VA - Critical Incident Team - MRAS

The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), in collaboration with the General Services Administration (GSA), is undertaking market research to enhance its Public Health National Program Office's (PHNPO) Critical Incident Team. This initiative is part of the VA's broader mission to ensure comprehensive health services, including health promotion, disease prevention, and emergency response. The PHNPO plays a pivotal role in conducting system-wide public health surveillance and epidemiological investigations across VA facilities, which are essential for early detection and response to public health emergencies.

The contract seeks to engage a team that will support the PHNPO's critical incident program by investigating emergent epidemiologic outbreaks and conducting lookbacks within the VA system. This involves assembling a multidisciplinary team capable of adapting to various situations depending on the nature of incidents, number of individuals affected, and type of facility involved. The work will primarily take place at the Palo Alto Medical Center but may require travel across other locations in the United States.

A core component of this program is the operation of the Public Health Reference Laboratory (PHRL), which facilitates rapid diagnostic testing crucial for outbreak investigations. The Windsor Group has been instrumental since 2023 in supporting these efforts by providing specialized staff such as public health analysts, research associates, laboratory technicians, IT programmers/analysts for integrating laboratory information systems with medical record reporting, and project managers overseeing laboratory certifications and workflow software.

This contract not only aims to improve veteran health outcomes by identifying and mitigating sources of infection but also minimizes potential legal liabilities for the VA under tort claims related to negligence or wrongful actions at VA facilities. By effectively managing public health threats through expert investigations and timely interventions, this initiative directly contributes to safeguarding veterans' well-being while enhancing operational efficiency within the VA healthcare system.