Specialized Training Services - Critical Care and Flight Paramedic Program

THIS IS A REQUEST FOR INFORMATION (RFI) ONLY. This RFI is issued solely for information and planning purposes - it does not constitute a Request for Proposal (RFP) or a promise to issue an RFP in the future. This request for information does not commit the Government to contract for any supply or service whatsoever. Further, the Army Medical Command Health Readiness Contracting Office is not at this time seeking proposals and will not accept unsolicited proposals. Interested parties are advised the U.S. Government will not pay for any information or administrative costs incurred in response to this RFI; all costs associated with responding to this RFI will be solely at the interested party's expense. Not responding to this RFI does not preclude participation in any future RFP, if any is issued. If a solicitation is released, it will be synopsized on the Federal Business Opportunities (FedBizOpps) website. Potential responders are responsible for monitoring this site for additional information pertaining to this requirement. Note: This RFI under W81K04-18-R-0008 is a revised/updated RFI under W81K04-17-R-0012 and does not constitute a new, separate requirement. Changes include an updated North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) code, size standard and language adapted into the performance work statement (PWS). BACKGROUND: The United States Army Medical Command (MEDCOM) is considering a non-personal services requirement to provide specialized training services in support of the U.S Army Critical Care Paramedic Program, Army Medical Department Center and School (AMEDDC&S), U.S. Army Medical Command (MEDCOM). Specialized training services includes, but are not limited to Critical Care and Paramedic training, appropriate clinical rotations, and the cost and scheduling of the Flight Paramedic Certification exam (FP-C) and the National Registry of Emergency Medical Technicians (NREMT) psychomotor and written examinations for the National Registered Paramedic (NRP) certification. The US Government will not exercise any supervision or control over the contract service providers (CSPs) performing the services herein. Such CSPs shall be accountable solely to the Contractor who is, in turn responsible to the US Government. In 2010, the AMEDDC&S and the US Army School of Aviation Medicine convened a Flight Medic Critical Task selection board which determined that the requisite skill level for a flight medic should be a paramedic with certain additional critical care skills. In 2011, the Journal of Trauma published the paper "Impact of critical care trained flight paramedics on casualty survival during helicopter evacuation in the current war in Afghanistan". The study showed patient survival at 48 hours was 66% higher when patients were transported by critical care trained crews as compared to patients transported by crews who were not trained in critical care. This strongly supported the recommendation that critical care training should become the standard for Medical Evacuation (MEDEVAC) medical providers. Shortly thereafter, The Army Surgeon General, based upon a recommendation from the AMEDDC&S Commanding General, decided that the flight medic would be trained as a paramedic with critical care training. The Army codified this series of decisions in ALARACT 061/2012 which provided notification of the requirement and intent to train 68W Flight Medics to NREMT-P standards with critical care training. The development of the institutional training model started with the creation of the Critical Care Flight Paramedic Program (CCFPP) at AMEDDC&S in late 2011. The first pilot course was from February to August of 2012. The curriculum, taught by the faculty at the contractor's site followed the National Emergency Medical Services Education Standards, as established by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA). Successful completion of the course enables the military student to attempt National Registry of Emergency Medical Technicians (NREMT) Paramedic level cognitive and psychomotor examinations, as well as the critical care level FP-C exam. The NREMT-P Certified military students transition directly to the critical care course, with the didactic portion conducted at a contractor site, and critical care clinical rotations at a government selected facility when available. Each military student will complete 176 hours of appropriate clinical rotations during the critical care course. This amount significantly exceeded the number of hours required in civilian paramedic critical care courses. The justification for this increased number of hours is that flight paramedics in the civilian air ambulance community will generally have 3-5 years of full time experience as a ground paramedic prior to being hired. Given the potential for an Army Medic to not have nearly that level of experience, a substantial number of clinical hours was added to the critical care flight paramedic program to provide a reasonable clinical baseline for each medic. Completing the critical care course prepares the military students to attempt the International Board of Specialty Certification (IBSC), Board for Critical Care Transport Paramedic Certification (BCCTPC), Flight Paramedic-Certified (FP-C) cognitive examination. As the institutional model was created for only 210 authorizations to train per year, it became apparent it would not be possible to meet the throughput necessary to meet the FY13 NDAA directive. The Army created the Home Station Training option to supplement the throughput of military students. This option, outlined in ALARACT 028/2013 and updated in ALARACT 301/2013, allowed MEDEVAC units to send Soldiers to an accredited civilian paramedic training program. This option provides flexibility for units and Soldiers to obtain the training