Q--EMERGENCY DEPARTMENT PHYSICIANS

The contractor shall provide Emergency Department Physician services required for veteran beneficiaries at the VA Salt Lake City Health Care System. Contractor shall furnish physicians to staff the Emergency Department 24 hours per day, 365 days per year (366 days/leap year), including weekends and all legal holidays observed by the facility. The average patients per day are approximately 70. A record-keeping system of contractor hours worked shall be established as described below. Payments for any leave, including sick leave, holiday or vacation time, are the responsibility of the contractor. Continuity of services must be maintained to maximum degree possible; hence, substitution of Contractor physicians shall be limited to urgent/emergent absences of approved, assigned providers. If a contract physician cannot complete an assigned shift, the contractor shall provide replacement physician coverage within 60 minutes of notification by the VASLCHCS. The physician on duty under the terms of this agreement shall evaluate all individuals requesting care at the facility, including psychiatric care. The physician on duty will determine appropriate treatment and/or disposition, and determine whether specialty consultation or admission to the hospital is necessary. When admission is indicated, the physician on duty will notify the appropriate admitting (in-house) physician of the patient and their condition/status. Services shall exceed the level of expertise normally expected of a general practitioner. In the event any unusual and/or specialty treatment is necessary, the physician shall contact the appropriate medical staff physician on call for consultation, or refer the patient to another institution as indicated by the facility's policies. Specialist consultation shall be made only after clinically indicated workup and diagnostic testing and/or evaluation. The physician on duty shall be responsible for supervising resident physicians, physician assistants, medical students, or other clinical trainees from the VASLCHCS and UUHSC, to teach them principals and practices of providing acute care and support and oversee them as they take on the responsibility (appropriate to level of training and/or licensure) of providing care. A standardized curriculum of teaching shall be developed by contractor, assuring that residents and all trainees rotating through the ED receive training/education on all critical clinical and patient management issues likely to be seen in an emergent/urgent care setting. It is also expected that active teaching occur on a continuing basis through interaction with trainees who are supervised in direct delivery of care to patients coming to the ED for services. The supervising physician shall also be expected to participate in hospital-wide QA committees/projects as required. The physician on duty under the terms of this agreement shall be willing, if necessary, to medically respond to cardiac arrests inpatient episodes are requested by the medical staff, unless a greater or concurrent emergency in the ECU area precludes his/her availability. They shall function as back-up attending staff to the first response medicine admitting team, only for so long as Medicine or Intensive Care staff are not available. Physicians on duty are not required under the terms of this agreement to respond to routine or non-acute inpatient care of scheduled admissions. Contract Physicians require credentialing and a criminal background check. This solicitation will result in a performance-based firm fixed-price contract with a base year and two one-year options. The North American Industry System (NAICS) code is 621493. This solicitation is issued as 100% Set Aside for Small Business. Any prospective contractor must be registered in the Central Contractor Registration (CCR) (http://www.ccr.gov) in order to be eligible for award. Recommend registering immediately in order to be eligible for timely award. Questions should be submitted by email to: Brenda Alverson, [email protected].