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FBO DAILY - FEDBIZOPPS ISSUE OF JULY 30, 2016 FBO #5363
DOCUMENT

R -- Interagency Agreement (IAA) Between VHA Mental Health Services and National - Attachment

Notice Date

7/28/2016
 

Notice Type

Attachment
 

NAICS

624190 — Other Individual and Family Services
 

Contracting Office

Department of Veterans Affairs;Health Administration Center;3773 Cherry Creek Drive North, Suite 450;Denver CO 80209
 

ZIP Code

80209
 

Solicitation Number

VA74116N0166
 

Response Due

8/12/2016
 

Archive Date

8/27/2016
 

Point of Contact

Pedro Arritola
 

E-Mail Address

8-7157<br
 

Small Business Set-Aside

N/A
 

Description

Agency: Department of Veterans Affairs Office: SAO East, Program Contract Office Notice Type:Posted Date: Sources SoughtJuly 28, 2016 Response Date: August 12, 2016 Classification Code: R499 - Support-Professional: Other NAICS Code: 624190 Other Individual and Family Services Synopsis: THIS IS NOT A SOLICITATION. This is a Request for Information (RFI)/Sources Sought notice issued in accordance with FAR 15.201(e) to conduct market research. This RFI is issued solely for information and planning purposes - it does not constitute a Request for Quote (RFQ) - or a promise to issue a RFQ in the future. This request for information does not commit the Government to contract for any supply or services whatsoever. The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) is not, at this time, seeking proposals and will not accept unsolicited costs incurred in response to this RFI; all costs associated with responding to this RFI will be solely at the interested vendor's expense. Not responding to this RFI does not preclude participation in any future RFQ, if any is issued. Any information submitted by respondents to this RFI is strictly voluntary. All submissions become Government property and will NOT be returned. This announcement is based upon the best information available and is subject to future modification. Contracting Office Address Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) PCOE Denver Contracting 3773 Cherry Creek Dr. North, Denver, CO, 80209 Point of Contact: Pedro Arritola, Pedro.Arritola2@va.gov Overview: The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) through the Veterans Health Administration (VHA) is the largest integrated health care system in the United States, serving 8.76 million Veterans each year. The national program office, Tobacco & Health; Policy and Programs is located in Mental Health Services, within the Office of Patient Care Services in VHA and is responsible for the development and oversight of public health policy and clinical programs for the VA health care system relating to smoking and tobacco use cessation. Approximately 16.8% of VA health care enrollees smoke (2015 Survey of Veteran Enrollees' Health and Use of Health Care). Although VA has made great progress in reducing smoking and tobacco use among Veterans, 32.5% of OEF/OIF Veterans surveyed in the 2009-2011 National Health Study for a New Generation of U.S. Veterans reported being current smokers (Cypel et al., under review). Additionally, over 3 million rural Veterans receive health care from VHA, but have challenges in accessing smoking cessation interventions located at VA medical centers (VHA Office of Rural Health Annual Report, 2015). A 2009 Institute of Medicine Report, Combating Tobacco Use in Military and Veteran Populations recommended that VA provide a national quitline for Veterans and the U.S. Public Health Service Clinical Practice Guideline, Treating Tobacco Use and Dependence: 2008 Update lists proactive telephone quitlines as A-level evidence. To continue the VA-NCI collaboration in providing smoking cessation services to Veterans through a proactive telephone quitline and eHealth resources including a text message based smoking cessation program, a Facebook support community, and a Veteran-specific website. Please respond to this RFI if your company can perform this requirement in accordance with FAR Part 52.219-14 Limitations on Subcontraction (Nov 2011). As prescribed in 19.508(e) or 19.811-3(e), insert the following clause: Limitations on Subcontracting (Nov 2011) (a) This clause does not apply to the unrestricted portion of a partial set-aside. (b) Applicability. This clause applies only to- (1) Contracts that have been set aside or reserved for small business concerns or 8(a) concerns; (2) Part or parts of a multiple-award contract that have been set aside for small business concerns or 8(a) concerns; and (3) Orders set aside for small business or 8(a) concerns under multiple-award contracts as described in 8.405-5 and 16.505(b)(2)(i)(F). (c) By submission of an offer and execution of a contract, the Offeror/Contractor agrees that in performance of