Addendum #1
RFP 20108
ADDENDUM
September 19, 2020
10:15 AM
SUBMISSION DATE CHANGE: RFP #20108 Temporary Employee Services responses are now due on:
WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 30, 2020 – 1:00 PM LOCAL TIME
Lake County Health Department and Community Health Center
Materials Management Department
2400 Belvidere Road - L50
Waukegan, IL 60085
SECOND PRICE PROPOSAL SHEET ADDED
An additional Price Proposal Sheet has been added for Pandemic Pricing titled:
“RFP #20108 Price Proposal Sheet – Pandemic Pricing”
Indicate the hourly amount to be charged to the Health Department for each during a pandemic situation, including all testing and screening fees.
Q: Is the Health Department open to being quoted pricing for both COVID staffing during the pandemic and regular/standard pricing once the pandemic has subsided?
RESPONSE: Yes, a second price proposal sheet has been added for pricing during a pandemic event. There are now two (2) price sheets: (1) for non-pandemic pricing, and (1) for pricing during a pandemic. Both price proposal sheets are attached in an Excel format.
Q: Are red lines for the contract allowed to be submitted or do vendors need to accept as is?
RESPONSE: If a Proposer has any exceptions to the information found in the RFP, they should indicate so on the first page and include any exceptions within their RFP response.
Q: Is the Health Department satisfied with the current incumbent vendors? Are the Department’s temporary staffing needs being met?
RESPONSE: Yes and yes.
Q: What type of temporary personnel is most widely utilized under this contract - Clerical, Medical or Professional?
RESPONSE: All categories.
Q: How many hours of each classification/professional were utilized in the previous contract year?
RESPONSE: This information is available through a FOIA request on the Lake County website at the following link: https://www.lakecountyil.gov/2640/FOIA
Q: What are the Department’s current hourly bill rates for the classifications solicited in this RFP?
RESPONSE: This information is available through a FOIA request on the Lake County website at the following link: https://www.lakecountyil.gov/2640/FOIA
Q: Is the Health Department seeking per diem or contract staff, or both? If the Department is seeking contracts, what is the typical length of the assignment and hours per week requested?
RESPONSE: Contract staffing for a minimum of 3 months to a maximum of 12 months.
Q: Page 13. Will the purchase orders be issued in advance of Temp start dates?
RESPONSE: Yes
Q: Page 22. How are you defining partnerships and alliances that we are to disclose?
RESPONSE: Disclose if your company is owned by, a partner of, associated with or in any way affiliated with another temporary employment agency.
Q: Page 102. Does the procurement of a consumer report apply to our Temp employees, or only our employees that you may be interested in hiring permanently?
RESPONSE: It applies to temporary employees.
Q: Page 103 and 104. Is the completion of the Lake County Policy Acknowledgment Form supposed to be done during orientation, or must they be completed in advance, prior to orientation?
RESPONSE: The form is required to be completed by a candidate once a candidate has been identified and is ready to proceed through the onboarding process with the Health Department.
Q: Do you have any diverse spend initiatives?
RESPONSE: Not at this time.
Q: Please clarify section I of “Submittal Evaluation Criteria”. Are you requesting number of contractors we currently have with Lake County, number of active contractors overall or number of available contractors in our candidate pool?
RESPONSE: The question is asking for the number of temporary employees in your candidate pool at the time the RFP response is due.
Q: How many positions are looking to be filled in total?
RESPONSE: There is no set number of positions to be filled at any given time.
Q: How many positions will be offered for the Contact Tracers and Case Investigators positions? How many Leads for each?
RESPONSE: There is no set number of positions to be filled at any given time.
Q: Once a position in Contact Tracing is filled what is the anticipated length of assignment?
RESPONSE: Seven (7) to 12 months.
Q: What is the anticipated length of assignment for coding, medical billing, and patient account billing?
RESPONSE: The average length of any temporary staffing assignment is between 3 months to 12 months.
Q: What percentage of temps are estimated to go to permanent status?
RESPONSE: 5-10%
Q: Would coding, medical billing and patient account billing be permitted in a remote work environment?
RESPONSE: This would be evaluated on a case by case basis.
Q: (1) Would all Contact Tracers and Case Investigators be required to do both field work and calls? (2) Would there be dedicated fieldworkers and dedicated call center Contact Tracers/Case Investigators?
RESPONSE: (1) No. (2) It is a possibility.
Q: Would Contact Tracing positions be permitted in a remote work environment, including a work from home scenario?
RESPONSE: Yes
Q: Since Contact Tracing requires phone calls and home visits typically done between the hours of 8am-8pm, is there flexibility to customize shift times for Contact Tracers to reach the 75% daily completion requirement?
RESPONSE: It is a possibility.
