The Department of Veteran Affairs, NCA 8 NF/SG is seeking responsible sources for speech language pathologists, as outline in the Statement of Work. This is a market research for informational and planning purposes only. This is not a solicitation and does not obligate the government to issue a solicitation. Please be advised that the Government will not pay for any information submitted under this announcement. Your response should identify your company name, point of contact with contact information, indicate all areas you are capable of providing service, capabilities statement and identify your business size, and if you are any of the following: Small Business, 8(a) disadvantaged, disadvantaged, woman-owned, veteran-owned, service disabled veteran owned or HUB Zone certified. Responses to this notice shall be e-mailed or faxed to Susan E. Dela Cruz, Contract Specialist, FAX 352- 381-5746; E-mail address:
[email protected]. Telephone responses will not be accepted. Responses must be received in writing no later than 4:00 p.m. EDT Aug 2, 2011. Responses should clearly state their ability to provide the services. If a solicitation is issued, it will be announced at a later date, and all interested parties must respond to that solicitation announcement separately from their responses to this announcement. STATEMENT OF WORK BACKGROUND The purpose of the project is to evaluate the effectiveness of a language therapy, Verb Network Strengthening Treatment, on the ability to produce sentences in persons with aphasia, a language disorder acquired in adults due to stroke. Treatment participants will be recruited and treated. It is necessary to contract speech language pathologists to do participant recruitment, testing, and treatment in order to get enough participants to satisfy the grant requirements. OBJECTIVE The overall objective of this contract is to acquire professional services to assist in the execution of rehabilitation studies of persons with aphasia due to stroke. The primary job responsibilities will include recruitment and screening of research participants, as well as delivery of the experimental treatment. DEFINITIONS Aphasia: An acquired language disorder which can result in impaired language comprehension and/or production of language in adults. Most common cause is stroke. PERSONNEL QUALIFICATIONS The contractors to perform the specifications outlined in this contract are certified speech language pathologists. The contractor's representative will assist the VA researcher and other members of the VA research team by: 1. Assisting with recruitment, screening, and scheduling of research participants for rehabilitation studies. 2. Communicating with the research team and Principal Investigator regarding scheduling and any challenges or difficulties encountered with scheduling and/or recruitment of subjects. 3. Entering participant data into a database, including test results, treatment results, and attendance. 4. Providing assistance with other procedures related to participant's recruitment, testing or treatment required for success of the research study. DATA/DELIVERABLES De-identified data will be collected and provided to the PI via a secure method as approved by the VA security officer. Deliverable Reporting Summary: a quarterly report will be provided that outlines the number of subjects recruited, consented and undergoing the experimental protocol and status of data collection. If the contract needs to be terminated or discontinued prior to the contract end date, a termination report must be completed that includes a summary or results obtained/work done and the reasons for termination. GOVERNMENT-FURNISHED PROPERTY, FACILITIES, OR RESOURCES No government space will be used for this contract. Contractor will provide the space. LOCATION OF CONTRACT PERFORMANCE Services are to be performed at the contractor's location. VA RESPONSIBILITIES The VA will provide the testing and treatment materials necessary for to conduct the research. SUBMISSION OF INVOICES: This is a fixed price contract which will be paid quarterly in arrears. JUSTIFICATION This service is required for us to be able to recruit, test and treat the number of participants required for this funded project. Additionally, these contractors are specialized in treatment and assessment of aphasia, which is also essential to the project. The specifications are based on a grant budget and research protocol approval. Include the following: o There will be VA employees conducting this work at the BRRC at the Gainesville VA. These contracted personnel are required, because we need to expand our recruitment territory beyond Gainesville in order to have enough participants to complete the study per the approved grant protocol. o The research project is benefitted by increasing our potential number of participants enrolled. This is related to the mission of the BRRC, because this is a phase II rehabilitation study.