the contract in the case of a contract for- (1) Services (except construction). At least 50 percent of the cost of contract performance incurred for personnel shall be expended for employees of the concern. (2) Supplies (other than procurement from a nonmanufacturer of such supplies). The concern shall perform work for at least 50 percent of the cost of manufacturing the supplies, not including the cost of materials. (3) General construction. The concern will perform at least 15 percent of the cost of the contract, not including the cost of materials, with its own employees. (4) Construction by special trade contractors. The concern will perform at least 25 percent of the cost of the contract, not including the cost of materials, with its own employees. (End of clause) Specific Response Instructions: Please submit your RFI response in accordance with the following: 1) No more than 25 pages (excluding transmittal page). Include the name, email address and phone number of the appropriate representative of your company; 2) a response may be submitted via email to Pedro.Arritola2@va.gov; 3) Submit your response by 3:00 P.M. (EST) on August 12, 2016; 4) Mark your response as "Proprietary Information" if the information is considered business sensitive. 5) NO MARKETING MATERIALS ARE ALLOWED AS PART OF THIS RFI. The government will not review any other information or attachments included, that are in excess of the page limit. Information Requested from Industry: In response to the RFI, interested contractors shall submit the following information: 1.Company Information / Socio-Economic Status 1.Provide the company size and POC information. 2.VA has identified the appropriate North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) Code 624190 Other Individual and Family Services, which has a size standard of $11.0 Million for this RFI. Please identify and explain any other NAICS codes your company believes would better represent the predominated work included in the attached SOW. 3.Indicate whether your company, subcontractors, teaming partners, joint ventures have a Federal Socio-Economic Status, e.g., Small Business, Service-Disabled Veteran Owned Small Business, Veteran Owned Small business, Women-Owned Small Business, Disadvantaged Small business, and Hub Zone. If Service Disabled or Veteran Owned Small business, is your company and or partners registered in VA's VetBiz repository? 2.Background/Past Experience - Provide the following information on a maximum of three similar projects dealing with the services listed in the SOW. All projects referenced must have been completed within the last three years for which the responder was a prime or subcontractor. 1.The name, address, and value of each project. 2.The Prime Contract Type, Firm Fixed-Price, Cost Reimbursement or Time and Material 3.The name, telephone and address of the owner of each project 4.A description of each project, including difficulties and successes 5.Your company's role and services provided for each project. 3.Capabilities/Qualifications - Overview of proposed solution(s). Include a description of the capabilities/qualification/skills your company possesses for each of the below statements: 1.Assessment of capabilities to perform requirements noted in the RFI. 2.Assessment of the types of changes required to accomplish the goals. 3.Approach to be utilized to develop necessary changes to the systems to meet the organizational goals 4.Draft schedule to complete necessary changes. 4.Teaming Arrangements - Description of Teaming Partners, Joint Ventures that your company would consider to perform work. 5.Price Information - Provide your commercial price history and rough order of magnitude for the same or similar products/solutions. 6.Other Market Information - Provide any other relative information, this information must be included within the page limitation. 7.Other Federal Experience - Identify the federal contract vehicles 8.GSA Contract information, if applicable - Provide GSA contract number with dates of contract. DRAFT SOW Below: A.General Information 1. Title of Project: Telephonic Tobacco Quitline and Text Message Based Smoking Cessation Program. 2. Scope of Work: To continue the VA-NCI collaboration in providing smoking cessation services to Veterans through a proactive telephone quitline and eHealth resources including a text message based smoking cessation program, a Facebook support community, and a Veteran-specific website. 