V225--Special Mode Wheelchair and Stretcher Transport (6-Month Bridge)

f Veterans Affairs (VA), Veterans Health Administration (VHA), Network Contracting Office 8 (NCO 8), intends to award a sole-source contract to Wheelchair Transport Service, Inc. for continued Non-Emergent Special Mode Wheelchair and Stretcher Transportation Services in support of the C.W. Bill Young VA Medical Center (CWBYVAMC), associated clinics, Community Based Outpatient Clinics (CBOCs), and authorized healthcare locations. The contemplated action is a short-term bridge contract necessary to maintain continuity of transportation services while VA completes a separate acquisition for the long-term requirement. The requirement consists of 24-hour-per-day, seven-day-per-week transportation services, including weekends and Federal holidays, for eligible Veterans whose medical conditions or mobility limitations require specialized wheelchair or stretcher transportation. Services include scheduled, will-call, and return transportation. Transportation is required throughout the Bay Pines VA Healthcare System service area, including Pinellas, Lee, Charlotte, Sarasota, Manatee, Highlands, and Collier Counties, with occasional transportation to other VA medical facilities outside the primary service area when specialized care or treatment is not available locally. The contractor must provide all personnel, appropriately equipped vehicles, qualified drivers, dispatch capability, patient assistance, wheelchair and mobility-device securement, stretcher transportation, attendants when required, applicable insurance and safety compliance, and administrative support necessary to perform the requirement. The contractor must also possess the capability to support VA transportation processes, including VetRide. The Government is conducting market research to determine whether another responsible source possesses the existing capability and capacity to assume full performance of this requirement without a lapse in Veteran transportation services. Estimated Workload The Government anticipates the following approximate workload for the six-month bridge period of September 1, 2026 through March 1, 2027. Quantities are estimates based on historical utilization and are provided solely to assist interested sources in assessing their capability and capacity to perform the requirement. Estimated quantities do not represent guaranteed minimums or maximums. CLIN Service Estimated Quantity 0001 Wheelchair/Scooter/Ambulatory >10 mi., Pinellas 6,500 trips 0002 Stretcher >10 mi., Pinellas 450 trips 0003 Mileage >10 mi., Pinellas 18,000 miles 0004 Wheelchair/Scooter/Ambulatory <10 mi., Pinellas 4,200 trips 0005 Stretcher <10 mi., Pinellas 360 trips 0006 Dry Run/No Show <10 mi., All Counties 600 0007 Dry Run/No Show >10 mi., All Counties 300 0008 Wait Time >15 min., All Counties 3,000 minutes 0009 Wheelchair/Scooter/Ambulatory >10 mi., Outside Pinellas 4,500 trips 0010 Stretcher >10 mi., Outside Pinellas 300 trips 0011 Mileage >10 mi., Outside Pinellas 48,000 miles 0012 Wheelchair/Scooter/Ambulatory <10 mi., Outside Pinellas 4,500 trips 0013 Stretcher <10 mi., Outside Pinellas 450 trips 0014 Contractor-Furnished Attendant 60 hours Interested sources shall evaluate their current fleet, staffing, dispatch capability, geographic coverage, administrative capacity, and other resources against the estimated workload when responding to this notice. Responses shall distinguish between resources currently available as of the date of response and resources that would need to be acquired, hired, leased, subcontracted, trained, inspected, or otherwise established after award. Interested Source Response Requirements Interested concerns shall submit a capability statement addressing, at a minimum, the following: Start Date/Transition: Can your company assume full performance beginning September 1, 2026? If not, identify the earliest date and describe required mobilization/transition activities. Fleet Capacity: Identify the number and types of wheelchair- and stretcher-equipped vehicles currently available to support the estimated workload. Distinguish currently available vehicles from those that would need to be acquired, leased, inspected, or otherwise made available after award. Staffing and Dispatch: Describe your existing qualified driver, attendant, dispatch, and administrative staffing and your ability to provide 24/7 coverage, including weekends and Federal holidays. VetRide: Describe your experience with VA VetRide and your current ability to receive, manage, document, and process transportation requests through the system. If not currently capable, identify the time required to become operational. Geographic Coverage: Confirm your ability to perform throughout Pinellas, Lee, Charlotte, Sarasota, Manatee, Highlands, and Collier Counties and provide occasional transportation to VA facilities outside those counties. Licensing/Insurance/Vehicle Readiness: Confirm that your company possesses the licenses, insurance, vehicle safety compliance, inspections, and other approvals necessary to begin performance. Identify anything that must still be completed before September 1. Relevant Experience: Identify comparable wheelchair/stretcher transportation contracts performed within the past three years, including customer, POP, approximate trip volume, geographic coverage, and contract value. Continuity/Capacity: Explain how your company will support the estimated workload and maintain uninterrupted performance during breakdowns, staffing shortages, simultaneous requests, same-day/will-call trips, nights, weekends, and holidays. Subcontracting: Identify any portion of the requirement that would be subcontracted and whether those arrangements are currently established. Business/Pricing Information: Provide legal business name, address, UEI, CAGE, POC, business size/status under NAICS 485991, and proposed unit pricing for CLINs 0001 0014 based on the estimated workload. Interested sources shall specifically state whether they possess the current resources and operational capability to assume the complete requirement by September 1, 2026, without degradation or interruption of transportation services. If full performance cannot begin by that date, the response shall identify the earliest date the company could become fully operational and the factors affecting mobilization. Response Instructions Capability statements shall contain sufficient detail to allow the Government to determine whether the respondent possesses the capability, capacity, resources, and operational readiness necessary to perform the complete requirement. Responses that fail to address all questions and requested information will not be considered by the Government in determining whether a comparable source is available. Responses shall be submitted electronically to: Contracting Officer: David W. Hess Email: David.Hess2@va.gov Response Due: August 24, 2026, at 12:30 PM Eastern Time The subject line should reference: Response Notice of Intent to Sole Source Non-Emergent Special Mode Wheelchair and Stretcher Transportation. Notice Disclaimer This Notice of Intent is not a request for Proposals or Quotations. No solicitation document exists, and no telephone or email inquiries will be accepted. No contract award will be made on the basis of proposals or quotations received in response to this notice. This is strictly for market research purpos