Sources Sought - 24/7 Telebehavioral Health Emergency Dept. Support Services

Sources Sought: 24/7 Tele behavioral Health Emergency Department Support Services

Sources Sought Notice Number: IHS1526971

This Sources Sought Notice is for informational and planning purposes only and shall not be construed as a solicitation, an obligation or commitment by the Indian Health Service.

This notice is intended strictly for market research to determine the availability of Indian Small Businesses Economic Enterprise (ISBEE).

Your responses to the information requested will assist the Government in determining the appropriate acquisition method, including whether a set-aside is possible. The anticipated applicable NAICS code for this acquisition is 561320, Temporary Help Services- other relevant NAICS codes will be considered based on responses received (such as Office of Physicians, Mental Health Specialist etc.)

1. BACKGROUND

The Indian Health Service (IHS) plans to provide 24/7/365 synchronous audio-video tele behavioral health services supporting Emergency Department (ED) operations for facilities identified in the Great Plains Area, Indian Health Services.

2.1       OBJECTIVE

Patients present to Emergency Room with suicide attempts, acute psychiatric crises, substance-related emergencies, and co-occurring disorders. Timely behavioral health assessment and intervention are critical to patient safety, regulatory compliance and appropriate disposition.

1. SCOPE

The Contractor shall provide qualified licensed independent behavioral health clinicians (psychologists, psychiatrics, LCSW, LPC-MH, or equivalent) to deliver real-time telebehavioral health services, including suicide risk assessment, CSSRS with SAFE-T assessments, crisis stabilization, Stanley-Brown Safety Planning, culturally responsive care, interpreter access coordination, and placement assistance for patients requiring higher levels of care.

For patients presenting with acute psychiatric crises, qualified prescribing providers (psychiatrists, psychiatric nurse practitioners, or psychologists with prescribing privileges) will be available to provide consultation on appropriate medication stabilization.

1. CONTRACT REQUIREMENTS/ AND PERSONNEL QUALIFICATIONS (IF APPLICABLE)

The Contractor shall perform the following tasks:

The Contractor shall provide the following services when clinically indicated and/or required by facility workflows:
• Suicide risk assessment and completion of CSSRS with SAFE‑T for patients presenting with suicidal ideation or attempt.
• Crisis intervention, de-escalation guidance, and reassessment as indicated.
• Individualized Stanley-Brown safety planning, including lethal means counseling when appropriate.
• Placement coordination for higher levels of care (e.g., inpatient psych, crisis stabilization, detox), including documentation of placement attempts.
• Language access coordination: interpreter services (telephonic/VRI/ASL) available within 15 minutes of request and documented in the EHR.
• Culturally responsive and trauma-informed care, with annual training for clinicians (e.g., cultural competency, implicit bias, trauma-informed care).

For patients presenting with acute psychiatric crises, qualified prescribing providers (psychiatrists, psychiatric nurse practitioners, or psychologists with prescribing privileges) will be available to provide consultation to ED provider on appropriate medication stabilization.

Prior to initiating the consult, the Contractor will receive a report from the referring provider or designee and the telebehavioral health provider will provide a report back to the referring provider at the conclusion of the patient evaluation.

1. TYPE OF ORDER

This is a firm fixed price – performance based acquisition purchase order.

1. ANTICIPATED PERIOD OF PERFORMANCE

Period of Performance: Base plus four option years

1. PLACE OF PERFORMANCE

Preferred location within the Great Plains Area, Indian Health Service

Initial scope supports the following EDs:
• Pine Ridge Hospital, Pine Ridge, SD
• Rosebud Hospital, Rosebud, SD
• Eagle Butte Hospital, Eagle Butte, SD
• Fort Yates Hospital, Fort Yates, ND
• Belcourt Hospital, Belcourt, ND

1. REPORT(S)/DELIVERABLES AND DELIVERY SCHEDULE

The Contractor shall provide synchronous audio-video telebehavioral health services 24 hours/day, 7 days/week, including weekends and federal holidays, unless otherwise specified in a task order utilizing Webex or another platform identified by the Indian Health Service

1. PAYMENT

Payments will be made in IPP.GOV

1.  Anticipated Period of Performance:

 Period of Performance: Base plus four option years

1. Capability Statement/Information:

Interested parties are expected to review this notice to familiarize itself with the requirements of this project. Failure to do so will be at your firm’s own risk. The following information shall be included in the capability statement:

1. A general overview of the respondent’s opinions about the difficulty and/or feasibility of the potential requirement, and any information regarding innovative ideas or concepts.

2. Information in sufficient detail of the respondent’s (a) current capability and capacity to perform the work; (b) prior completed events of similar nature/size; (c) organizational experience and management capability; and (d) examples of prior completed Government contracts and other related information.

3. The respondents’ DUNS number, organization name, address, point of contact, and size and type of business (e.g., 8(a), HUBZone, etc.) Pursuant to the North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) code: 561320, Temporary Help Services, or comparable NAICS

4. Any other information that may be helpful in developing or finalizing the requirements of the potential acquisition.

5. The capability statement shall not exceed 10 single-sided pages (including all attachments, resumes, charts, etc.) presented in single-space and using a 12-point font size minimum, in either Microsoft Word or Adobe Portable Document Format (PDF), with 8-1/2 by 11 inch paper size, and 1 inch top, bottom, left and right margins.

6. All proprietary information should be marked as such. Statements should also include an indication of current certified small business status; this indication should be clearly marked on the first page of your capability statement (preferably placed under the eligible small business concern’s name and address). Responses will be reviewed only by IHS personnel and will be held in a confidential manner.

F.   Closing Statement

Point of Contact: Ashleigh Yazzie, Contract Specialist; email: ashleigh.yazzie@ihs.gov   

Submission Instructions:

Interested parties shall submit capability via email to Ashleigh Yazzie, Contract Specialist, at ashleigh.yazzie@ihs.gov. Must include Sources Sought Number IHS1526971 in the Subject line. The due date for receipt of statements is June 02, 2026, 12:00 p.m. Mountain Standard Time.

All responses must be received by the specified due date and time in order to be considered.

This notice is for information and planning purposes only and shall not be construed as a solicitation or as an obligation on the part of IHS.

IHS does not intend to award a contract on the basis of responses nor otherwise pay for the preparation of any information submitted. As a result of this notice, IHS may issue a Request for Quote (RFQ).

THERE IS NO SOLICITATION AVAILABLE AT THIS TIME. However, should such a requirement materialize, no basis for claims against IHS shall arise as a result of a response to this notice or IHS’s use of such information as either part of our evaluation process or in developing specifications for any subsequent requirement.

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 SAM.gov. 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.