Q: Can you provide an breakdown in headcount by position?
RESPONSE: No.
Q: Can you confirm that no copy of our certificate of insurance is required until after time of award?
RESPONSE: This information is contained within the RFP document.
Q: Can you specify in which section Lake County would like proposers to insert the executed “Vendor Disclosure Statement” found on page 23?
RESPONSE: Include in section with other required completed forms.
Q: Can you confirm that the forms on pages 101-104 are copies of the various onboarding documents that the awarded proposers’ temps will be required to sign prior to assignment and that executed versions of these documents are not required with our RFP response?
RESPONSE: The forms found on pages 101-104 are required to be completed by a candidate once a candidate has been identified and is ready to proceed through the onboarding process with the Health Department.
Q: Is it okay to hand-deliver your required presentation of documents on or before the Friday 9/25 submission deadline.
RESPONSE: Yes. The submission deadline has been extended to WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 30, 2020, 1:00 PM.
September 17, 2020
12:17 PM
Q: What is the estimated budget for this RFP? If unknown, please provide the previous spending.
RESPONSE: This information is available through a FOIA request on the Lake County website at the following link: https://www.lakecountyil.gov/2640/FOIA
Q: Please disclose the incumbents' name and if possible please provide the incumbent proposals?
RESPONSE: This information is available through a FOIA request on the Lake County website at the following link: https://www.lakecountyil.gov/2640/FOIA
Q: To offer you competitive pricing, please share the incumbents' cost proposal.
RESPONSE: This information is available through a FOIA request on the Lake County website at the following link: https://www.lakecountyil.gov/2640/FOIA
Q: How many awards does the Health Department plan to make?
RESPONSE: Award(s) will be made to the most responsive and responsible proposals. The Health Department has reserved the right to award to multiple Contractors.
Q: Describe how vendors under contract will receive a fair share of business without vendor rotation of job orders implemented in the procurement process?
RESPONSE: This question has been answered previously.
Q: Is it mandatory to registration with the Illinois Department of Labor at the time of bid? Or one can registration at the time of award?
RESPONSE: This information is listed within the RFP document.
Q: Till the time, no addendum/Q&A has been released and the Q&A due date is Sept. 18th, 2020, whereas the proposal is due on Sept 25th, 2020 via hard copy that is very close to the Q&A dates. We would like to request the Health Department to extend the due date so we can provide a proper solution to the Health Department based on our queries.
RESPONSE: This question has been addressed previously. Proposers are encouraged to read each and every word contained on each and every page of the RFP document. The RFP submission date will not be extended. UPDATE 09/19/2020: The RFP submission date has been extended to Friday, September 30, 2020, 1:00 PM local time.
Q: We would like to request Health Department to accept the proposal by email rather than the hard copy because of the COVID-19 pandemic coupled with “stay-at-home” orders in place across much of the east coast to include the District of Columbia, Maryland and Virginia where our offices are located, our employees are currently in lockdown and working from home. TSCTI respectfully requests the proposal deliverable requirements be amended to allow for electronic acceptance over hard copies.
RESPONSE: This question has been answered previously.
September 16, 2020
4:52 PM
Q: How many vendors does the County expect to award a contract?
RESPONSE: The Health Department has reserved the right to award to multiple Contractors.
Q: Are there any reasons why the number of vendors on the new contract will change?
RESPONSE: No
Q: Please clarify how needs for contractors will be distributed to vendors post-award?
RESPONSE: There is no distribution. As needs arise, the assigned Health Department Human Resources representative will reach out to Contractors able to fill the then current need.
Q: Will there be a tier system for distributing needs?
RESPONSE: No
Q: Will all vendors be contacted at once?
RESPONSE: Depending on the needs of the Health Department, all awarded contractors could potentially be contacted at once. However, all awarded contractors will be contacted, at once, for pricing as job descriptions are added to the scope.
Q: How will vendors be scored against the evaluation criteria?
RESPONSE: Contractors will be scored individually according to their responses to the evaluation criteria.
Q: Please explain how points are allocated for pricing? (i.e. lowest bill rate receives maximum points, and next lowest vendor receives a prorated amount; lowest bill rate receives maximum points, and the next lowest vendor receives a predetermined amount of points)?
RESPONSE: Contractors will be scored individually according to their responses to the evaluation criteria.
Q: Please provide the name of all incumbent vendors and their pricing for the services outlined in the RFP.