3. Background: The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) through the Veterans Health Administration (VHA) is the largest integrated health care system in the United States, serving 8.76 million Veterans each year. The national program office, Tobacco & Health; Policy and Programs is located in Mental Health Services, within the Office of Patient Care Services in VHA and is responsible for the development and oversight of public health policy and clinical programs for the VA health care system relating to smoking and tobacco use cessation. Approximately 16.8% of VA health care enrollees smoke (2015 Survey of Veteran Enrollees' Health and Use of Health Care). Although VA has made great progress in reducing smoking and tobacco use among Veterans, 32.5% of OEF/OIF Veterans surveyed in the 2009-2011 National Health Study for a New Generation of U.S. Veterans reported being current smokers (Cypel et al., under review). Additionally, over 3 million rural Veterans receive health care from VHA, but have challenges in accessing smoking cessation interventions located at VA medical centers (VHA Office of Rural Health Annual Report, 2015). A 2009 Institute of Medicine Report, Combating Tobacco Use in Military and Veteran Populations recommended that VA provide a national quitline for Veterans and the U.S. Public Health Service Clinical Practice Guideline, Treating Tobacco Use and Dependence: 2008 Update lists proactive telephone quitlines as A-level evidence. To address the current rates of smoking in the United States, the most recent update of the U.S. Public Health Service (PHS) Clinical Practice Guidelines recommends that every tobacco user be provided with advice to quit and offered treatment at every health care visit. Health care systems level interventions include brief counseling and medication support in primary care and other outpatient clinical settings, as well as intensive counseling in smoking cessation specialty clinics. Evidence-based smoking cessation services delivered by telephone, or quitlines, are an important clinical resource that has increased the reach of smoking cessation care nationally (PHS, 2008). Quitlines are typically funded by state-level public health departments or through a mix of state, federal, and private partners as state public health budgets have significantly decreased in recent years. Quitlines represent a public-health approach to tobacco cessation (CDC, 2005), as they serve to make tobacco cessation care available outside the health care system and to increase access to treatment for all smokers who seek assistance by actively promoting treatment in the general population. Proactive quitlines, or quitlines that place outgoing calls and continued counseling after an initial call by the patient, are rated as a highly effective intervention with 'A-level' evidence (PHS, 2008). Existing state quitline budgets are often insufficient to meet the needs of the full population of smokers and there has been some discussion about what constitutes the best use of existing resources and the populations best served through telephone counseling (Zhu, 2002). In addition, the reach of quitlines has been somewhat limited, as it is estimated that only about 1-3% of smokers have used quitline services, although research has indicated rates of use increase somewhat with widespread promotion. In 2013, VA established a national proactive tobacco cessation quitline through an existing interagency agreement with the National Cancer Institute. The VA quitline currently receives over 2000 calls annually and experienced a 23% increase in calls in the second full year of service. In November 2010, HHS established the Text4Health Task Force as part of the agency's commitment to promoting innovation at HHS. The task force, comprised of public health experts across HHS, was charged with providing recommendations for HHS' role in encouraging and developing health text messaging initiatives which would deliver health information and resources to individuals via their mobile phones. The report recommends that: 1) HHS develop and host evidence-based health text message libraries that leverage HHS' rich and scientifically-based information, 2) HHS develop further evidence on the effectiveness of health text messaging programs, and 3) HHS explore and develop partnerships to create, implement and disseminate health text messaging and mHealth programs. The full HHS Text4Health Task Force recommendations are available for public comment at http://www.hhs.gov/open. Since January 2010, and consistent with these recommendations, HHS has invested $10 million dollars to develop its eHealth/mHealth smoking cessation resources aimed at increasing quitting attempts among teens, young adults and adults. In September 2011, the National Cancer Institute (NCI) at the National Institutes of Health launched SmokefreeTXT, a mobile smoking cessation service specifically designed for teens and young adults across the United States, representing the first, evidence-informed text based smoking cessation program. SmokefreeTXT is a mobile service designed for young adults across the United States and