Cardiothoracic Surgery Program

This is a sources sought synopsis. This is not a Request for Proposals. The National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute is conducting a market survey to assess the availability and technical capability of all qualified sources to perform this requirement. It is anticipated that one award will be made by November 1, 2012 for a period of five years. A small business sources sought announcement is also being issued simultaneously to assess the capability of small businesses to perform this requirement. If two or more small businesses are found capable of performing this requirement, it will be set-aside for small businesses. The NAICS code applicable to these services is 622310, Specialty (except Psychiatric and Substance Abuse) Hospitals with a business size standard of $34.5 million. Background: The National Institutes of Health (NIH), National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI), plans to re-establish a Cardiothoracic Surgery program in partnership with a surgery/clinical center. The goal of the program is to provide a world-class basic science and clinical research program that links basic laboratory research (biochemistry, bioengineering, physiology, pharmacology, pathology) and clinical investigation (cardiovascular medicine and surgery). Technical Requirements: Patient Care- The Contractor shall provide a fully equipped cardiothoracic surgery facility with operating rooms and cardiovascular intensive care beds and cardiothoracic surgeons to provide cardiac procedures for patients 1) eligible for clinical research protocols, 2) evaluated by the Cardiology Consult Service, or 3) who previously underwent heart surgery at the NIH Clinical Center prior to 1990 and referred for specialized treatment. Additional services and procedures arising from the innovative research and training initiated as part of the contract shall be included as they become available: 1) Coronary arterial bypass grafting (CABG) 2) Replacement and repair of cardiac valves 3) Congenital heart repair 4) Other heart surgery (e.g., tumor excision, pericardiectomy, conduit placement) 5) Arrhythmic surgery 6) Thoracic surgery 7) Intra-aortic balloon assist device placement The Contractor shall provide surgical back-up for percutaneous endovascular or intracardiac procedures performed by credentialed invasive cardiologists with the capability of on-site surgical intervention or rapid transfer should complications be encountered during procedures. In order for NIH to assess small business organizations capable of responding to a Request for Proposals, we are requesting capability statements be submitted by interested organizations. Please address the following as part of your capability statement 1: Evidence of fully equipped cardiothoracic surgical facility with dedicated operating rooms and cardiovascular intensive care beds; 2: Evidence of ability to provide an academic cardiothoracic surgeon with prior leadership experience in basic science and clinical research; 3: Evidence of feasibility to provide an adequate number of cardiac surgery patients to the cardiac surgery program, and evidence of ability to maintain community support for the research program. If an interested organization believes it can perform the above requirement, it may submit a statement of capabilities. The statement of capabilities and any other furnished information must demonstrate the ability to perform the tasks as described above. All responses must be received in writing and must contain material in sufficient detail to allow the NHLBI to determine if the organization is capable of performing this requirement (responses should not exceed 20 pages including attachments). Responses providing insufficient information will not be considered. This is not a Request for Proposals (RFP), nor is an RFP available. All capability statements sent in response to this SOURCES SOUGHT notice must be submitted electronically (via email) to Evanthia Bouzis, Contracting Officer, at bouzise@mail.nih.gov in either MS Word, or Adobe Portable Document Format (PDF), by Friday, September 2, 2011, 2:00 PM, EST. All responses must be received by the specified due date and time in order to be considered. Disclaimer and Important Notes: This notice does not obligate the Government to award a contract or otherwise pay for the information provided in response. The Government reserves the right to use information provided by respondents for any purpose deemed necessary and legally appropriate. Any organization responding to this notice should ensure that its response is complete and sufficiently detailed to allow the Government to determine the organization's qualifications to perform the work. Respondents are advised that the Government is under no obligation to acknowledge receipt of the information received or provide feedback to respondents with respect to any information submitted. After a review of the responses received, a pre-solicitation synopsis and solicitation may be published in Federal Business Opportunities. However, responses to this notice will not be considered adequate responses to a solicitation. Confidentiality. No proprietary, classified, confidential, or sensitive information should be included in your response. The Government reserves the right to use any non-proprietary technical information in any resultant solicitation(s).