R499--Dining Facility Consulting (Room Service)

This is a Sources Sought notice. This is NOT a solicitation for proposals, proposal abstracts, or quotations. The purpose of this notice is to obtain information regarding the availability and capability of all qualified sources to perform a potential requirement. Background. The Memphis VA Medical Center is pursuing the implementation of a healthcare Room Service program for patient meal service which includes the concept of bulk food preparation and service to a segment of the population served. The implementation of Room Service is not only expected to improve patient satisfaction with food service, but it has been shown to improve patient satisfaction with the total hospital experience. With the initiation of a quality room service program, improvements in many areas are virtually guaranteed. These areas include improved clinical outcomes for patients with a greatly improved food intake; reduced food costs and food waste; increased employee morale. Purpose and Objectives: Your

responses to the information requested will assist the Government in determining the appropriate acquisition method. NAICS code: 722310 and sized standard is $41.5. NOTE: Respondent claiming SDVOSB and VOSB status must be registered and CVE verified in VetBiz Registry www.vetbiz.gov. Please advise of status when replying back to RFI. Project requirements: Other important considerations: See Statement of Work (SOW) Capability statement /information sought: Response to this announcement shall not to exceed 10 pages and should include the following information: (1) A tailored capability statement indicating the firm s ability to provide a product and related services; (2) The respondents DUNS number, organization name, address, point of contact, and size and type of business (e.g., SDVOSB/VOSB, etc,) pursuant to the applicable NAICS code; (3) Information should be provided electronically in a Microsoft Word or Adobe PDF format. Please e-mail your response with the above information to robert.belisle1@va.gov with the subject line "Sources Sought Notice # 36C249-22-Q-0450 by 10:00 a.m. on (07/13/2022). Any question should be emailed to robert.belisle1@va.gov. Disclaimer and Important Notes. This notice does not obligate the Government to award a agreement 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). Statement of Work Memphis, TN Nutrition and Food Services Room Service Program STATEMENT OF WORK I. SCOPE: Award a Firm Fixed price contract will be awarded to a Contractor who will provide the design, implementation and support required to develop a Hospital Room Service Program tailored to the needs of Nutrition and Food Services (NFS) at the Memphis, TN Medical Center. This program becomes and remains property of the Memphis, TN VA Medical Center. II. BACKGROUND: The Memphis VA Medical Center is pursuing the implementation of a healthcare Room Service program for patient meal service which includes the concept of bulk food preparation and service to a segment of the population served. The implementation of Room Service is not only expected to improve patient satisfaction with food service, but it has been shown to improve patient satisfaction with the total hospital experience. With the initiation of a quality room service program, improvements in many areas are virtually guaranteed. These areas include improved clinical outcomes for patients with a greatly improved food intake; reduced food costs and food waste; increased employee morale. Currently the Memphis VA Medical Center provides inpatient meal service bedside and to the mental health unit dining rooms from a central tray line. Food Production is Cook Chill/Rethermalization with food production from one main kitchen. Approximately 206,100 inpatient meals are served per year utilizing the cook chill rethermalization system. Facility has Acute Care, Spinal Cord Injury, Behavioral Health and Domiciliary. Our diet communication office utilizes Computrition software, which will be compatible with the Room Service program, when implemented. Other software applications recently purchased includes Easy Touch Menu Selection and Tray InMotion. Both programs can easily adapt to the Room Service model. III. OBJECTIVE: To implement a quality healthcare Room Service Program at the Memphis VA Medical Center that will allow patients to make appropriate choices on what to eat and when they eat their meals to enhance their overall dining experience. The primary purpose of this position is to provide Room Service Consultation and Recommendation in accordance with industry best practices applicable to the Department of Veterans Affairs. The contractor is one who specializes in hospital food service including selective menus, room service, cafeteria, and bulk service operation development and implementation, who preferably has experience working in VA Health Care facilities, will be responsible for program development, implementation, post-implementation, follow-up support, and development of a performance improvement program. The contractor must have experience negotiating with unions or working with labor relations. IV. DESCRIPTION OF SERVICES The Contractor shall provide all office