Boise Legionella and Water Testing Base Plus 4

Description of Services: The Contracted Analytical Laboratory (Contractor) must be capable of providing personnel, supervision, equipment, supplies, certifications, transportation, and resources necessary to conduct random water testing for the buildings / locations specified in this statement of work. All work will be on the Boise Veterans Affairs Medical Center (BVAMC) campus and follow applicable laws and regulations, and directives. Water samples must be collected and analyzed by the Contractor.

Personnel collecting legionella water samples must be trained in proper legionella water sampling protocols. Evidence of training certifications or competencies must be provided to the Contracting Officer’s Representative (COR) annually. Each legionella water sample must have the Building & Room number of the location the sample was collected recorded on the chain of custody.

If a room contains more than one outlet, the description of the outlet must be adequate to identify the single outlet where the sample was collected. Most door frames have a white label which lists the room number. If samples are taken from an outlet in a corridor, the location can be listed as “Corridor near Building X, Room X.” The COR can, upon request, provide building floor plans to assist in identifying unlabeled locations.

The Contractor shall schedule sampling days with the COR at the beginning of each quarter to ensure test results are submitted before the end of the quarter. Sampling must be done during normal business hours, when the BVAMC is open. Sampling should not occur between 1600-0700, weekends, or on federal holidays. All results, including for the serotype of positive legionella samples, by the last week of the quarter.

The Contractor must have the capability of fulfilling all tasks outlined in the Statement of Work while meeting applicable Veterans Healthcare Administration (VHA) Directives and local, state, and federal laws.

In accordance with VHA Directive 1061(4) Prevention of Health Care-Associated Legionella Disease and Scald Injury from Water Systems (dated October 21, 2024), or current version, the testing laboratory must be selected with input from the BVAMC Water Safety Committee using the following criteria: The Contractor must be accredited by one of the following accrediting bodies: National Environmental Laboratory Accreditation Program (NELAP) American Association for Laboratory Accreditation (A2LA) Environmental Microbiology Laboratory Accreditation Program (EMLAP) The Contractor must demonstrate proficiency in the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) Environmental Legionella Isolation Techniques Evaluation (ELITE) program at performing the culture of Legionella from environmental samples.

The Contractor must be able to determine if the Legionella detected by culture in environmental samples is the species Legionella Pneumophila and, if so, if it is L. pneumophila serogroup 1. Legionella samples must be cultured, a PCR (polymerase chain reaction) test is not sufficient.