B -- US-Mexico Border Centers of Excellence Consortium

The Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS)/Health Resources and Services Administration(HRSA) intends to contract with, on a sole source basis, the University of Texas Health Science Center(UTHSCSA)/US-Mexico Border Center of Excellence Consortium, San Antonio, Texas. This contract is needed to increase the number of culturally competent health professionals who work in the border region which is an essential step to improving and maintaining the health of United States-Mexico border residents. The UTHSCSA/U.S.-Mexico Border Centers of Excellence Consortium developed and implemented strategies to reduce the health professional workforce shortages along the U.S.-Mexico border. The next steps of the Consortium are to 1) better define the extent of shortages in the health research workforce in the Border Region, 2)identify barriers to achieving parity with the rest of the region and the nation, 3)develop cooperative strategies that will improve the shortfall of health research, and 4) propose a long-term plan by border state and region to implement these strategies. The UTHSCSA is deemed the only responsible source capable of providing the services without a substantial duplication of cost to the Government which would not be expected to be recovered through competition. This Justification for Other than Full and Open Competition(JOFOC) is processed under the authority in 41 U.S.C. 253(1), as set forth in FAR 6.302-1. This is not a solicitation. A copy of the JOFOC is on file. A seventeen(17) month contract is planned. A JOFOC is on file. See numbered note 22.