RESPONSE: This information is available through a FOIA request on the Lake County website at the following link: https://www.lakecountyil.gov/2640/FOIA
Q: Can the County provide the following information around usage:
RESPONSE: This information is available through a FOIA request on the Lake County website at the following link: https://www.lakecountyil.gov/2640/FOIA
Q: Annual spend by labor category (life of current contract)
RESPONSE: This information is available through a FOIA request on the Lake County website at the following link: https://www.lakecountyil.gov/2640/FOIA
Q: Annual spend by vendor (life of current contract)
RESPONSE: This information is available through a FOIA request on the Lake County website at the following link: https://www.lakecountyil.gov/2640/FOIA
Q: Anticipated 2021 budget for the program
RESPONSE: This information is available through a FOIA request on the Lake County website at the following link: https://www.lakecountyil.gov/2640/FOIA
Q: Average length of assignment?
RESPONSE: 6-12 months
Q: Est. percentage of contractor requests where the candidate must be bilingual?
RESPONSE: Approximately 50%.
Q: Will the County consider Travel Rates in addition to Local Rates?
RESPONSE: Contractors are asked to provide all-inclusive hourly rates for each job description included with the solicitation document.
Q: What challenges is the County experiencing with current vendors?
RESPONSE: Contractors not following established process, Contractors directly contacting or attempting to directly contact managers and supervisors, Contractors making “cold calls” to Health Department staff, Contractors not contacting the assigned Health Department HR representative directly.
Q: When does the County expect to release Q&A?
RESPONSE: Responses to questions are posted daily to the Addendum blog located on the Bid Details page of the solicitation found in the Lake County Purchasing Portal. It is the responsibility of Contractors to check the blog regularly for updated information. https://www.lakecountypurchasingportal.com/
Q: Based on timeline for posting of Q&A and allowing necessary time for thoughtful review and response changes, will the County extend the submission deadline?
RESPONSE: No. UPDATE 09/19/2020: The RFP submission date has been extended to Friday, September 30, 2020, 1:00 PM local time.
Q: Given the pandemic and current timeframe between vendor questions deadline and bid response deadline will the County consider electronic submissions?
RESPONSE: No.
Q: Is the County interested in a VMS/MSP offering to service the contract?
RESPONSE: Contractors are invited to include Contractor Value Added Services with proposal responses.
Q: If multiple vendors are awarded, will they each be given a budgeted amount for the contract?
RESPONSE: No
September 14, 2020
3:01 PM
Q: When applying to RFP #20108 is it possible to bid with providing only contact tracers?
RESPONSE: Yes.
September 11, 2020
3:00 PM
Q: We don’t have any contracts within Lake County, would lake county be considering Public Client References for other states, public entities as well. Are we still eligible? Please clarify.
RESPONSE: No, not having any references within Lake County does not make you ineligible.
September 10, 2020
3:04 PM
Q: Is it acceptable to submit this RFP #20108 immediately? Or, should we wait to receive any addendums to complete page 19, General Information Sheet?
RESPONSE: Suppliers may submit proposals anytime up until Friday, September 25th at 1:00 pm local time. Proposal packages are to be properly marked per instructions found within the RFP document. UPDATE 09/19/2020: The RFP submission date has been extended to Friday, September 30, 2020, 1:00 PM local time.
September 9, 2020
3:05 PM
Q: Do you anticipate extending the bid due date?
RESPONSE: No. UPDATE 09/19/2020: The RFP submission date has been extended to Friday, September 30, 2020, 1:00 PM local time.
Q: What additional details are you willing to provide, if any, beyond what is stated in bid documents concerning how you will identify the winning bid?
RESPONSE: No additional detail will be provided. The evaluation criteria is listed within the RFP document. Please note this is an RFP not a bid.
Q: Was this bid posted to the nationwide free bid notification website at www.mygovwatch.com/free?
RESPONSE: No
Q: Other than your own website, where was this bid posted?
RESPONSE: This RFP was only posted on our website.
Q: Is this a re-compete bid?
RESPONSE: This is an RFP not a bid. Our current contracts are expiring.
Q: Do we need to provide sample resumes for the positions mentioned in the solicitation?
RESPONSE: No
Q: How many resources are currently engaged in the current contract?
RESPONSE: Eight (8)
Q: How soon the contract will get started? Can we get the exact dates?
RESPONSE: The dates are listed within the RFP document.
Q: What will be the location where services will be performed?
RESPONSE: This information is listed within the RFP document.
Q: Is there any present incumbent for this project?
RESPONSE: Yes
Q: Is it a single or multiple award?
RESPONSE: Multiple
Q: Would there be additional positions other than mentioned in Solicitation?
RESPONSE: This information is listed within the RFP document.
Q: Can you name all the present incumbents?
RESPONSE: This information is available upon request pursuant to the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA). A FOIA request may be submitted through the Lake County website at www.lakecountyil.gov.
Q: Can we get Specific Proposal Format and content instructions?
RESPONSE: This information is listed within the RFP document.
Q: What will be the expected start date of this contract?
RESPONSE: This information is listed within the RFP document.