was created to provide 24/7 encouragement, advice, and tips to help smokers stop smoking for good. The service is an extension of the core smoking cessation website produced by the NCI's Tobacco Control Research Branch, http://smokefree.gov. In December 2011, the Community Preventive Services Task Force recommended mobile phone-based interventions for tobacco cessation based on sufficient evidence of effectiveness in increasing tobacco use abstinence among people interested in quitting. Evidence was considered sufficient based on findings from six studies in which mobile phone-based interventions were implemented alone or in combination with Internet-based interventions. A recent Cochrane Review on mobile phone based interventions for smoking cessation found that use of individuals who used a mHealth program, mostly text messaging programs, were 1.7 times as likely to quit smoking and remain quit through 6 months than those who did not use an mHealth program (Whittaker et al., 2016). In collaboration with NCI's Smokefree.gov Initiative, VA launched the SmokefreeVET text messaging program in 2013. A Spanish-language text message library was added several months later and a Veteran-specific website was created on Smokefree.gov in 2014. There have been over 25,000 visits to the smokefree.gov/veterans website and over 4,000 actions taken on the Build Your Quit Plan web tool. Just under 6,000 unique phone numbers have enrolled in the text messaging program since its inception. A Facebook support community created for Veterans had over 100,000 impressions from posts within the first year. 4. Performance Period: The period of performance is from December 1, 2016 for one (1) base year with four (4) option periods. 5. Place of Performance: All work shall be performed at a non-VA location determined and agreed upon by the servicing agency, National Cancer Institute (NCI). B.General Requirements 1.The requesting agency and servicing agency shall identify a Program Manager or designated authority responsible for acquisition planning, contract execution, and administration (i.e., invoicing) and management of the contract(s) or order(s). 2.For every task identified for the SOW and FMS 7600 Appendix, the servicing agency will agree in writing to all necessary tasks and subtask (if any) with their associated costs and milestone dates. 3.All written deliverables will be phrased in lay language. Statistical and other technical terminology will not be used without providing a glossary of terms. 4.The servicing agency shall discuss and agree with the Program Manager on format and outline of contents for written and oral reports. Electronic files should be used and provided to the COR and or Program Manager for review and approval. 5.Where written deliverable is required in draft form, VA will complete its review of the draft within ten (10) working days from date of receipt. The servicing agency shall have ten (10) working days to deliver the final deliverable from date of receipt of the requesting agency's comments. 6.Written deliverable shall be submitted in electronic format using Microsoft Office. Servicing agency should provide electronic files converted into PDF format if requested by COR or Program Manager. 6.The servicing agency shall provide technical support assistance for the text messaging service through the NCISmokefreeTeam@mail.nih.gov website. C.Specific Mandatory Tasks And Associated Deliverables Task 1: To maintain Veteran access to established NCI quitline 1-855-QUIT-VET. Deliverable 1: Continue to provide a dedicated toll-free number (1-855-QUIT-VET), Monday through Friday, 9AM-9PM Eastern Standard Time (EST), except federal holidays as indicated in the NCI contract. Deliverable 2: Provide quitline services for Veterans in both English and Spanish. Deliverable 3: Provide a voicemail box for messages left outside of regular quitline hours. The recorded message should indicate that the quitline is closed, how to contact the Veterans Crisis Line, provide the operating hours of the quitline, and a welcoming message asking callers to leave a message or call back during normal business hours. In accordance with the quitline service protocol, all messages must be returned within one business day. Task 2: Maintain quitline capacity for Veteran callers. Deliverable 1: Train Contact Center staff in counseling Veterans, Veteran-specific issues and concerns, and in the use of VA resources within 60 days of the contract award. This training will provide a brief overview of the organization of health care in VHA, as well as background information about the characteristics of the Veteran populations in care in VHA in order to tailor the smoking cessation quitline messages to meet Veterans' needs. Deliverable 2: Contact Center staff will participate in a one-hour