SPECIAL NOTICE
Q -- C.A.R.E. CHANNEL SATELLITE TV PROGRAM
- Notice Date
- 9/13/2010
- Notice Type
- Special Notice
- NAICS
- 334310
— Audio and Video Equipment Manufacturing
- Contracting Office
- Department of Veterans Affairs;Rocky Mountain Network;VISN 19 Contracting;4100 E. Mississippi Avenue, Suite 610;Glendale CO 80246
- ZIP Code
- 80246
- Solicitation Number
- VA25910RP0286
- Archive Date
- 12/12/2010
- Point of Contact
- Pamela Devon
- Small Business Set-Aside
- N/A
- Description
- Under the Authority of 41 U.S.C. 253(c)(1), and FAR 6.302-1, the VISN 19 Rocky Mountain Consolidated Contracting Center, Denver, CO, proposes to enter into a non-competitive commercial items contract with TeleHealth Services for satellite TV programming services for patient care at the VA Medical Center in Denver, Colorado. The Eastern Colorado Health Care System (ECHCS), Nursing Services at the Department of Veteran Affairs, in Denver Colorado has a requirement to continue the environmental programming format for acute state patient comfort over a full 24-hour cycle. The goal of The C.A.R.E. Channel is to provide a "Continuous Ambient Relaxation Environment" combining peaceful scenes of nature with beautiful music and a welcome alternative to commercial television and disturbing sounds, as well as a tool to help reduce the need for pain/sleep meds, reduce the use of restraints, and dampen the noisy environment. Patients have over 70 hours of content which randomly shuffles throughout the day/week. The day begins at 6am with a sunrise sequence leading to the daytime programming then a sunset sequence at 10pm leading to more soothing music and a star field over night. Interested persons may identify their interest and capability to respond to the requirement or submit proposals. This notice of intent is not a request for competitive proposals. However, all proposals received within the due date for receipt of proposals will be considered by the Government. A Determination by the Government not to compete with this proposed contract based upon responses to this notice is solely within the discretion of the Government. Information received will normally be considered solely for the purpose of determining whether to conduct a competitive procurement. JUSTIFICATION FOR OTHER THAN FULL AND OPEN COMPETITION BRAND NAME JUSTIFICATION FAR PART 13 SIMPLIFIED ACQUISITION PROCEDURES PROCUREMENT REQUEST 554-10-4-125-0089 In accordance with Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) 11.105(a)(1), "Items particular to one manufacturer" the particular brand name, product, or feature is essential to the Government's requirements. Market research indicates other companies' similar products, or products lack the particular feature, do not meet, or cannot be modified to meet, the agency's needs. This justification for a brand name service purchase does not exceed the simplified acquisition threshold per FAR13.106-1(b)(1). 1.) Identification of the agency, contracting activity and specific identification of the document as justification for other than full and open competition. Grant funding became available in 2005 for these services with the expectation the Department of Veteran's Health Administration would provide funding after the first year of service. Since February 2006, the Veterans Affairs Medical Center (VAMC) at 1055 Clermont Street in Denver Colorado has broadcasted the C.A.R.E. Channel on Channel 16 and C.A.R.E. with Guided Imagery on Channel 17. Judith Burke, Director of Patient Services is the COTR for this service. The contract has been administered by ECHCS, Rocky Mountain Network Contracting VISN-19 in Glendale, Colorado. This memo is a justification of purchase for other than full and open competition. 2.) The nature or description of the action being approved (sole source, limited competition, and establishment of a new source, etc.) and the statutory authority permitting other than full and open competition. This justification is for approval of sole source justification based on the proprietary nature of the program content developed by TeleHealth Services Inc. (C.A.R.E. Programming). This is permitted per FAR 11.105. 3.) Describe the supplies or services required to meet the agency needs. The VAMC employs a Master Antenna Television system that feeds through one set of antennas from LookOut Mountain to feed the VAMC facility located at 1055 Claremont Street in Denver with C.A.R.E. channel services. Satellite transmission allows tighter control over broadcast deployment. The C.A.R.E. Channel is "Continuous Ambient Relaxation Environment" combining peaceful scenes of nature with beautiful music and a welcome alternative to commercial television and disturbing sounds, as well as a tool to help reduce the need for pain/sleep meds, reduce the use of restraints, and dampen the noisy environment. Patients have over 70 hours of content which randomly shuffles throughout the day/week. The day begins at 6am with a sunrise sequence leading to the daytime programming then a sunset sequence at 10pm leading to more soothing music and a star field over night. C.A.R.E. with Guided Imagery is similar (it also has nature video and music) but at the beginning of every half-hour file, there is a spoken narrative that leads a patient through a guided imagery exercise. Approximately 220 beds can be serviced by this system. There is a dedicated on-site server at the VAMC, allowing for no cross-network interference, load balancing, or security issues. This is basically a plug-and-play system with a hard-drive and media player used to feed our satellite channel distribution system. The equipment was acquired as part of the previous contract and the three year warranty expired in September of 2009. The life expectancy of the equipment is approximately 10-15 years, so a conservative expiration date for the equipment is 2016. The equipment is currently maintained by the FMS at the VAMC. 4.) Contracting officer's determination that the circumstances of the contract action deem only one source reasonably available. Healing Healthcare Systems is the producer and sole source provider of the C.A.R.E Channel that has served patients and families at bedside for approximately 17 years. The C.A.R.E. Channel solely focuses on the viewer in the healthcare setting. The hard-drive host equipment is proprietary and will only run C.A.R.E. Programming source code