Boston Senior Home Care - Vendor Services

RFP FAQ List

Q: What address should we use on the certificate of insurance?

A: Use your own company address. But, please remember to send us a copy together with the RFP package to Ethos at 555 Amory Street, Jamaica Plain, MA 02130

Q: What is the required qualification for supportive home care aide? High school Diploma, graduate or GED?

A: You are required to have taken a Nursing Assistant Course. For CNA and HM/PC additional training and supervision is required (see attachment A for additional information).

Q: Who supervises and trains Administrator, RN, and CNA's and who qualifies as a Supervisor?

A: RN supervises and trains.

Q: What is the competitive salary scale for Administrator, RN and CNA?

A: We use Mass health as a Guideline for rates. You set your own salary.

Q: Are there time limits for Supportive home care for the client?

A: We assess and determine hours of service. Supportive Home Care Aides who are trained to work with clients with mental illness receive special, paid supervision time from their agency in order to work more effectively with difficult to serve clients.

Q: In the RFP directions it states not to send back the Contract Forms that are part of the package. Is this indicating the Attachment J - Non-Homemaker Provider Agreement or does this attachment need to be sent with the RFP proposal, we are about to number the pages and send it out for submission.

A: No, you do not need to send back attachment J. It is for your informational purposes only.

Q: I am not clear on what you are looking for in the Linguistic/Cultural Table, by neighborhood and type of service. We have a list of our staff and what languages they speak. We do not break them down by what neighborhood they work in. Is this sufficient?

A: Yes. Please reference your information on the checklist for Linguistic/Cultural Table and number it.

Q: I am comparing the Attachment H this year to attachments I created in 2003 and 2005. I assume that this is because we apply for Homemaker/PCA contracts through a separate NOI process that has its own administrative overview, but I just wanted to check to make sure that we did NOT have to fill out a category for Homemaker/PCA any longer in this RFP process, in Attachment H.

A: You do not need to fill out HMS/PCA for this RFP process. The NOI is no longer an ASAPs bid process for HM/PC workers. So, you do not need to complete any information about HM/PC.

Q: Am I to submit a summary of Link to Life’s experience and background or do I just include the pages of the section of Attachment A which pertain to our services that we offer?

A: Yes, please submit brief description of related experiences and backgrounds

Q: Regarding the Linguistic/Cultural table: Does this inclusion pertain to PERS or Medication Dispensation?

A: It pertains to all services you provide.

Q: Regarding the “Client not at home” policy: Can you please clarify? Does this mean client not at home for a scheduled appointment or client not at home due to hospitalization, vacation etc?

A: It includes all scenarios that you mentioned above. We are looking for your company’s policy and standard practices as to what workers are expected to do under these circumstances.

Q: The last RFP for Homemaker Services was also in 2003. When will these services be bid again, do you know?

A: The NOI is no longer an ASAPs bid process for HM/PC workers. The NOI for HM/PC is handled directly by EOEA. Please refer to www.800ageinfo.com. Do not complete any information about HM/PC for this RFP process.

Q: Additional program instructions: with regards to the confidentiality issues involved with:

-HIPAA compliance/confidential data handling

-clients as research objects

-electronic billing-required with the use of email and excel spreadsheet
Are you looking for us to present our policies for these items or is there some other documentation you require?

A: No, you do not need to submit these items, they are for your informational purposes.

Q: Documentation requirements: In regards to the linguistic/cultural table by neighborhood and service type: are you looking for the clients we service or our employees by neighborhood they service?

A: Your employees by neighborhood they service.

Q: One of the items requested is the “most recent financial statement”. Our Director of Finance has asked for more specific clarification on his item: Do you need a Profit & Loss Statement and/or a Balance Sheet, or something else? We are a private company, so I don’t believe we prepare an annual report, but that item appears to be optional.

A: We are asking for both Balance Sheet and Income Statement. You are correct, the Annual Report is optional.

Q: Also the instructions state that the proposal should be bound in 3 ring binders with tabs and page numbers. Should the page numbers be contiguous throughout, or numbered 1-xx for each specific section?

A: The page numbers should continues through out the whole RFP.

Q: When answering questions on the administrative overview that say “describe your policy”, is it OK to just attach the policy?

A: Yes, also number the pages on your policy.

Q: If I am submitting bids for programs other than Ethos, do I still drop off the packet at Ethos?

A: Yes.

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