting for Certain Telecommunications and Video Surveillance Services or Equipment. (Nov 2021) (Section 889(a)(1)(A) of Pub. L. 115-232).
(4) 52.209-10, Prohibition on Contracting with Inverted Domestic Corporations (Nov 2015).
(5) 52.232-40, Providing Accelerated Payments to Small Business Subcontractors (Mar 2023) ( 31 U.S.C. 3903 and 10 U.S.C. 3801).
(6)   52.233-3, Protest After Award (Aug 1996) ( 31 U.S.C. 3553).
(7)   52.233-4, Applicable Law for Breach of Contract Claim (Oct 2004) (Public Laws 108-77 and 108-78 ( 19 U.S.C. 3805 note)).
(a) The Contractor shall comply with the following Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) clauses, which are incorporated in this contract by reference, to implement provisions of law or Executive orders applicable to acquisitions of commercial products and commercial services:

FAR 52.212-4, Contract Terms and Conditions Commercial Products and Commercial Services (DEC 2022)
FAR 52.252-2 Clauses Incorporated by Reference (FEB 1998)
VAAR 852.208-70 Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned and Veteran-Owned Small Business Evaluation Factors Orders or BPAs (JAN 2023)
VAAR 852.208-71 Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned and Veteran-Owned Small Business Evaluation Factor Commitments--Orders and BPAs (JAN 2023)
VAAR 852.211-70 Equipment Operation and Maintenance Manuals (NOV 2018)
VAAR 852.215-71 Evaluation Factor Commitments (OCT 2019)
VAAR 852.232-72 Electronic Submission of Payment Requests (NOV 2018)
VAAR 852.242-71 Administrative Contracting Officer (OCT 2020)
VAAR 852.247-73 Packing for Domestic Shipment (OCT 2018)
FAR 52.212-5, Contract Terms and Conditions Required to Implement Statutes or Executive Orders Commercial Products and Commercial Services (DEC 2023)
FAR 52.212-1 Instructions to Offerors Commercial Products and Commercial Services (SEP 2023)
FAR 52.252-1 Solicitation Provisions Incorporated by Reference (FEB 1998)
FAR 52.204-24 Representation Regarding Certain Telecommunications and Video Surveillance Services or Equipment (NOV 2021)
FAR 52.233-2 Service of Protest (SEP 2006)
VAAR 852.233-70 Protest Content/Alternative Dispute Resolution (OCT 2018)
VAAR 852.233-71 Alternate Protest Procedure [OCT 2018]
FAR 52.212-2 Evaluation Commercial Products and Commercial Services (NOV 2021)
FAR 52.212-3 Offeror Representations and Certifications Commercial Products and Commercial Services (NOV 2023)

All quoters shall submit the following: One (1) Copy.
All quotes shall be sent to: Jonatan.rondon@va.gov

Award will be based upon a comparative evaluation of quotes in accordance with the Simplified Acquisition Procedures of FAR 13. Comparative evaluation is the side by side pairwise comparison of quotes based on factors resulting in a Contracting Officer decision for the quote most favorable to the Government.

The vendor is to provide a Base + 3 Option Contract.

Base Year 2-15-2024 2-16-2025
Option Year #1 2-15-2025 2-16-2026
Option Year #2 2-15-2026 2-16-2027
Option Year #3 2-15-2027 2-16-2028

The following are the decision factors:
Award shall be made to the contractor whose quotation offers the best value to the government, considering technical capability, past performance, and price. Comparative Evaluations may be considered for this procurement. The government shall evaluate information based on the following evaluation criteria: (1) technical capability factor meeting or exceeding the requirement, (2) past performance, and (3) price.

The award will be made to the response most advantageous to the Government.
Responses should contain your best terms, conditions.

To facilitate the award process, all quotes must include a statement regarding the terms and conditions herein as follows:
"The terms and conditions in the solicitation are acceptable to be included in the award document without modification, deletion, or addition."
OR
"The terms and conditions in the solicitation are acceptable to be included in the award document with the exception, deletion, or addition of the following:"
Quoters shall list exception(s) and rationale for the exception(s), if any.

Submission of your response shall be received not later than February 1st, 2024, 1600 hours EST at Jonatan.Rondon@va.gov.

Any questions or concerns regarding this solicitation should be forwarded in writing via e-mail to the Point of Contact listed below.

Point of Contact
Jonatan Rondon
Contract Specialist
Network Contracting Office (NCO2)
Margaret Cochran Corbin VA Campus
423 East 23rd Street, 14045-W
New York, NY 10010
212-686-7500 ex. 5588
Jonatan.rondon@va.gov

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