Synopsis (Notice of Intent to Solicit - Full and Open Comptition for DHA InTransition Call Center Support Services

Pre-Solicitation Synopsis and Notice of Intent The U.S Army Medical Research Acquisition Activity (USAMRAA) intends to solicit the below referenced services as a full and open competition in April 2021 on behalf of the Defense Health Agency (DHA), PHCoE Program Office in Silver Spring Maryland: 1.0 Overview This is a non-personal services requirement to provide a Transition Support Contact Call Center Program (operationalized by the name - inTransition) to transitioning service members or veterans who are currently receiving psychological health care (i.e, mental health care or behavioral health care) and wish to receive care at their new destination or with a new provider in their same location, or wish to initiate psychological health care for the first time. The Psychological Health Center of Excellence (PHCoE) seeks Contractor support to establish and maintain a 24 hours a day, 7 days a week (24/7) toll-free contact call support center that operates 365 days per year. Additionally, the inTransiton call center will be staffed by professionals who are trained and licensed to provide mental health care to bridge the transitional knowledge gap between identification and receipt of psychlogical health care services for a broad range of users, including Active Duty Service Members, Reserve Component, National Guard, Coast Guard, andVeterans and their family members. The inTransition Call Center staff are not providing therapy under the terms and conditions of this contract nor are they a part of any direct health care service. Membership or eligibility determination is not a requirement or function of the contract. Within the inTransition Call Center, the Contractor shall maintain a Psychlogical Health Resource Center (PHRC) which will provide care and other transition support resources to anyone who seeks them. The Contractor support also involves maintaining and periodically updating the inTranstion Resource Database for use at the Call Center and PHRC to support the transition of psychological health care services and provide information for a variety of transition-related resources for separating service members The contractor will also be responsible for conducting in-person and virtual outreach to socialize inTransition, the PHRC, as well as any other PHCoE programs or initiatives to include the Real Warriors Campaign. This outreach and socilization shall be targeted to a variety of stakeholders to include Active Duty, National Guard, Reserve Component, Department of Veterans Affiars (VA) and other civilian and DoD leadership and clinicians under the direction and with the approval of the government. Additionally, the contractor shall periodically provide technical support and subject matter expertise to enhance and advance the PHCoE mission, synchronizing with related efforts across PHCoE and the Defense Health Agency (DHA). 1.1 Scope. The Psychological Health Center of Excellence (PHCoE) undertakes the mission to maximize opportunities for Service Members (active duty, reserve components, and National Guard), Coast Guard, Veterans, and their families to thrive through a collaborative global network promoting resilience, recovery, and reintegration for Psychological Health (PH). The PHCoE accomplishes this through four primary initiatives: - Information Clearinghouse. The PHCoE serves as the central source where any warrior, family member, caregiver, clinician, researcher, educator, military leader, media specialist, or other interested party may obtain current information regarding PH. The knowledge and information managed spans a wide spectrum, in depth and breadth, which is relevant to consumers and producers of scientific data and relevant to the layperson, across various PH issues. - Outreach. As a premiere resource on PH issues, the PHCoE plays a very active role in strategically disseminating information of relevance to multiple target audiences, and actively engages with warriors, warrior families, caregivers, clinicians, researchers, leaders, educators, support organizations, and treatment resources to connect, share, collaborate, and coordinate to serve the needs of our warrior families. - Advocacy. The PHCoE engages network resources to proactively identify concerns regarding the receipt, delivery, and navigation of care for our wounded warriors, as well as to assist in the identification and mobilization of those resources that best address those concerns. - inTransition. The Defense Centers of Excellence for Psychological Health and Traumatic Brain Injury (DCoE) was created in December of 2007 in response to a mandate by Congress for the Department of Defense (DoD) to address psychological health and traumatic brain injury. In February 2016, DCoE transitioned from the U.S. Army Medical Research and Material Command (MRMC) to the Defense Health Agency (DHA). In November 2017, DCoE was dissolved and the Deployment Health Clinical Center (DHCC) became PHCoE. PHCoE was established and tasked to focus exclusively on psychological health. PHCoE's mission is to improve the lives of our nation's service members, families, and veterans by advancing excellence in psychological health care and prevention psychological health disorders. PHCoE's intent is to be the trusted source and advocate for psychological health (PH) knowledge and standards and profoundly improve the systems of care. Target audiences include MHS leaders, healthcare providers, academic centers, service members, veterans, military families, communities, and other stakeholders. PHCoE collaborates across the Defense Department, Department of Veteran Affairs and other agencies to provide leadership and expertise, inform policy, and drive improvements in psychological health outcomes. Target audiences include MHS leaders, healthcare providers, academic centers, service members, veterans, military families, communities, and other stakeholders. By serving as the principle integrator and authority on psychological health knowledge and standards of care for the DoD, PHCoE is uniquely positioned to accelerate improvements in psychological health outcomes and policy impacting the continuum of care and further reducing variability across the Services. inTransition supports continuity of care between mental health care providers and systems for transitioning service members and veterans. In addition to providing outreach and promotion for inTransition, the program also promotes the PHCoE, the PHCoE website, other relevant PHCOE programs (such as Real Warriors Campaign) and relevant activities of the PHCoE Component Centers. 