Cortland Memorial Hospital, B-286890, March 5, 2001

B-286890 Mar 05, 2001 Jump To VIEW DECISION RELATED PAGES GAO CONTACTS Highlights DIGEST Protest of agency's source selection is sustained where contemporaneous documentation does not establish that the selection was consistent with the solicitation's evaluation criteria. Cortland essentially contends that the agency's award decision was based on an unreasonable evaluation of proposals. The contractor is required to provide primary healthcare services in a hospital or clinic environment to eligible VA beneficiaries. [The VA] will require final approval of any site proposed by the Contractor. Preference will be given to facilities that provide services to patients in a "self-contained" environment (one that devotes space and services exclusively for [VA] patients). Preference will be given to facilities that provide services to [VA] patients in one location under this contract. View Decision Matter of: Cortland Memorial Hospital File: B-286890 Date: March 5, 2001 DIGEST Attorneys DECISION Cortland Memorial Hospital protests the award of a contract to Cayuga Medical Center under request for proposals (RFP) No. 670-05-00, issued by the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) for a community-based outpatient clinic (CBOC) to serve VA beneficiaries. Cortland essentially contends that the agency's award decision was based on an unreasonable evaluation of proposals. We sustain the protest. The RFP, issued as a commercial-item procurement, contemplated the award of a fixed-price indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract for a base year with two 1-year options. RFP at 2. The contractor is required to provide primary healthcare services in a hospital or clinic environment to eligible VA beneficiaries. RFP at 12. Under the heading, "Specific Requirements For the Contractor's Facility," the RFP stated: The Contractor's facility to provide services shall be physically located in the Counties of Cortland or Tompkins in New York State. [The VA] will require final approval of any site proposed by the Contractor. Preference will be given to facilities that provide services to patients in a "self-contained" environment (one that devotes space and services exclusively for [VA] patients). Preference will be given to facilities that provide services to [VA] patients in one location under this contract. RFP at 12 (emphasis added). The solicitation provided for award to the offeror whose proposal, conforming to the solicitation, would be most advantageous to the government, price and other factors considered, and advised that all evaluation factors other than price, when combined, were slightly more important than price. RFP at 34. The RFP listed six evaluation factors in order of importance, which the agency quantified on an internal [DELETED] scoring scale consistent with the RFP, as follows: (1) price [DELETED], (2) management and experience [DELETED], (3) quality [DELETED], (4) past performance [DELETED], (5) geographic location [DELETED], and (6) small disadvantaged business (SDB) participation program [DELETED]. Id.; Agency Report (AR) exh. Z, Proposal Evaluation Plan. As is relevant here, under the geographic location factor, the RFP provided a number of "suggestions" for offerors to consider when preparing their technical proposals. For instance, offerors could discuss the proposed physical resources, including number/type of patient care areas; whether the intended facilities/resources would be devoted exclusively for VA patients; the location of the proposed facility, and its access to public transportation. Offerors could also provide a narrative to address how the facility's geographic location can best serve the patients anticipated to use the program. RFP at 32. The VA states that the above-quoted RFP preferences were evaluated under this evaluation factor. The VA received timely proposals from three offerors, including Cortland and Cayuga, by the August 15, 2000 closing date. Cortland proposed to perform the contract requirements in a single facility located in Tompkins County, for the exclusive use of VA patients, at a proposed total price of [DELETED]. Cayuga proposed to perform the contract services at two facilities--one located in Tompkins County, the other in Cortland County, at a proposed total price of [DELETED]. Neither facility offered by Cayuga was "self-contained," that is, for the exclusive use of VA patients. The agency's six-member technical evaluation panel (TEP) individually evaluated each proposal under three of the non-price evaluation factors (management and experience, quality, and geographic location) and prepared narratives of the proposal strengths and weaknesses, which supported the numerical scores. The evaluators then met as a group, discussed the proposals, assigned consensus scores, and prepared a report documenting that evaluation.