Responses must be received no later than Friday, August 1, 2025, at 10:00AM EST. THIS SOURCES SOUGHT NOTICE IS ISSUED SOLELY FOR INFORMATION AND PLANNING PURPOSES ONLY AND DOES NOT CONSTITUTE A SOLICITATION. THE SUBMISSION OF PRICING, CAPABILITIES FOR PLANNING PURPOSES, AND OTHER MARKET INFORMATION IS HIGHLY ENCOURAGED AND ALLOWED UNDER THIS SOURCES SOUGHT NOTICE IN ACCORDANCE WITH (IAW) FAR 15.201(e). DISCLAIMER: This Sources Sought Notice is issued solely for information and planning purposes only and does not constitute a solicitation. All information received in response to this Sources Sought Notice that is marked as proprietary will be handled accordingly. IAW FAR 15.201(e), responses to this notice are not offers and cannot be accepted by the Government to form a binding contract. Responders are solely responsible for all expenses associated with responding to this Sources Sought Notice. SOURCES SOUGHT DESCRIPTION This is NOT a solicitation announcement. This is a sources sought notice only. The purpose of this sources sought notice is to gain knowledge of potential qualified sources and their size classification relative to NAICS 334516. Responses to this sources sought notice will be used by the Government to make appropriate acquisition decisions. After review of the responses to this sources sought notice, a solicitation announcement may be published. Responses to this sources sought notice are not considered adequate responses for a solicitation announcement. The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), VISN 5 Network Contracting Office, is seeking sources that can provide an Automated Erythrocyte Sedimentation Rate Instrument for the Huntington VA Medical Center. ITEM INFORMATION ITEM NUMBER DESCRIPTION OF SUPPLIES/SERVICES QUANTITY UNIT UNIT PRICE AMOUNT 0001 1.00 YR __________________ __________________ Base plus 4 new contract to acquire a new Automated Erythrocyte Sedimentation Rate Instrument. Base Year: Contract will be for two instruments which will include all reagents, materials, repairs, preventative maintenance and technical support for operations $20,950.00 yearly. GRAND TOTAL __________________ STATEMENT OF WORK (SOW) Automated Erythrocyte Sedimentation Rate Analyzer Hershel Woody Williams Veterans Affair Medical Center Pathology & Laboratory Medicine Service (113) 1.0 Introduction and Overview The Hershel Woody Williams VA Medical Center, Pathology & Laboratory Medicine Service, is seeking a faster and more accurate method to perform the Erythrocyte Sedimentation Rate test, a test used to diagnose inflammatory conditions. 1.1 Background Our current method is a fully automated process that takes approximately 20 seconds to obtain a final result. Retaining an automated process enables the Hematology Section to conduct multiple tests at the same time without affecting tests in progress and also minimizes pre-analytical error. This results in providing test results prior to a veteran/patient s appointments on the same day. Patient safety is in the forefront of healthcare delivery and supports a proactive approach to preventable medical errors. In adhering to the Mission Statement of the Hershel Woody Williams VA, it is our duty to provide exceptional care to improve the overall health and well-being of our Veterans and the completion of this project would accomplish such a goal. Our goal is to purchase a reliable instrument with a quick result time. Contract will have a cost per reportable test result. This will include all reagents, materials, preventative maintenance, repairs and technical support required for operations and test reporting. 1.2 Scope of Work To acquire two (2) identical Automated Erythrocyte Sedimentation Rate analyzers with quick result time. One analyzer would be a backup due to the need for a backup analyzer during downtime and avoid different reference ranges which could lead to an error in patient treatment if the provider is not aware of the different reference ranges of two different methodologies. 30 minutes or less test time Must have full random access system Must have automated read out/walk away automation Must be an FDA approved clinical system and software. Must be capable of LIS support using HL7 interface (VistA & Cerner Millennium) Must have barcode scanner for patient identification Ability to read barcode labels on individual tubes Onboard quality control files. Must have an Inter-laboratory QC program (Peer Group comparison). Must have a mixer, if necessary All equipment and configuration must meet VA specifications. Operational and Technical Features: The instrumentation offered shall be available on the Contractor s FSS Contract at the time of proposal submission and have the following: Testing Instrumentation: Testing instrumentation shall have the following: The capability and throughput to meet the volume and service demands. A bi-directional, bar-coded computer interface compatible with the current VA laboratory information system. This includes interfacing with Cerner Millennium and VistA LIS. The fully operational interface (both hardware and software) shall be immediately available for implementation to the VA computerized hospital information system- Equipment must be able to support multiple barcode formats that may be enabled concurrently. Equipment must accept, at a minimum, 10 characters in specimen identifier that is alphanumeric that may be enabled concurrently. A barcode reading accuracy rate of 99% or greater. Analyzer must function using an operating system that is approved to connect to the VA computer systems. QC data management system and includes Levy-Jennings graphs. It is preferred that the analyzer can capture & store QC data. Preferred capability to detect and alert operator of out of range quality control results via flagged results on QC printout and visual alerts on display monitor. Ability to participate in peer data management system for quality control results. Preferred on board reagent inventory management must have: A system that provides reagent data to include but not limited to lot number and expiration date of reagents and quality control. Barcoding of reagents. On board reagent stability sufficient to accommodate both high and low volume use. Primary tube sampling from