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 2024-02, effective 12/22/2023. This solicitation is set-aside for 100% Small Business Concerns. The associated North American Industrial Classification System (NAICS) code for this procurement is 611710, with a small business size standard of $24.0 Million. The FSC/PSC is U099. This will be a Firm Fixed-Price Contract. The award will be made to the quote most advantageous to the Government and best meets the requirement described in the statement of work. Price and Other Factors: See Attachment 2, FAR 52.212-2 Evaluation STATEMENT OF WORK (SOW) 1. Scope: The Contractor shall provide all necessary labor, materials, supplies, parts, software (needed for the general operation of the equipment), tools, equipment, travel, transportation expenses and other related costs to provide Whole Health Horticulture Therapy at The Greater Los Angeles VA Medical Center. 2. Period of Performance. Base Year, followed by two, one-year options Estimated start date: 09/30/2024 3. BACKGROUND & SYNOPSIS. The Office of Patient Centered Care and Cultural Transformation has been leading the Veteran s Health Administration in transforming healthcare to a Whole Health Approach since 2010. In 2022 the Office of Food Security formed and in 2023 targeted GLA as a pilot site for innovation to support food insecure Veterans. Horticulture therapy is the process through which participants enhance their well-being through active or passive involvement in plant and plant-related activities and has been shown to provide several ways to increase mood, improve nutritional status, reduce loneliness, and reduce the physical health impacts of mental illnesses such as post-traumatic stress disorder. The intent of this contract is to engage a community provider to provide therapeutic horticulture and beginner to intermediate level horticulture education for up to 100 Veterans living on campus in the Care Treatment and Rehabilitation Services (CTRS) program, EUL buildings and Domiciliary on the Greater Los Angeles campus or other Veterans engaged in Whole Health as part of the expansion of Whole Health services to the Veterans of GLA. Veterans will be offered educational programming three half days per week in the Veteran s Garden. Programming will be open to all Veterans and in CTRS, CERS and Whole Health who are physically and mentally able to participate in a group therapeutic activity with no acute medical or mental health symptoms. Therapeutic horticulture and horticulture education will be supervised and overseen by the Whole Health Program Manager within the Office of Healthcare Transformation and Innovation (OHTI). 4. General Requirement: The Contractor shall provide three half days weekly of therapeutic horticulture which will include all educational materials and professional facilitation with expertise in care for complex Veterans to include Veterans PTSD, cognitive impairment, and disabilities such as chronic pain. Contractor shall provide all labor, tools, equipment, parts, materials, travel, and supervision required to perform all work at no additional costs to the government. The Contractor shall provide services for up to 30 Veterans at any one time so long as the Veteran Be eligible for VA healthcare as determined by the local VA medical center Be determined to be physically and mentally able to participate in a group therapeutic activity with no acute medical or mental health symptoms. A VAGLAHS Whole Health Liaison will be assigned to the Contractor who shall act as the clinical liaison between the Contractor and VAGLAHS. Contractors are urged in the strongest terms to carefully review the requirements outlined in the Statement of Work to ensure that all criteria within can be met in a timely fashion. 5. Specific Tasks/ Qualifications: The Contractor shall provide three half days weekly of therapeutic horticulture which will include all educational materials and professional facilitation with expertise in care for complex Veterans to include Veterans PTSD, cognitive impairment, and disabilities such as chronic pain. Contractor shall provide all labor, tools, equipment, parts, materials, travel, and supervision required to perform all work at no additional costs to the government. The Contractor shall provide services for up to 30 Veterans at any one time so long as the Veteran Be eligible for VA healthcare as determined by the local VA medical center Be determined to be physically and mentally able to participate in a group therapeutic activity with no acute medical or mental health symptoms. A VAGLAHS Whole Health Liaison will be assigned to the Contractor who shall act as the clinical liaison between the Contractor and VAGLAHS. Contractors are urged in the strongest terms to carefully review the requirements outlined in the Statement of Work to ensure that all criteria within can be met in a timely fashion. Each Veteran will have the opportunity to participate 60-to-90-minute garden education programming three times weekly facilitated by a contracted trained facilitator and supported by VA staff members. Group Activities: Structured group activities will occur three times weekly based on a mutually agreed upon days and times with contractor and VA staff. Open hours for garden maintenance, planting and harvesting will be offered and staffed by contracted facilitator for therapeutic benefit before and after group activities. VA Coordination: Collaboration and coordination with VA program staff, as needed, will include on-going coordination and collaboration on attendance, participation, and Veteran engagement. VA Whole Health staff will provide documentation of therapeutic activity in the electronic medical record for each Veteran at each session consistent with a Whole Health note to include MAP, Empowerment, and Equipping of shared goals. Enhance Veterans physical, mental, and social well-being, fostering a greater quality of life and prosperity for themselves, their families, and communities by providing a safe, welcoming environment where every day gardening and farm work with education, fellowship, and fun. 6. Security Requirements No access to VA computer system required. 