suicide prevention training focused on how to recognize, refer, and transfer callers in crisis to the Veterans Crisis Line within 60 days of the contract award. Completion of this training is required on an annual basis. Task 3: Provide a quitline initiated call-back for interested Veteran quitline callers. Deliverable 1: Following the determination of a quit date by the Veteran, the Contact Center will provide a proactive call-back service with four (4) call-backs for each quit attempt in accordance with the quitline service protocol. Extended call-back service may be provided, if requested by the Veteran. Task 4: Record keeping and quality assurance of Veteran calls to quitline. Deliverable 1: NCI to provide VA with monthly reports by the 15th of each month of Veteran quitline usage in the prior month. Monthly report to include but not limited to the number of in-coming calls, calls made via the proactive call-back service, and details from the calls such as subject(s) of call and smoking status. Deliverable 2: NCI to provide VA with quarterly reports of quality monitoring of Veteran quitline calls, by the 15th of the month following the quarter. Quarters will run December 1 - February 28, March 1 - May 31, June 1 - August 31, and September 1 - November 30. Deliverable 3: NCI shall prepare and submit ADHOC Reports to the VA for individual VA requests during the course of the year "as needed". Deliverable 4: NCI to provide VA with monthly quitline budget reports by the 15th of the month following the end of the month. Task 5: Website: Maintain Veteran-specific content on Smokefree.gov (smokefree.gov/veterans). Deliverable 1: Continue day-to-day technical support and 508 compliance review and management to website. Deliverable 2: Provide VHA with monthly data reports on Veteran usage of SmokefreeVET Text, website and social media. Deliverable 3: Continue to expand the SmokefreeVET website to include more interactive and engaging content (e.g., interactive quizzes, quit plan, NRT content). Deliverable 4: Devleop content for specialized VHA audiences (e.g., handicap) to include langauge and recommendations that meet needs of all users. Task 6: Text Messaging: Maintain a SmokefreeVET platform and message library for Veterans. Deliverable 1: Expand the SmokefreeVET text messaging program to include a new message library for heavy smokers. Deliverable 2: Expand the SmokefreeVET text messaging program to include deeper "conversations" or messaging pathways between SmokefreeVET and users. This may include more two-way communication regarding medication adherence as well as PTSD. Deliverable 3: Track Spanish SmokefreeVET utilization rates and provide monthy data reports and usage of the SmokefreeVET Spanish text message program. Task 7: Social: Maintain SmokefreeVET Facebook page. Deliverable 1: Build awareness and reach of SmokefreeVET Facebook page, this may include this use of paid media and targeted campaigns. Deliverable 2: Continue partnership outreach through joint social media events and/or promotion (e.g., Salud Tuesday) to grow followers and impact. Deliverable 3: Develop unique and engaging content for Facebook page, including images, GIFS, and quizzes. D.Servicing Agency's Experience Requirements NCI shall ensure sufficient experienced personnel who are qualified in the conduct of similar skills and who have a proven background and level of experience for the work required. Key project personnel include only those persons who will be assigned to this project and who will be the actual personnel responsible for management and or performance of this Interagency Agreement (IAA). The skill experienced and professional personnel are essential for successful accomplishment of the work to be performed. 1.Training Manager The Training Manager is responsible for oversight and implementation of the CC training program as described in the Statement of Work, Task 3. The Training Manager will adhere to Government policies and guidelines related to training and program operations. The Training Manager should have 5 years training experience, relevant training certification, and/or an advanced degree with a concentration in education or related field. The Training Manager must demonstrate competency in: training curriculum design and development, assessment of learning needs, implementation of a comprehensive training program that includes all aspects of training outlined in Task 3, development of professional development plans, and assessment of training results. The Training Manager integrates results of training with other contact center processes including hiring, quality monitoring and performance management. Cancer knowledge, organizational management, and communications experience are required. A 100% time commitment is required for this position. The primary responsibilities of the Training Manager are: a.Ensure quality of training for all staff, including training on all access channels; b.Track outcomes of training on performance; c.Collaborate with CCM, supervisors and Oncology Certified Nurses in delivery of training and coaching Information Specialists; d.Ensure that staff serving as trainers are competent and knowledgeable about training topics and content within the modules; and e.Ensure training resources are available to staff. 