I. Introduction June 8, 2012 REQUEST FOR PROPOSAL NW OHIO HEALTH CARE SYSTEM TRAINING/EXERCISE/RESOURCE MANAGEMENT CONTRACTOR DUE DATE: June 30, 2012 The Hospital Council of Northwest Ohio (HCNO) profit organization, serving Northwest Ohio hospitals and health care providers, which seeks professional services from a qualified party, herein after referred to as Applicant, for the following grant-funded independent contractor: NW Ohio Health Care System Disaster Preparedness Exercise/Training/Resource Contractor A motivated self-starter is sought to assist the Northwest Ohio Health Care System Coordinator to further develop and implement the 18 county regional health care system disaster preparedness response plan in conjunction with public health, first responders, the Ohio Hospital Association and the Ohio Department of Health. A bachelor s degree is required/master s degree preferred. Experience as a first responder with real-life incident management team practice is required. Previous experience in instructing or assisting hospital and health care facilities with varied aspects of disaster preparation, planning, and exercise design is preferred. Excellent written and verbal communication skills and personal computer skills required. Successful candidate will be organized, an independent worker, able to work as a member of a team in a complex environment with a variety of stakeholders. The position is grant funded and the successful Applicant will be an independent contractor for a period of approximately 11.5 months completing quarterly deliverables determined in conjunction with the regional health care system coordinator. The successful Applicant will adhere to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of the Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response (ASPR) FY 2012 Continuation Guidelines and the Ohio Department of Health (ODH) Grant Administration Policies and Procedures Manual (GAPP). Throughout the project, the successful Applicant will collaborate with the Northwest Ohio Regional Healthcare System Coordinator and staff, the FY12/13 NW Ohio Health Care System Steering Committee, and exercise teams. Page 1 of 11
II. Scope of Services The successful Applicant shall meet all of the following contractor duties: A. Scope of Services and Potential Contract Deliverables: 1. Conduct a minimum of four, HICS-IV basic and/or advanced implementation trainings and exercises on demand and onsite at ASPR hospitals and/or for non-hospital partners. 2. Conduct at least one regional MARCS radio train-the trainer seminar emphasizing code plug template changes and basic operator use. 3. Conduct onsite planning and inventory inspection visits and update documentation for a minimum of 11 ASPR hospitals and/or regional supply cache storage sites identified by the RHC. 4. Working with the regional exercise design team and the RHC, prepare all exercise and HSEEP and accreditation body compliant evaluation documents, and assume the role of exercise controller for a regional functional exercise involving 50% or more of the regional ASPR hospitals and a minimum of three health care partners. Please note that this exercise must comply with all the FY12/13 ASPR and ODH exercise requirements which were not available at the time of issuing this RFP. 5. Working with the regional exercise design team and the RHC, design, write, distribute, and evaluate a building block tabletop exercise, to be conducted prior to the regional functional exercise. The AAR and IP must be HSEEP and accreditation body compliant. 6. Conduct a minimum of three, customized, onsite patient tracking and/or Command Center trainings at NW Ohio ASPR hospitals. 7. Organize and conduct one, Ohio Emergency Management Agency compliant, ICS 300 and one 400 course utilizing one other qualified instructor contracted by HCNO for the regional hospitals and non-hospital health care providers in NW Ohio. 8. Design, monitor, and evaluate two regional patient tracking and command center drills for the NW Ohio hospital and non-hospital partners trained to use these systems. 9. Working with county-level planning meetings, design, conduct, and evaluate one alternate care facility training/seminar exercise event with at least one small-scale full scale component at an alternate care facility site utilizing a hospital evacuation scenario to include health care staff, police, fire, EMS, MRC, CERT, and other volunteers. Please note that the After Action Report and Improvement Plan for the alternate care facility exercise must be HSEEP compliant. Page 2 of 11
10. Design and pilot a training and deployment plan which provides an opportunity for each of the 32 ASPR hospitals to train and exercise on the set-up and utilization of the portable hospital systems one every two years. B. Contract Award and Duration A contract award of up to $42,500 has been written into the HCNO FY 13 grant application and is subject to approval by the Ohio Department of Health and HCNO, and the receipt of a Notice of Award (NOA) of funding to HCNO by ODH. The successful applicant will be reimbursed for services at the all-inclusive rate of $55.00 per hour. All contract deliverables must be completed on or before the date specified in the contract which shall be on or before June 30, 2013. The successful Applicant will be required to contract with the Hospital Council of NW Ohio to perform the Scope of Services described in this RFP for the proposal items agreed upon. III. Submittal Process A. RFP Questions 1. Persons who have questions concerning this RFP are encouraged to submit written questions by e-mail to: Kathy S. Silvestri, MPH ksilvestri@hcno.org Regional Health Care System Coordinator Hospital Council of Northwest Ohio 3231 Central Park West Drive, Suite 200 Toledo, OH 43617 419-842-0800 Fax: 419-842-0999 2. Questions must be received by e-mail to Kathy Silvestri (ksilvestri@hcno.org) no later than Noon on June 20, 2012. Ms. Silvestri or her designee shall respond to any questions by close of business on June 22, 2012. Telephone inquiries will not be accepted. B. Submittal Information 1. Time Schedule The following is the projected timetable to be applied to submission, receipt, and evaluation of proposals: June 20, 2012 Deadline for Written Questions Noon, Local Time Page 3 of 11