equipment, labor, supervision, management, transportation, supplies, and materials to provide design, planning, implementation and training services for implementing room service style dining at the Memphis VA Medical Center, 1030 Jefferson Ave, Memphis, TN 38104. The Contractor shall be responsible for all costs related to performing this contract and its successful completion. No equipment will be connected to the Memphis VAMC networks. No equipment will be used or provided that will store or transmit Memphis VAMC sensitive data. The contractor will deliver each item listed below. Contractor will guarantee a minimum of seventy-eight (78) days onsite and appropriate resources ensuring all elements for successful room service implementation are achieved. Contractor guarantees room service implementation in 6 months date of contract signed with one follow up site visit within 6 months to monitor progress and solve problems. COR to notify CO of official start date. Contractor shall not assign this contract to a sub-contractor. Contractor shall be available throughout the entire project. If not on-site, contractor shall be available to provide any necessary information via email and telephone interactions within 24 business hours. Contractor shall provide unlimited telephone, e-mail, and mail support for 9 months to the Chief, Nutrition and Food Services and management team to include the Assistant Chief, Food Service Management Section Chief, Clinical Nutrition Managers (2), Informatics Dietitian, Cook Supervisor and Food Service Supervisors (4) as needed for the implementation of room service style dining. Contractor shall have initial site visit and provide a very specific and detailed timeline of project implementation within one month of signed contract. Contractor shall have access to PDF floor plans and equipment lists for new kitchen construction for consideration when preparing proposal to implement room service operations. Construction is anticipated to happen over the entire course of the project. Contractor shall have access to detailed specifications for all equipment purchased by facility for implementation of a room service program. Contractor shall review software/hardware needs in conjunction with Computrition software program (i.e., tray ticket printers, touch screen monitors, computer tablets) and recommend software support as deemed necessary for implementation of room service. Contractor shall provide culinary management and oversight. Contractor shall provide room service menu details to include the design, menu items, ingredients, recipe development, recipes, plating, culinary training and production team staffing plan. Contractor shall provide hot and cold production policies and procedures and tray line layouts. Contractor shall provide list of ingredients, food items and small wares needed for purchase. Contractor shall develop a facility specific detailed training manual and training plan. Contractor shall provide the deliverables electronically and two hard copy binders. Contractor shall advise on workflow development with facility staff and provide staffing plans, scheduling needs, and task list for all positions. Contractor shall also provide internal (i.e., tray assembly, tray delivery, tray receiving, and meal ordering) and external (i.e., coordination with medication/tests, menu distribution) policies and procedures. Contractor shall form a Room Service committee consisting of contract staff and select NFS staff as designated by the Chief, Nutrition and Food Services or designee to discuss and resolve all concerns for implementing room service style dining. Contractor shall provide project oversight with final review and task completion to insure proper going LIVE with room service. V. PROGRAM DELIVERABLES: The design and implementation of a Room Service program occurs in three phases, Program Development, Program Implementation and Follow-up. The contractor shall meet the Deliverable Schedule as established during the program set up for each deliverable specified for each phase. Contractor shall demonstrate to the Chief, Nutrition and Food Services, Assistant Chief, Nutrition and Food Services, and NFS Budget Technician (who is the service COR - Contracting Officer s Representative) that each requirement has been completed prior to acceptance. If for any reason a deliverable cannot be delivered as scheduled, the Contractor is required to submit a request for a time extension to the Contracting Officer with a copy to the Program Office Representative. The request must include the reason(s) for the delay, the impact on the overall project, and any impact on the cost of the project. The Contracting Officer shall consider each request based on its merits and shall, if approved, issue a modification to the contract to extend the due date for such deliverable and making the price adjustment negotiated as a result of the change in date (if any). The Contractor is required to proceed as originally scheduled until such modification is issued. Phase I Program Development: 1. Contractor shall schedule a site visit and provide a very specific and detailed timeline of project implementation within one month of signed contract. 2. Develop, maintain, and follow a master timeline to implement room service style dining in 6 months. 