65--Notice of Intent -- Electrosurgical/APC Equipment

Veterans Affairs Network Contracting Office 6 (NCO 6) intends to negotiate on a sole source basis with PRO-AIM Americas, LLC (DUNS: 962568338), pursuant to FAR Subpart 13.5, specifically FAR 13.501(a)(1), and Section 4202 of the Clinger-Cohen Act of 1996. The proposed sole source purchase order is for five (5) ERBE VIO 300D Electrosurgical Units, five (5) APC2 coagulators and related parts. Delivery will be made to the Salisbury VAMC for distribution to the Charlotte and Kernersville Health Care Centers. The action will result in the purchase of five (5) ERBE VIO 3000D electrosurgical units, five (5) APC2 argon plasma coagulators and related parts, for delivery to the Charlotte and Kernersville Health Care Centers in Charlotte and Kernersville, North Carolina. A new firm-fixed price purchase order will be awarded. This procurement is being conducted in accordance with FAR Subpart 13.5 Simplified Procedures for Certain Commercial Items and specifically FAR 13.501 Special Documentation Requirements, where acquisitions conducted under Simplified Acquisition Procedures are exempt from the requirements of FAR Part 6, but still require a justification using the format of FAR 6.303-2. The sole source procurement is being conducted on the basis of (1) standardization with existing equipment used at the Salisbury VA Medical Center and satellite medical facilities. The equipment is familiar to medical staff and changing brands would unnecessarily increase the risk of patient injury, as medical personnel rotate between facilities. (2) Use of another brand is prohibitive due to concerns related to training. The medical staff is trained on the ERBE brand of electrosurgical/APC equipment and must have their competency affirmed on a periodic basis. Using another brand of equipment will cause the facility to revise its training program and to re-establish competency for all users on multiple devices, in different locations. No competing device is so advantageous as to warrant changing brands and causing the facility to conduct multiple, repetitive training actions to support one device. Standardization for the purpose of ensuring patient safety, with regard to this ESU/APC equipment, was supported under GAO ruling B-411904. Standardization is further supported in the attached peer-reviewed journal article, "Evaluating and Predicting Patient Safety for Medical Devices with Integral Information Technology." This notice of intent is not a request for competitive proposals; however, any responsible source who believes it is capable of meeting the requirement may submit a capability statement to the contracting office no later than Tuesday, April 5, 2016, 6:00PM EST. Interest/capability statements may be sent to Daniel Spaulding (contractor) at contact@example.gov. No telephone responses will be accepted. A determination not to compete the proposed requirement based upon the responses to this notice is solely within the discretion of the Government.