2.Information Specialists NCI's Information Specialists (IS) respond to inquiries in English and/or Spanish. IS are trained on multiple access channels, including telephone (1-800-4-CANCER and 1-877-44U-QUIT), LiveHelp, and Cancer.gov E-mail. IS complete the NCI Initial Training Program prior to responding to contacts. IS shall be trained on access channels based upon the staffing needs on each channel and public usage of each access channel. Training will likely include cross training on multiple access channels. IS will be competent and proficient in their ability to: a.Identify the information needs of clients; b.Provide information that meets the needs of clients; c.Provide information in accordance with quality standards, and according to NCI policies and procedures; d.Collect data on each interaction using the tools provided by NCI; e.Conduct appropriate follow-up activities; f.Meet all key performance indicators of the contract; g.Participate in NCI-directed research projects; h.Use of Microsoft Office; i.Speak and write using plain language and knowledge management databases and provide responses using NCI information resources; j.Develop responses using standard templates; and k.Utilize systems and technology for each access channel. 3.Supervisors Supervisors are responsible for daily supervision of Information Specialists, quality assurance on all access channels, and performance feedback and coaching of all IS. Supervisors are knowledgeable about contact center operations, including workforce management, training, and cancer information resources. Supervisors must have in depth knowledge of cancer content and NCI information resources used to respond to contacts on all access channels. Supervisors must demonstrate excellent communication skills, have the ability to work cohesively in teams, mentors IS, and provide exemplary service in the CC. Supervisors must demonstrate understanding of the Statement of Work. The Supervisor position description described applies to English and Spanish language supervisory tasks. Supervisors must be competent and proficient in: a.Interpersonal communication; b.Knowledge of cancer across the cancer continuum, from prevention to survivorship; c.Knowledge of the CC quality assurance process; d.Performing accurate quality assurance on all access channels (interpreting quality standards, calibrating with other Supervisors and NCI); e.Communicating performance feedback to IS; f.Coaching/mentoring IS; g.Tracking, analyzing, and reporting performance results to IS and CC management; h.Providing real time support in the CC, assisting IS with questions, problems, resource retrieval; and i.Training IS on CC operations and/or other areas as directed by the CCM. 4.Resource Specialist The Resource Specialist (RS) is the expert on cancer information resources used in the CC. The Resource Specialist shall have in-depth knowledge of cancer information, cancer clinical trials, cancer information resources and databases of the NCI, and other resources designated for use by the CC. The RS will coordinate the integration of resources into the CC; maintain all resources, including knowledge databases and standard language repositories; serve as the liaison to NCI on resource and content needs in the Center, and serve as a reviewer of NCI publications. The Resource Specialist will work closely with the management team to support the training of all program staff according to the Statement of Work, Task 3. The RS functions apply to English and Spanish language needs of the CC. 5.Smokefree.gov Initiative (SFGI) Team The SFGI mobile health (mHealth) team consists of approximately two dozen mental health, behavioral health, communication and IT professionals who develop, implement and evaluate this large population-level intervention program. The Director of SFGI is a clinical psychologist with training in Behavioral Medicine, Epidemiology, and Public Heath interventions, who has more than a decade of mHealth experience. The Director and two additional Associate Directors are Federal employees and provide oversight to all aspects of the enterprise. E.Quantities Of Supplies And Services This IAA is valued at $8,652,485.00 with a base year cost of $1,629,735.00. Option Period 1: Dec 1, 2017 - Nov 30, 2018$1,678,627.00 Option Period 2: Dec 1, 