without having to change duty stations. This is extremely beneficial to Soldiers assigned to air ambulance units that may be pending a deployment cycle. Additionally, this option is advantageous for National Guard and Reserve unit Soldiers whose civilian employment would be severely disrupted for an individual training event. Through HQDA EXORD 149-17, The Office of the Surgeon General (OTSG), The United States Army Medical Command (USAMEDCOM) and the United States Army notified members of the Aeromedical Evacuation communities with guidance and direction for manning the operational use of ASI F2 Critical Care Flight Paramedics. This EXORD, unless formally rescinded or suspended, remains in effect until 01 October 2024. The current institutional model consists of contracted services to provide Paramedic and Critical Care courses. The Paramedic Course is 26 weeks in duration. The Critical Care Course is 8 weeks in duration including 176 hours of patient contact clinical rotations conducted at the contractor's medical facilities under a Medical Training Agreement maintained by the contractor. Currently it is not feasible for the government to provide this training internally, requiring the need for external outsourcing to conduct classes until such time as the government is capable of performing some or all of this task itself. The NAICS code assigned to the acquisition is 611519, Other Technical and Trade Schools. The associated size standard is $15 million.Other Technical and Trade Schools. A draft Performance Work Statement (PWS) is attached to this announcement for reference. PURPOSE: 1) To request information on capabilities of potential offerors to provide the services described in the draft PWS in order to determine if this will be set-aside. Please note, decision to set-aside this requirement for a small business program or to compete it through full and open procedures has not yet been made. RESPONSES REGARDING POTENTIAL SOURCES STATEMENT OF CAPABILITIES: Interested parties should provide feedback/input to this RFI by submitting the following information via email to Mr. Michael S. Brown, michael.s.brown132.civ@mail.mil, not later than 4 April 2018, 12:00 pm, Central Standard Time: 1. Name of the firm, point of contact, phone number, email address, DUNS number, CAGE code, a statement regarding small business status (including small business type(s)/certifications(s) such as SDB, 8(a), HUBZone, SDVOSB, WOSB, etc.) and the corresponding NAICS code. 2. If the vendor is not physically located within the 25 mile geographical criteria of Ft Sam Houston, San Antonio, TX, would the vendor be willing to facilitate a means to perform these courses with the 25 mile geographical criteria? If so, please include how you could meet these geographical restrictions. (Satellite campus, partnerships, teaming agreements, etc.?) Only the course itself must meet the geographical limitations, not the vendor location. 3. Identify whether your firm is interested in competing for this requirement as a prime contractor or not. Identify subcontracting, joint ventures or teaming arrangement that will be pursued, if any. 4. Small Business Participation Plan. Pursuant to FAR 19.702(a)(1), unless waivered, offerors will be required to submit a Subcontracting Plan IAW FAR 19.704 to meet the following subcontracting goals: Type of Business % Small Business Concerns 33% Small Disadvantaged Business 5% Woman-Owned Small Business 5% HUBZone Small Business. 3% Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned Small Business 3% Please describe how your company would meet this requirements, or if you feel your company would be eligible to waiver this requirement, please describe those terms. 5. Does your company currently have Medical Training Agreements (MTA) / Memorandums of Understanding (MOU) with medical facilities? The facilities shall have current accreditation as a Chest Pain Center, Stroke Center, Trauma Center, and /or have Pediatric Intensive Care Unit or Neonatal Intensive Care Unit. YOUR RESPONSE TO THE SYNOPSIS: Please limit your documentation to the following Page Size, Font Type and Size, Spacing and Page Numbering. Responses shall be submitted using a Microsoft Word document with page size 8.5 by 11 inches. Font type shall be Times New Roman, size 10-12 using standard tabs and indent software features with no less than single spacing between lines. Responses are limited to no more than ten (10) pages for the entire RFI response statement. All responses shall be received no later than 4 April 2018, 12:00 pm, Central Standard Time. Please respond via electronic mail (e-mail) to the Contracting Officer, JoLena M Perkins, at the following address: jolena.m.perkins.civ@mail.mil and Contract Specialist: Michael S. Brown, at the following address michael.s.brown132.civ@mail.mil. All questions MUST be in writing and should also be directed to Michael Brown and JoLena Perkins. In all responses, please reference in the subject line RFI-W81K04-18-R-0008. Verbal questions will not be accepted. This synopsis is for information and planning purposes only and is not to be construed as a commitment by the Government nor will the Government pay for information solicited. Respondents will not be notified of the results of the evaluation. No telephonic responses will be accepted. No solicitation exists; therefore, do not request a copy of the solicitation. All transmitted information marked proprietary shall be treated as such. Therefore, businesses should identify any proprietary information in their responses. Proprietary materials will neither be distributed, nor discussed with, any other organization. Information submitted in response to this will be used at the discretion of the Government. Further, the information submitted will remain confidential insofar as permitted by law, including the Freedom of Information and Privacy Acts.