June 30, 2012 Deadline for Electronic Receipt of Proposal 5:00 P.M., Local Time 2. The Applicant shall submit one (1) original proposal by e-mail to ksilvestri@hcno.org 2. Late or faxed proposals will not be accepted. IV. Selection Process A. The FY12/13 NW Ohio Health Care System Steering Committee (See Appendix B for list of Ohio Homeland Security Region I counties) will review and score all properly submitted proposals that are received on or before the deadline. Proposals shall be evaluated using a quantitative scoring system and will be ranked by the quantitative score taking into account, but not limited to, the evaluation factors set forth below: 1) Background and Related Project Experience: Provide a history of the previous disaster preparedness and response projects. Specify relevant experience with governmental entities. Identify the cities, the dates of service, and the key contacts and their contact information. 2) Performance on Previous Projects: The Applicant should also provide a summary of performance for any projects similar to the requested work with other governmental agencies and hospitals. 3) Cost Summary: Provide an estimated cost schedule for each of the tasks identified in Section II, Scope of Services. 4) Agreement to comply with the Ohio Department of Health GAPP Manual (available online from the Ohio Department of Health website) directive that states: Sub-grantees may not contract for extra compensation with its employees to provide services to the program without prior written authorization of ODH. Consideration will only be given in the following two situations: (1) a salaried faculty member of an educational institution when the consultation is across departmental lines or involves a separate or remote operation, and the work performed by the consultant is in addition to his regular departmental load; or (2) a sub-grantee employee when the agency s policies permit such consulting fee payments to its own employees regardless of whether federal or state grant funds are involved, when the work involved is clearly outside the scope of the employee s salaried duties. Any request to approve such a contract must address these issues. Page 4 of 11
5.) Agreement to insure that all contracts and subcontracts subject to the Contract Work Hours and Safety Standards Act (40 U.S.C. 327 etseq.) shall include a provision requiring the contractor to comply with the applicable sections of the Act and the Department of Labor s supplementing regulations (29 CFR Parts 5 and 1926). B. Failure by the Applicant submitting a proposal to respond to a specific requirement may be a basis for elimination for consideration during the comparative evaluation. The Hospital Council of Northwest Ohio reserves the right to accept or reject any or all proposals. The Hospital Council of Northwest Ohio also reserves the right to elect not to award a contract based on this Request for Proposal for any reason. C. List references for all similar projects previously completed using the format outlined in Appendix A. Provide at least two (2) references for projects conducted within the last five (5) years that can attest to the Applicant s qualifications to do the work requested for this project, especially noting similar or related projects. Include names of contact persons, telephone numbers, project objectives, strategy, service rendered, budget, and beginning and completion dates for each referenced project. D. The Hospital Council of Northwest Ohio is not liable for any costs incurred by the Applicant in responding to this RFP, or for any costs incurred in connection with any discussions or correspondences required for clarification of any subject contained in this RFP. Any and all costs incurred in responding to this RFP, including oral interviews, demonstrations, or other related activities shall be the responsibility of the Applicant. F. Selection Procedures The selection of the Applicant will follow the outline below. 1. The selection committee shall review each proposal. The criteria outlined in this section will be used to review all the proposals. 2. The FY12/13 NW Ohio Health Care System Steering Committee may require conference call interviews and/or face-to-face interviews with qualified Applicants. These conference calls and/or interviews will be at the expense of the Applicants without reimbursement by the Hospital Council of Northwest Ohio. 3. Upon completion of review, the Hospital Council of Northwest Ohio shall enter into negotiations with the best possible Applicant as determined by the selection committee. If successful negotiations are not completed within a reasonable time period, then negotiations shall commence with Page 5 of 11
