Q--Certified Medical Supply Technicians

JUSTIFICATION FOR OTHER THAN FULL AND OPEN COMPETITION 1. Identification of the Agency and the Contracting Activity: Department of Veterans Affairs, Great Lakes Acquisition Center, 5000 W National Avenue Bldg 5, Milwaukee WI 53295 2. Nature and/or description of the action being approved: Justification and approval for other than full and open competition for certified Medical Supply Technicians required at Hines VA for 1st and 2nd shifts. Procurement will proceed on a sole source basis with Med Staff Alternatives. 3. A description of supplies/services required (including the estimated value): Hines VA has a requirement for certified Medical Supply Technicians in order to run a 24/7 operation in sterile processing. Currently Hines is attempting to recruit for these positions; however, a critical need exists now to ensure patient care is not jeopardized and in order to comply with VA Handbook 7176, Supply Processing and Distribution Operational Requirements, which mandates the use of certified Medical Supply Technicians. Severe penalties will be imposed on any VA hospital that does not follow this mandate. Require five 1st shift personnel and three 2nd shift personnel for a base period of three months. Estimated three month value is approximately $115,000. 4. Statutory authority permitting other than full and open competition: FAR 6.302-1(a)(2). The VAs minimum needs can only be satisfied by unique supplies or services available from only one source. (41 U.S.C. 253 (c)(1)). 5. Facilities Unique Qualifications: Hines VA does not currently have the in-house resources to run a continuous 24/7 operation in sterile processing using certified Medical Supply Technicians. This is critical to patient care and to be in compliance with VA Handbook 7176, which mandates the use of certified Medical Supply Technicians. 6. Efforts made to ensure that offers are solicited from as many potential sources as is practicable: Small business searches in CCR and VetBiz were conducted with no matches found. The labor category of certified Medical Supply Technician was not found in the GSA eLibrary under the FSS. 7. Determination by the Contracting Officer that the anticipated cost to the Government will be fair and reasonable: Similar services have been obtained by the Jesse Brown VAMC from 4/1/08 10/31/08. Current rates will be compared to the past PO with an increase in the cost of living allowance added, if deemed appropriate, as well as shift differential pricing. 8. Market survey conducted: A Dynamic Small Business Search on the CCR website resulted in no profiles that met the search criteria of medical supply technician. Similar searches in VetBiz and the GSA eLibrary also produced no matches. The medical staff at Hines VA also conducted market research of temporary staffing agencies in the Chicago area and found no agencies that could provide certified medical supply technicians. 9. Other facts: Compliance with VA Handbook 7176. 10. Other sources expressing an interest: None 11. Actions to remove or overcome any barriers to competition: Active recruiting practices are on-going at Hines VA to permanently hire adequate staffing needs for this position. If recruitment is unsuccessful during the performance of this requirement, a sources sought should be posted to the FBO website with adequate lead-time to potentially solicit more competition for future needs. 12. Certification: I certify that this justification is accurate and complete to the best of my knowledge. DEBRA HURON Contracting Officer