evacuated whole blood EDTA collection tubes from various manufacturers. The ability to continuously load patient specimens. The ability to detect short samples if applicable. The ability to perform testing on samples with a minimal amount of whole blood. The ability to perform mixing of samples on board the analyzer. The ability to measure directly the intensity of the red cell aggregation. Instruction/Operation manual for use and maintenance. Statement of warranty of equipment, minimum one year. The vendor shall provide 24/7 technical support either by phone or onsite support. The contractor will remove all equipment within 90 days after notification of expiration of the terms of this BPA but not until the completion of the new vendor s equipment installation inclusive of completed cross over studies. Each facility, per their protocol, will be responsible for the removal/erasing of the hard drive at analyzer removal/upgrade. If a VA facility chooses to retain the hard drive, it will be at no additional cost to the VA. The vendor must provide education/training on site - basic operating and maintenance training during installations or update to the equipment. Antivirus software will be provided by the vendor at no additional cost. The vendor shall provide the following interfacing requirements for the system: Any additional hardware and software needed to interface the analyzer and technical assistance with interfacing the analyzer. Any required (additional) interface connection license(s). Instrument- LIS interface must be bi-directional. Provide documentation of successful interfacing with other VA facilities (provide two VAMC references to include contact person, address, and telephone number). Interface must use automatic host query to download sample ID s, test requests, and patient demographics. Instrument interface must transmit test results to the host computer system via automatic upload. The system shall be able to store and retransmit records (24 hours of maximum instrument throughput) in case of interface downtime. The vendor is to state how many samples can be stored. The system shall have the ability to edit sample/patient identifier after interface downtime and then be able to resend the sample/patient information to the host for verification. Installation must include all evaluation/comparison data sufficient to satisfy CAP standards. Vendor must provide all cross-over supplies and reagents. . 1.3 Objectives: Provide timely and high-quality test services for direct care of veterans through procurement of Automated Erythrocyte Sedimentation Rate analyzers. Enable Hematology Technologists to accurately and quickly report the result to the providers. Place/Period of Performance: Analyzer use is continuous for direct care of veterans in the Hematology section. 2. Tasks: Deliver two Automated Erythrocyte Sedimentation Rate analyzers to the Hershel Woody Williams VA Medical Center, Pathology and Laboratory Medicine Services located 1540 Spring Valley Drive, Huntington WV, 25704. 3. Space/Utilities: The section has sufficient space and utilities for the requested analyzers. 4. Estimated Annual Volume: 2500 tests/year Place of Performance: Department of Veterans Affairs Huntington VA Medical Center 1540 Spring Valley Drive Huntington WV 25704 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- The information identified above is intended to be descriptive, not restrictive and to indicate the quality of the supplies/services that will be satisfactory. It is the responsibility of the interested source to demonstrate to the government that the interested parties can provide the supplies/services that fulfill the required specifications. If you are interested and are capable of providing the sought-out supplies/services, please provide the requested information as well as the information indicated below. If you are interested and are capable of providing the sought-out supplies/services, please provide the requested information as well as the information indicated below. Response to this notice should include company name, address, point of contact, size of business pursuant to the following questions: (1) Please indicate the size status and representations of your business, such as but not limited to: Service-Disabled Veteran Owned Small Business (SDVOSB), Veteran Owned Small Business (VOSB), Hubzone, Woman Owned Small Business (WOSB), Large Business, etc. (2) Is your company considered small under the NAICS code identified under this RFI? (3) Are you the manufacturer or distributor of the items being referenced above (or equivalent product/solution)? What is the manufacturing country of origin of these items? (4) If you are a small business and you are an authorized distributor/reseller for the items identified above (or equivalent product/solution), do you alter; assemble; modify; the items requested in any way? If you do, state how and what is altered; assembled; modified? (5) Does your company have an FSS contract with GSA or the NAC or are you a contract holder with NASA SEWP or any other federal contract? If so, please provide the contract type and number. (6) If you are an FSS GSA/NAC or NASA SEWP contract holder or other federal contract holder, are the referenced items/solutions available on your schedule/contract? (7) Please provide general pricing for your products/solutions for market research purposes. (8) Please submit your capabilities in regard to the salient characteristics being provided and any information pertaining to equal to items to establish capabilities for planning purposes? *** Submissions addressing Section (8) should show clear, compelling, and convincing*** evidence that all equal to items" meet all required salient characteristics. Responses to this notice shall be submitted via email to Michael.Jones16@va.gov. Telephone responses shall not be accepted. Responses must be received no later than Friday. August 1, 2025, 10:00AM EST. If a solicitation is issued it shall be announced at a later date, and all interested parties must respond to that solicitation announcement separately from the responses to this request for information. Responses to this notice are not a request to be added to a prospective bidders list or to receive a copy of the solicitation.
