The VA Pittsburgh Healthcare System (VAPHS) has a requirement for a telephonic smoking cessation program to decrease the rate of smoking for veterans, and intends to issue a full and open competitive unrestricted solicitation. VAPHS serves approximately 55,000 veterans, and many veterans who use the system are unable to attend face-to-face smoking counseling because of travel distance or time constraints and therefore require an intense intervention delivered via telephone counseling. Although it is known that only a minority of smokers quit tobacco permanently after attempting to quit, VAPHS seeks a vendor who can provide strong evidence of high one-year quite rates from a smoking cessation intervention so as to maximize the value of the contract. Specific requirements of the contractor are as follows: 1. Ability to provide intense smoking cessation counseling via the telephone to a large population of smokers. 2. Ability to initiate the program throughout the healthcare system within 2 months of award of the contract. 3. Capable of assessing degree of nicotine dependence and making recommendation about pharmacotherapy for smoking cessation. 4. Extensive experience in smoking cessation telephonic interventions that would indicate a high chance of success with patients, many of whom who have smoked for many years 5. Evidence of prior success showing smoking cessation one year quit rates that exceed 20%. Evidence of this success should include counting all smokers who enter counseling in the denominator and those who report being totally tobacco free 1 year later as the numerator (also known as intent to treat). Evidence of success should be available in scientific publications based on randomized controlled trials by authors who conducted investigations with the vendor, such that there is high confidence that the rate of tobacco cessation claimed is accurate and conclusions about the success of the program is valid. 6. Ability and track record of ability to work with a large complex geographically disperse organization 7. Counselors who have competency in providing counseling to economically disadvantaged populations and to a population with high prevalence of racial minorities. 8. A well developed approach and evidence of success in recruiting smokers to make a quit attempt with the assistance of telephonic counseling 9. Willingness to document smoking counseling in the VA electronic medical record system. 10. Ability to track quit rates on an ongoing basis and provides frequent data to the VAPHS regarding the number of enrolled patients and employees, and quit rates during the program, at the end of counseling, and after 1 year. Significant interactive discussion" between the vendor's counselors and veterans are required. The contract period is expected to be December 1, 2007 with four (4) one-year option periods. The proposed contract will be a firm-fixed priced contract to the offeror whose quote provides the best value to the Government. The Contractor shall provide in accordance with all applicable federal, state, and local regulations, laws, and ordinances, and in accordance with the specifications outlined in the solicitation, for smoking cessation services to perform the requirements of this contract. The solicitation will be made available on or about September 17, 2007, and the date for receipt of proposals is October 15, 2007. Offerors are advised that they are responsible for obtaining amendments. Requests for hard copy solicitation must be in writing to the Contracting Officer at the VAPHS and accompanied by a check for $5.00 made out to the Department of Veterans Affairs. No telephone requests will be accepted. Point of Contact is Cassandra E. Craven, email, Cassandra,[email protected], mailing address, VAPHS (04A1-H), 7180 Highland Drive, Pittsburgh, PA 15206. The North American Classification System Code (NAICS) is 621999 with a size standard of $9.0 million. Offerors are requested to sign up on the bidder's mailing list on the website. Award is subject to the availability of funds.

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