Central Iowa VHA Health Care System Surgical Instrument Maintenance and Repair Solicitation

Background
The Central Iowa Veterans Health Administration (VHA) Health Care System is issuing a solicitation for surgical instrument maintenance and repair services. The goal of this contract is to ensure the functionality and safety of surgical instruments used within the Central Iowa Health Care System, which supports the mission of providing high-quality health care to veterans.

Work Details
The contractor shall provide surgical instrument maintenance and repair services, including:
- Preventative Maintenance (PM) and repair services for surgical instruments in the Surgical Processing Suite (SPS).
- An online digital inventory system to track instrument repair status and requests.
- Inspection and repair of individual general surgical instruments identified as non-functional during assembly inspection or use.
- Maintenance of both critical and routine instrument sets, ensuring compliance with CDC regulations, HSPA, AORN Standards, APIC guidelines, ANSI, and AAMI standards.
- Specific repairs include sharpening, adjusting, aligning, calibrating, cleaning rust or debris, oiling instruments, removing stains or scratches, flushing lumens of cannulated items, and detailed inspections of disassembled instruments.
- The contractor must ensure that all repairs return instruments to original OEM specifications in terms of functionality and appearance.
- Maintenance for rigid instrument containers is required to ensure all components are functional.
- Instruments deemed unrepairable must be clearly identified and returned to the facility.
- Onsite repairs must be provided twice weekly for unscheduled needs and same-day PM services for critical sets.
- All instruments must have a legible QR code upon return, along with documentation on their status in the digital tracker.

Period of Performance
The contract will be performed over a five-year period from August 1, 2026 to July 31, 2031 with specific pricing periods outlined for each year.

Place of Performance
Central Iowa Health Care System located at 3600 30th Street, Des Moines IA.

Bidder Requirements
Bidders must demonstrate ownership of a digital inventory tracking system that meets specified functionalities. They must also provide evidence of a quality management program and historical data showing their capability to handle multiple tray repairs per day. Additionally, contractor staff performing duties under this contract must complete specific training courses as determined by the VA.

Incumbent Analysis (see Incumbents section for more detail)
This solicitation appears to have a closely related prior contract with Steris Instrument Management Services under award 36C26325D0081 (VHA Black Hills Health Care System sterile instrument maintenance and repair services), valued at $53,999 for 09/15/25–09/14/26. The prior work includes preventative maintenance and repair of surgical instruments in the Surgical Processing Suite (SPS), use of an online digital inventory system to track repair status, and similar repair activities such as sharpening, adjusting, aligning, cleaning/calibrating, and providing twice-weekly onsite repairs plus same-day PM for critical sets. The scope described for Central Iowa—covering SPS instrument maintenance, digital tracking/QR return requirements, and compliance with relevant clinical/regulatory standards—appears to be a continuation of the same type of sterile instrument maintenance and repair service model.