1.2 Background U.S. military forces have been engaged in conflicts around the world in support of the Global War on Terror, including Operation Iraqi Freedom (OIF), Operation Enduring Freedom (OEF), Operation New Dawn (OND), Operation Inherent Resolve, and Operation Freedom's Sentinel. Ongoing deployments, changing demographics, and other challenges exert considerable stress on military members, their families, leaders, clinicians, employers, and entire communities. Concern over these and other issues can adversely affect mission readiness. In 2007, there were multiple efforts, in the form of various task forces, commissions, and work groups, to address and assess the needs of our returning warriors and their families. Many of these efforts identified inadequate resources and a paucity of programs to address the needs of warriors with PH and TBI issues and warrior families. The PHCoE was established based on recommendations resulting from these efforts. As of 2010, Department of Defense Transition Program indicated that during transitional periods, service members receiving behavioral health care are at risk for disengagement from treatment or deterioration of their health status. The "Report of the Department of Defense (DoD) Task Force on Mental Health" (June 2007) recommended, and good clinical practice requires implementation of methods to ensure that continuity of care is maintained across military-to-military, military-to-civilian and civilian-to-military transitions. In addition to broader policy initiatives under development that will strengthen provider-to-provider clinical transfers of care and close any potential gaps in the behavioral health care continuum for military personnel, DoD instituted an adjunctive program called the inTransition program specifically for transitioning Service members receiving behavioral health care. This program assigns Service members an inTransition coach to provide a bridge of individual support between health care systems and providers through coaching services by phone worldwide. The inTransition coach does not perform case management nor deliver behavioral health care. Instead, they support the service member or veteran to identify and overcome barriers to psychological health care and help facilitate their connection to a receiving health care provider and health care system. The Military Services are directed to utilize the inTransition program in accordance with program guidance provided. Personnel support for the inTransition program is provided via a central contract through the United States Army Medical Research Acquisition Activity (USAMRAA), and the Services are not required to contribute to the cost. Active duty and reserve component Service members and veterans who are transitioning to a new geographic location or into a new system of care and who are engaged in and recommended for continued treatment of a behavioral health condition or concern are eligible for this program. Also, service members and veterans seeking to initiate psychological health care for the first time are also able to use inTransition. Transitioning Service members at greatest risk for disengaging from care that are targeted for this program are: - Service members who recently received or are receiving behavioral health care, scheduled for a permanent change of station (PCS) or an extended temporary duty station. - Wounded, Ill and Injured Service members who recently received or are receiving behavioral health care and are returning to home station following rehabilitative care at an (MTF), Warrior Transition Unit (WTU) or Department of Veterans Affairs (DVA) facility. - Service members who recently received or are receiving behavioral health care and are separating from active duty or otherwise are transitioning care to the DVA or any other healthcare system or provider. - Reserve component Service members being activated who recently received or are receiving behavioral health care and must transition DVA care to an MTF. - Service members making transitions from one location to another, including a deployed setting, who are/have been receiving behavioral health care, and who do not fall into one of the categories above. - Veterans of any Service regardless of time in service or characterization of discharge 1.3 Objectives of inTransition Program to include offsite Call Center and Outreach Efforts This procurement is for inTransition, a 24/7 transition support contact Call Center that provides a toll-free number for a broad range of users, including Service Members and their clinicians. The inTransition program provides individual coaching to service members and veterans seeking a new psychological health care provider or maintaining psychological health care continuity as they transition between providers, geographic locations, and health care systems. The program's Resource Database is a repository of information on care resources and ancillary support services that inTransition coaches may use when helping service members or veterans initiate or maintain mental health care during transitional periods. The inTransition Resource Database shall be robust enough as to have available resources for transitioning service members anywhere in the world. Last, this procurement is for outreach, both in-person and virtual, to socialize, promote, and present on inTransition as well as any other PHCoE initiative or program (to include the Real Warriors Campaign). The Resource Database will contain relevant and current health, support, and program resource information that is accessible to the inTransition call center personnel for as-indicated dissemination to transitioning Service Members and Veterans enrolled in inTransition coaching as well as any user of the Psychological Health Resource Center (PHRC) such as service members, veterans, family members caregivers, military leaders, clinicians, employers, researchers, educators, and community members. Inclusion of the inTransition Database into a pre-existing resource database will be considered, if there is value added for the purposes of the inTransition program. The inTransition program shall provide an incoming call triage service to answer and direct calls to the appropriate area (i.e., an inTransition coaching intake, the Psychological Health Resource Center, or a crisis line). The inTransition Call Center provides coaching support services by offering information and ongoing coaching to assist service members and veterans connect to care and overcome barriers to connecting to care and otherwise encouraging the utilization of behavioral health services.