3. Outline the following operational parameters for the Room Service Program: Hours of operation Patient populations to include in the program Systems for serving meals to those deemed not eligible for room service dining Communication system needed for patient meal selection A fail-safe mechanism for patients that do not order a meal Cart and food distribution system Food production incorporating blast chilling and conventional production Ware-washing and other operational issues 4. Develop in correlation with Room Service committee full room service menu to include item description, complete recipe information, dietary information, and plating diagrams for all items listed. 5. Develop in correlation with Room Service committee required positions for implementing room service style dining to include job descriptions and training manuals for each position. 6. Create model staffing schedules for all positions and job titles in Nutrition and Food Services required for the Room Service program. 7. Develop in correlation with Room Service committee all necessary standard operating procedures for room service style dining to comply with all Memphis VAMC and all applicable regulatory agency policies and guidelines using the facility s approved format. 8. Develop presentation materials to include a marketing plan and intradepartmental communication plan and attend stakeholder meetings as needed with Union, Nursing Service, Pharmacy, Information Management Service, Medical Staff, patient focus groups, etc. for the room service program. 9. Identify in correlation with Room Service committee additional required equipment for implementing room service style dining. 10 Create in correlation with the Room Service committee recipes and plating diagrams for room service menu and lists of possible vendors for procuring food and other items needed for implementing room service style dining. 11. Develop in correlation with Room Service committee required small wares, uniforms, and other items needed for implementing room service style dining. 12. Develop a system for benchmarking patient satisfaction, cost containment, staffing efficiency and productivity with the current system and room service program. 13. Develop the communication system (with equipment recommendations) for patient meal orders, ambassador notification, call center operations, etc. Assist with optimal use of Computrition software. Phase II Program Implementation Go-Live Support: The contractor will be on-site to participate and support all of the following activities: 1. Conduct all training for Nutrition and Food Services (NFS) staff. 2. Complete the communication system test under pilot program. 3. Conduct final testing for food production staff. 4. Provide complete dress rehearsal, start date minus one day. 5. Provide a start up team for the program start up. 6. Provide daily assessments during start up on operations with recommendations for operational improvements. 7. Provide a full assessment of the program to NFS management team and work with the team to assure the quality of the program and that the established goals and objectives are attained. Phase III Program Follow Up and Continued Support Services: 1. Provide a follow-up site observation visit after implementation of room services somewhere between the start of the 4th and the end of the 6th month of operation at the request of Nutrition and Food Services program. 2. Provide a summary report listing actions needed to be changed and actions that are being conducted successfully. SERVICE PRICES/COSTS Phase I Program Implementation Estimated Period of Performance: 8/1/2022 9/30/2023 Line Item Description Qty Unit Total Price 0001 Program Implementation SOW Tasks 1-13 1 Job Phase II Program Implementation Go-Live Support-Estimated Period of Performance: 2/1/2023 4/30/2023 or as scheduled by Chief, Nutrition and Food Services as COR. 0002 Go Live Support- SOW Tasks 1-7 1 Job Phase III Program Follow up and Continued Support Estimated Period of Performance: 5/1/2023 -9/30/2023 0003 Project Review and Follow up SOW Tasks 1-2 1 Job Total Price Line items 0001 - 0003: $ Note: All pricing shall be all inclusive to include all costs (i.e., Lodging, air, rental car, meals, etc) VI: ACCESS TO VA INFORMATION AND VA INFORMATION SYSTEMS All contractors, subcontractors, and third-party servicers and associates working with VA information are subject to the same investigative requirements as those of VA appointees or employees who have access to the same types of information. The level and process of background security investigations for contractors must be in accordance with VA Directive and Handbook 0710, Personnel Suitability and Security Program. The Office for Operations, Security, and Preparedness is responsible for these policies and procedures. The contractor or subcontractor must notify the Contracting Officer immediately when an employee working on a VA system or with access to VA information is reassigned or leaves the contractor or subcontractor s employ. The Contracting Officer must also be notified immediately by the contractor or subcontractor prior to an unfriendly termination. SECURITY INCIDENT INVESTIGATION The term security