7. Government-Furnished Equipment (GFE)/Government-Furnished Information (GFI). The VA shall provide a safe and adequate space and gardening tools as needed to supplement those provided by the contractor as well as parking with easy access to Vet s Garden location. Points of entry/exit from the main gate at 100-138 Davis Ave north campus will be utilized. Porta potty in the Vet s Garden will be accessible to contractors during business hours 7 AM to 4:30 PM Monday through Friday. 8. Place of Performance. The contractor will be provided with space for services and education at the Veteran s Garden located on the campus of the VAGLAHS medical center at 11301 Wilshire Blvd., Los Angeles, CA 90073. The space shall be on the north campus at the site of the Veteran s Garden. The program location is crucial because of access to garden materials, beds, and space. 9. Hours of Work Any service performed during other than normal work hours must have prior approval and coordinated with the PPOC or CO. Work at the government site shall not take place on federal holidays or weekends. National Holiday Schedule: New Year s Day January 01 Martin Luther King s Birthday Third Monday in January President s Day Third Monday in February Memorial Day Last Monday in May Juneteenth June 19 Independence Day July 04 Labor Day First Monday in September Columbus Day Second Monday in October Veterans Day November 11 Thanksgiving Day Fourth Thursday in November Christmas Day December 25 ***PRICE/COST SCHEDULE*** Base Year Line Item Description Quantity Unit of Measure Unit Price Total Price 0001 1-2 Staff members for entry level educational offerings and basic garden management offered 3 half-days a week at Los Angeles VA Veterans Garden 1 YR Option Year 1 Line Item Description Quantity Unit of Measure Unit Price Total Price 1001 1-2 Staff members for entry level educational offerings and basic garden management offered 3 half-days a week at Los Angeles VA Veterans Garden 1 YR Option Year 2 Line Item Description Quantity Unit of Measure Unit Price Total Price 2001 1-2 Staff members for entry level educational offerings and basic garden management offered 3 half-days a week at Los Angeles VA Veterans Garden 1 YR **Please use the format above for pricing** The following solicitation provisions apply to this acquisition: 1. FAR 52.212-1, Instructions to Offerors Commercial Products and Commercial Services 2. FAR 52.212-3, Offerors Representations and Certifications Commercial Products and Commercial Services 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 (Dec 2022) ADDENDUM to FAR 52.212-4, Contract Terms and Conditions-Commercial Products and Commercial Services applies to and is included with this acquisition. FAR 52.212-5, Contract Terms and Conditions Required to Implement Statutes or Executive Orders - Commercial Products and Commercial Services (Mar 2023) The following subparagraphs of FAR 52.212-5 are applicable: (b)(4),(5),(9),(12),(18)(i),(25),(26)(i),(29), (31),(33),(34)(i),(36)(i),(39)(i),(40),(51),(55),(59),(c),(1),(2),(3),(7),(8). VAAR 852.203-70 Commercial Advertising (May 2018). VAAR 852.219-75 VA Notice of Limitations on Subcontracting Certification of Compliance for Services and Construction. (JAN 2023) (DEVIATION) VAAR 852.232-72, Electronic Submission of Payment Requests (NOV 2018). This is accomplished through the Tungsten Network located at: http://www.fsc.va.gov/einvoice.asp This is mandatory and the sole method for submitting invoices. Service Contract Act Wage Determination #: 2015-5613 Rev. 27, Dated July 21, 2024. All quoters shall be submitted in accordance with FAR 52.212-1, Instructions to Offerors-Commercial Products and Commercial Services . (SEP 2023) All quotes shall be sent to the Network Contracting Office (NCO) 22 Contract Specialist, Katharine Robert at katharine.robert@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. Decision factors to be considered are Cost Schedule, Technical Capability, and Past Performance. This contract/purchase order will consist of an estimated base plus two option year period of performance: 09/30/2024 09/29/2027. The award will be made to the quote most advantageous to the Government and best meets the requirement described in the Statement of Work. 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 RFQ response offer shall be received not later than September 9, 2024, 1000 MST at katharine.robert@va.gov only. Subject line shall include RESPONSE TO RFQ 36C26224Q1771 for consideration. Late submissions shall be treated in accordance with the solicitation provision at FAR 52.212-1(f). 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 Contract Specialist Katharine Robert Katharine.robert@va.gov Attachment One: FAR 52.212-1 ADDENDUM Instructions to Offerors Attachment Two: FAR 52.212-2 Evaluation (End of Provision)