V. Contract the next best Applicant. A reasonable time period is at the discretion of the Hospital Council of Northwest Ohio. 4. Notwithstanding anything herein to the contrary, the Hospital Council of Northwest Ohio reserves the sole and exclusive right to reject any and all proposals. If a contract is awarded, the successful Applicant shall enter into a Professional Service Agreement with the Hospital Council of Northwest Ohio. The contract entered into between the successful Applicant, the Hospital Council of Northwest Ohio shall be similar to other standard agreements for professional services involving the FY12/13 ASPR grant award from the Ohio Department of Health with the Hospital Council of Northwest Ohio. A. The Hospital Council of Northwest Ohio reserves the right to amend or withdraw the RFP any time prior to the award of a contract. The Applicant may withdraw a response to the RFP any time prior to the award of a contract. B. All products that result from the proposed contractual agreement will be the sole property of the U.S. Department of Health Resources and Human Services Administration (HHS), Hospital Preparedness Program, FY12/13 and the Ohio Department of Health. C. In the event a contract ensues as a result of this solicitation, the Applicant selected will be required to fulfill the contractual obligations at the amount quoted in the cost proposal. D. Pursuant to Section 149.43 of the Ohio Revised Code, the proposal may be considered a public record and be released upon request. E. The Hospital Council of Northwest Ohio does reserve the right not to award a contract under this RFP. VI. Other Considerations A. Public Records: The Hospital Council of Northwest Ohio will treat any documents submitted with the proposal as a public document unless informed in writing by Applicant that it considers the document to contain trade secrets under Ohio law. The Hospital Council of Northwest Ohio may require additional information in support of such a claim. B. Background Information regarding the Hospital Council of Northwest Ohio is available on the HCNO website: http://www.hcno.org Page 6 of 11
PROPOSAL TEMPLATE PART 1: CONTACT INFORMATION Please list an organizational address (not home address). All correspondence concerning the grant will be mailed to the address listed below: Contact Person: Organization: Address: Daytime Phone: Fax Number: E-mail address: Page 7 of 11
PROPOSAL TEMPLATE: PART 2: Deliverable Cost Estimation Sheet Applicant Organization / Agency: Collaborating Groups / Agency (if applicable): Estimated Cost Per Deliverable: For each of the proposed project deliverables below, please provide an estimated total based on number of hours and an all-inclusive compensation rate of $55.00 per hour to perform the tasks described. 1. Schedule visits to up to 11 NW Ohio hospitals and selected health care facilities to assist with equipment inventory inspections (ASPR purchases with a per unit value of $300 or greater from the past seven grant years), trainings (OHTrac patient tracking and/or command center), and/or exercises to further the implementation of the Hospital Incident Command System (HICS-IV). Estimated Cost per Visit and/training/exercise: 2. Conduct one regional MARCS radio training at a monthly health care system meeting after all health care system radios have been programmed with the updated template written and approved by ODH in the spring of 2011. 3. Conduct one OEMA compliant 300/400 course for health care and other NW Ohio first responders. 4. Work with county-level planners to conduct and evaluate a minimum of one alternate care facility exercise involving a NW Ohio hospital and other first responder and volunteer organizations. 5. Within 30 days of the completion of Deliverable #4, write an HSEEP compliant after action report and improvement plan and submit to the regional healthcare system coordinator. 6. Work with regional health care system coordinator and the regional health care exercise design team to write, conduct, and evaluate one regional tabletop exercise testing hospital mass fatality and evacuation preparedness and Memorandums of Understanding with regional vendors and preparedness partners. Include the evaluation results from this Page 8 of 11
tabletop exercise in the after action report for the regional functional exercise-deliverable #9. 7. Write, conduct, and prepare evaluation tools for one regional tabletop exercise which participating health care facilities can perform independently to test the knowledge and use of the ICS Planning P for extended medical surge incidents. 8. Write and a prepare evaluation tools for a minimum of two drills which can be conducted independently by the regional health care facilities to test and evaluate the basic skills required to maintain competency for the use of the OHTrac, Patient Tracking and Command Center functions. 9. Work with the FY13 regional functional exercise design team to write, conduct, and evaluate one regional functional exercise which includes a minimum of 50% of the regional ASPR hospitals and a minimum of three health care provider partners which complies with all the FY13 ASPR and ODH exercise requirements which were available at the time of this RFP. 10. Within 30 days of the completion of Deliverable #9, write an HSEEP compliant after action report and improvement plan and submit to the regional healthcare system coordinator. 11. Conduct a minimum of four, HICS-IV basic and/or advanced implementation trainings and exercises on demand and onsite at ASPR hospitals and/or for non-hospital partners. 12. Design and pilot a training and deployment plan which provides an opportunity for each of the 32 ASPR hospitals to train and exercise on the set-up and utilization of the regional portable hospital systems purchased once every two years. Page 9 of 11
Appendix A RFP for June 2012- NW OHIO HEALTH CARE SYSTEM TRAINING/EXERCISE/RESOURCE MANAGEMENT CONTRACTOR (Duplicate form as necessary) Reference List List at least three (3) references that most closely reflect similar scope of work projects within the past five (5) years. Name of City, County or Agency Address: Telephone: Project Name: Contact: /Title: Service Dates: Project Manager: Page 10 of 11
Appendix B 1. Allen 2. Auglaize 3. Defiance 4. Erie 5. Fulton 6. Hancock 7. Henry 8. Huron 9. Lucas 10. Mercer 11. Ottawa 12. Paulding 13. Putnam 14. Sandusky 15. Seneca 16. Van Wert 17. Williams 18. Wood Homeland Security Region I Counties Page 11 of 11