content. There are several features of the system that have unique qualifications and specialized capabilities not prevalent in the marketplace. The program content provides: "Robust Programming content: A minimum of 70 hours non-commercial and non-repetitive nature imagery and music programming; supports patient circadian rhythms that include day and night time imagery; includes seasonal updates at no additional cost; provides customized support and utilization material at no additional cost. It is the only 24 hour channel designed to support normal day and night cycles. It contains high resolutions digital files that are prescheduled to broadcast sunrise, daytime, sunset, and nighttime programming. "Unique to the C.A.R.E Channel, the midnight star- field is (calming nighttime programming) is designed to support the circadian rhythms and has proven improvement to restfulness and quality of sleep. It also creates a subtle, ambient nightlight effect; eliminating the erratic light screen flashes from alternative television programs. "Customized Utilization and Support Materials: Easy-to-use support materials are provided upon implementation and updated as new research emerges and best practices are developed. These increase awareness of the program and supporting utilization. Implementation recommendations and strategies are shared in our Monthly Client e-Newsletter. "Edited Specifically For Healthcare Environment: With respect to those whose cognitive and visual acuity may be impaired due to medication, age, or diagnosis, The C.A.R.E Channel s image transitions are slow and gradual. Produced as one would view in the natural world, content is void of distracting video effects that may be over stimulating, confusing or agitating. Musical content includes all original instrumental arrangements produced specifically to soothe and encourage relaxation. "Music Content/Licensing for Telephone On-Hold System is provided at no additional cost and is copyrighted. 5.) A statement of actions, if any, the agency may take to remove or overcome any barriers to competition before any subsequent acquisition for the supplies or services required. The Department of Veteran Affairs will review the current state of competition and technology before exercising any and all the renewal options against this contract. The primary barrier to competition is the licensed content of the CARE program service. During the initial solicitation for this service, other hardware vendors were evaluated that were compatible with our MPEG2 content requirement. TeleHealth Services was the most competitive (GSA Schedule), capable of upgrades, and was the only supplier with the type of proven healing program targeted to the end-user patient population. Re-soliciting an entire CARE programming system (hardware and software) is not in our best interests as we would replace existing operable equipment with a remaining useful life of seven years. The estimated average cost for new hardware would be $30,000 to $35,000. The sunk cost for the hardware can be leveraged toward the lower cost of the upgraded licensed program content until future market research indicates new technology is more cost competitive for this type of media delivery. In February of 2014 this service is expected to move from the current location at Clermont Street to the southeast campus of the Fitzsimmons campus. This service is based on a mass feed to each television with non-customized content to individual patient preferences. There is not any anticipated change in the scope of service, unless emerging technologies develop which for example, a.) Enable cost competitive customization of delivery to individual-patient-beds Currently this type of customized service is analogous to hotel lodging services that customize feeds directly to hotel guests. The direct feed to end users could involve email access, premium television selections, customized guided imagery programs. This service today would cost approximately $2000-$3000 per patient bed and increase our costs from $3840 annually to approximately $440,000 to $660,000 annually. b.) Or if full facility access at the new location requires two towers due to broadcast signal restrictions. High Density Television (HDTV) is not a cost-competitive solution at this time in its development as a cable box is required to decipher the HTDV programming, resulting in increased costs. Currently, Telehealth has the capability of assisting VAMC with improving or replacing its MATV system and is the largest distributor for DirecTV in the healthcare market. Nationwide 2500 hospital use satellite broadcast. Since cable television costs are driven by channel designations (bundling), satellite broadcast is less expensive than cable network at this time. We can select the channel, resulting in lower costs per outlet per month. 6.) The anticipated dollar value of the proposed acquisition, including options if applicable, and a determination by the Contracting Officer that the anticipated cost to the Government will be fair and reasonable. The Contracting Officer deems the pricing to be reasonable based on the prior acquisition history of the previous five years of licensing content provided by this supplier. Typical costs increases have not exceeded 3% per year. Since this is a proprietary product, it is impossible to do a side-by-side comparison of like services. This Sole Source Notice was posted to Federal Business Opportunities according to FAR 5.102 (a)(6) on September 13, 2010. Certification The information contained in this justification for other than full and open competition is certified accurate and complete to the best of my knowledge and belief. Acquisition Initiator: I certify that the facts and representations under my cognizance, which are included in this justification and which form a basis for this justification, are complete and accurate. __________________________ __________ Judith Burke Date Associate Director, Patient Care Services The Contracting Officer certifies that the justification is accurate and complete to the best of the Contracting Officer's knowledge and belief. Approval of the Brand Name Justification: __________________________________________________ Pamela Devon Contracting SpecialistDate __________________________________________ _______ Diane M. Chinea,Date Supervisory Contracting Officer
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