incident means an event that has, or could have, resulted in unauthorized access to, loss or damage to VA assets, or sensitive information, or an action that breaches VA security procedures. The contractor/subcontractor shall immediately notify the COTR and simultaneously, the designated ISO and Privacy Officer for the contract of any known or suspected security/privacy incidents, or any unauthorized disclosure of sensitive information, including that contained in system(s) to which the contractor/subcontractor has access. To the extent known by the contractor/subcontractor, the contractor/subcontractor s notice to VA shall identify the information involved, the circumstances surrounding the incident (including to whom, how, when, and where the VA information or assets were placed at risk or compromised), and any other information that the contractor/subcontractor considers relevant. With respect to unsecured protected health information, the business associate is deemed to have discovered a data breach when the business associate knew or should have known of a breach of such information. Upon discovery, the business associate must notify the covered entity of the breach. Notifications need to be made in accordance with the executed business associate agreement. In instances of theft or break-in or other criminal activity, the contractor/subcontractor must concurrently report the incident to the appropriate law enforcement entity (or entities) of jurisdiction, including the VA OIG and Security and Law Enforcement. The contractor, its employees, and its subcontractors and their employees shall cooperate with VA and any law enforcement authority responsible for the investigation and prosecution of any possible criminal law violation(s) associated with any incident. The contractor/subcontractor shall cooperate with VA in any civil litigation to recover VA information, obtain monetary or other compensation from a third party for damages arising from any incident or obtain injunctive relief against any third party arising from, or related to, the incident. . VII: VA INFORMATION CUSTODIAL LANGUAGE The following standard Items relate to records generated in executing this contract: 1. Citations to pertinent laws, codes and regulations such as 44 U.S.C. Chapter 21, 29, 31 and 33; Freedom of Information Act (5 U.S.C. 552); Privacy Act (5 U.S.C. 552a); 36 CFR Part 1222 and Part 1228. 2. Contractor shall treat all deliverables under the contract as the property of the U.S. Government for which the Government Agency shall have unlimited rights to use, dispose of, or disclose such data contained therein as it determines to be in the public interest. 3. Contractor shall not create or maintain any records that are not specifically tied to or authorized by the contract using Government IT equipment and/or Government records. 4. Contractor shall not retain, use, sell, or disseminate copies of any deliverable that contains information covered by the Privacy Act of 1974 or that which is generally protected by the Freedom of Information Act. 5. Contractor shall not create or maintain any records containing any Government Agency records that are not specifically tied to or authorized by the contract. 6. The Government Agency owns the rights to all data/records produced as part of this contract. 7. The Government Agency owns the rights to all electronic information (electronic data, electronic information systems, electronic databases, etc.) and all supporting documentation created as part of this contract. Contractor must deliver sufficient technical documentation with all data deliverables to permit the agency to use the data. 8. Contractor agrees to comply with Federal and Agency records management policies, including those policies associated with the safeguarding of records covered by the Privacy Act of 1974. These policies include the preservation of all records created or received regardless of format [paper, electronic, etc.] or mode of transmission [e-mail, fax, etc.] or state of completion [draft, final, etc.]. 9. No disposition of documents will be allowed without the prior written consent of the Contracting Officer. The Agency and its contractors are responsible for preventing the alienation or unauthorized destruction of records, including all forms of mutilation. Willful and unlawful destruction, damage or alienation of Federal records is subject to the fines and penalties imposed by 18 U.S.C. 2701. Records may not be removed from the legal custody of the Agency or destroyed without regard to the provisions of the agency records schedules. 10. Contractor is required to obtain the Contracting Officer's approval prior to engaging in any contractual relationship (sub-contractor) in support of this contract requiring the disclosure of information, documentary material and/or records generated under or relating to this contract. The Contractor (and any sub-contractor) is required to abide by Government and Agency guidance for protecting sensitive and proprietary information. VIII: VA INFORMATION AND INFORMATION SYSTEM SECURITY/PRIVACY LANGUAGE FOR INCLUSION INTO CONTRACTS, AS APPROPRIATE The Authorization requirements do not apply A Security Accreditation Package is not required. (End of Provision)