REQUEST FOR INFORMATION / SOURCES SOUGHT NOTICE ELECTROLOGY SERVICES The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Great Lakes Acquisition Center (GLAC) is issuing this Request for Information (RFI) / Sources Sought Notice (SSN) as a means of conducting market research to identify vendors having the capability and interest in providing Electrology Services at the Jesse Brown Veterans Affairs Medical Center (JBVAMC) located at 820 S. Damen Ave, Chicago, IL 60612. These services are not currently being provided by the JBVAMC and will be a new program of care. Thus, the exact demand/volume of services needed is unknown. The JBVAMC anticipates services to be needed at least one day per week with the possibility of up to five days per week. Electrolysis services and consultations would be provided between the hours of 7:00 a.m. 5:00 p.m., Monday through Friday, excluding federal holidays. Performance is expected to begin in Fiscal Year 2025, and be for a period of one to five years in duration. JBVAMC will be responsible for scheduling patients and providing any necessary pain management to patients receiving electrolysis. Electrologists will be required to develop a treatment plan for every patient on an individual basis and use VA s electronic health record to record details of every patient encounter. JBVAMC will provide and store the electrolysis equipment and disposable components. Vendors will be required to utilize, as well as provide basic cleaning and maintenance of, the VA provided electrolysis equipment. Services must be provided by individuals who are licensed to practice Electrolysis by the State of Illinois and have a Certified Professional Electrologist (CPE) credential awarded by the American Electrology Association. Electrologists must have at least two years of experience performing electrolysis on both genital and non-genital areas of the body. Additionally, Electrologists shall have experience with and be comfortable providing electrolysis to transgender and gender non-conforming patients. Electrologists will be required to complete mandatory training and undergo a Background Investigation prior to providing any services. The applicable North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) code assigned to this procurement is 812199 Other Personal Care Services. The small business size standard for this NAICS is $9.0 million. This is a RFI / SSN only. This RFI / SSN will be used to obtain information regarding the provision of Electrology Services from potential vendors, identify potential vendors that would be interested and capable of providing Electrology Services, and to assist the Contracting Officer in making a set-aside determination. This determination is solely within the discretion of the Contracting Officer. This RFI / SSN and any responses are for market research purposes only and shall not be considered an obligation on the part of the Government to acquire any services. This RFI / SSN is not a solicitation and no contractual arrangement will be made as a result. Vendors are advised that no entitlement to payment of direct or indirect costs or charges by the Government will arise as a result of a contractor submission to this RFI / SSN or the Government's use of such information. All costs associated with responding to this RFI / SSN are solely at the responding vendors expense. The Government reserves the right to reject, in whole or in part, any vendor's input resulting from this RFI / SSN. Information submitted in response to this RFI / SSN will not be returned. All submitted information should be UNCLASSIFIED or NON-PROPRIETARY. Vendors are solely responsible for properly marking and clearly identifying any proprietary information or trade secrets contained with its response. The Government will not be liable for or suffer any consequential damages for any proprietary information not properly marked and clearly identified. By responding to this RFI / SSN, the vendor provides the Government permission to share its submitted capabilities and contact information with other Government organizations in relationship to similar requirements for market research purposes. The Government has compiled and is seeking vendor responses to the questions listed below. What type(s) of equipment is/are needed to provide electrolysis services? Does the vendor have preferred brands and/or models of this equipment? Is the vendor open to utilizing any brand and/or model of electrolysis equipment? Are there any specific requirements of the treatment room, i.e., size, type of table/chair? How long does it take to transition/prepare equipment and room between patients? Does the vendor accept credit card payments (preferred by VA)? Interested vendors shall provide a response to this notice that includes the information listed below. (1) Identification [including name, address, phone number and Unique Entity Identification (UEI) number] of vendor and applicable small business socio-economic status (e.g., Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned Small Business (SDVOSB), Veteran-Owned Small Business (VOSB), Small Business, HUBZone, 8(a), or Women-Owned Small Business (WOSB)). (2) A brief narrative of the vendor s experience and capabilities providing Electrology services (including use of different types of equipment). Vendor shall indicate the number of hours available to provide services per week. (3) If significant subcontracting or teaming is anticipated in order to perform services, vendors should address the administrative and management structure of such arrangements, along with roles and responsibilities of each entity. Indicate how compliance with the Limitations on Subcontracting will be met. The Limitations on Subcontracting at 13 CFR §125.6 will apply to any procurement set-aside for veteran-owned small businesses (SDVOSBs or VOSBs) or small businesses. 13 CFR §125.6 states: (a) General. In order to be awarded a full or partial small business set-aside contract with a value greater than the simplified acquisition threshold (as defined in the FAR at 48 CFR 2.101) in paragraph (a) introductory text; and an 8(a) contract, an SDVOSB contract, a HUBZone contract, a WOSB or EDWOSB contract pursuant to part 127 of this chapter, a small business concern must agree that: (1) In the case of a contract for services (except construction), it will not pay more than 50% of the amount paid by the government to it to vendors that are not similarly situated. Any work that a similarly situated subcontractor further subcontracts will count towards the 50% subcontract amount that cannot be exceeded. (4) Include resumes, licenses, and certifications of qualified staff who are available and interested in performing these services. (5) Proof of Professional Liability Insurance at least $1,000,000.00 per occurrence. (6) Submit pricing methodology(ies) used by the vendor (i.e., price per hour, price per treatment identify duration, price per consultation identify duration). Submission Instructions: Interested parties that consider themselves qualified to perform the above-listed services are invited to submit a response to this RFI / SSN by 1:00 p.m. local time on May 31, 2024. All responses under this RFI / SSN must be emailed to carol.felgenhauer@va.gov and becky.cincotta@va.gov. Telephone inquiries will not be accepted or acknowledged, and no feedback or evaluations will be provided to vendors regarding submissions.