2018 - Nov 30, 2019$1,728,986.00 Option Period 3: Dec 1, 2019 - Nov 30, 2020$1,780,856.00 Option Period 4: Dec 1, 2020 - Nov 30, 2021$1,834,281.00 F.Schedule For Deliverables If for any reason the scheduled time for a deliverable cannot be met (see Section C), NCI is required to explain why (include the original deliverable due date) in writing to the VA Contracting Officer (CO), including a firm commitment of when the work will be completed. This notice to the CO will cite the reasons for the delay, and the impact on the overall project. The VA CO will then review the facts and issue a response to NCI. G.Amendments To Appendix Amendments must be bilaterally executed in writing and signed by authorized representatives of both agencies. No oral or unilateral amendments will be considered effective. A copy of each change will be maintained by the servicing agency and requesting agency's contracting officer in a project folder along with all other products of the project. H.Confidentiality And Nondisclosure There is no known existing or potential conflicts of interest associated with this task. I.Access To VA Information And Info Systems: Not applicable J.Training/VAs Rules Of Behavior The servicing agency will not have access to VA information systems. K.Travel No travel will be conducted by the servicing agency. L.Recommended Source and Point of Contact Department of Veterans Affairs, Veterans Health Administration Mental Health Services, Office of Patient Care Services (10P4M) 810 Vermont Ave. NW Washington, DC 20420 Kim Hamlett-Berry (202) 266-4528 Kim.hamlett@va.gov Lindsay Bowden (202) 461-4171 lindsay.bowden@va.gov National Institutes of Health, National Cancer Institute Tobacco Control Research Branch 9609 Medical Center Drive Rockville, MD 20850 Erik Augustson (240) 276-6774 augustse@mail.nih.gov M.Capability Statement The VHA Tobacco & Health program does not have the necessary capability to perform the work specified in this statement of work. Partnering with another agency to provide both the national quitline and the mobile texting program avoids duplication of existing government services and meets the Congressional mandate for greater collaboration between DHHS and VA. A prior Interagency Agreement between VA and NCI has been in place since 2013, this IAA would continue this agreement and avoid any disruption in clinical services necessary to ongoing tobacco use treatment to Veterans. As many Veterans may now have difficulties in accessing smoking and tobacco cessation care and treatment at their local VA medical center, the quitline and text messaging services significantly increase access to tobacco cessation resources. Veterans who call the quitline Monday through Friday 9 am to 9 pm ET are able to immediately begin behavioral counseling and begin treatment, without the need for an appointment or travel to a VA health care facility. This partnership is highly cost and resource efficient: if these services were to be provided by a non-government vendor, it would be necessary for the VHA program office to hire at least 6 additional staff members to oversee the quitline training, quality assurance processes, and the informatics and telecommunication systems, in addition to managing the text messaging program platform and data collection. The Tobacco & Health program currently only has 2 FTEE to oversee policy and programs for all tobacco cessation policy and clinical programming in the VA health care system, and only has the capability to hire one additional individual. A previous attempt to initiate a comparable collaboration with the Department of Defense on a national quitline was costed out at approximately $10 million. Additional costs would be incurred to replace and reprint all of the existing promotional materials that include the contact information for the national quitline, 1-855-QUIT-VET, and the mobile texting program, SmokefreeVET. Currently, NCI's Smokefree.gov Initiative draws over 1 million visitors each year to its web resources and this IAA allows VA to leverage this reach to increase Veteran's access to smoking cessation treatment. V.Assisted Acquisition Small Business Credit 1.Any contract actions executed by NCHS on behalf of VA will allocate the socio-economic credit to VA using Federal Agency I.D. 3600, Department of Veterans Affairs, Veterans Health Administration. 2.To the maximum extent feasible, the Contractor and any sub-Contractors will comply with VA's Veteran-owned, Service Disabled Veteran-Owned Small Business (SDVOB), socio-economic, and other small business goals, including, but not limited to 38 U.S.C. § 8127. 3.Nothing in the above provision can be construed to supersede or otherwise affect the authorities provided under the Small Business Act.
 

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