The Department of Health and Human Services, specifically the Indian Health Service (IHS), is seeking qualified contractors to provide referral laboratory testing services, including cytology, histology, and pathology, for the Navajo Area Indian Health Service (NAIHS) facilities. The contractor will be responsible for specimen collection, transport, testing, and reporting, handling an estimated annual volume of 5,200 PAP smears, 14,000 liquid-based preparations, and various other tests across multiple health centers. This contract is crucial for supplementing existing laboratory services in remote areas, ensuring timely and accurate testing for a population of over 244,000 American Indians. Interested parties must submit their qualifications by January 22, 2026, to Bennett Arvessto at bennett.arvessto@ihs.gov, and must be registered in the System for Award Management (SAM) to be eligible for consideration.

IHS IEE Representation Form_Jan 2022_508 Compliant.pdf

The Indian Health Service (IHS) Division of Acquisition Policy (DAP) requires Offerors to self-certify their status as an “Indian Economic Enterprise” (IEE) in accordance with the Buy Indian Act (25 U.S.C. 47 and HHSAR 326.601). This representation form is used for solicitations, sources sought notices, and requests for information. To be eligible, an enterprise must meet the IEE definition at the time of offer, contract award, and throughout the contract performance period. Contractors must immediately notify the Contracting Officer if they no longer meet eligibility requirements. Documentation may be required, and successful Offerors must be registered with the System of Award Management (SAM). False or misleading information can lead to severe penalties under federal law.

PEFORMANCE WORK STATEMENT (PWS).pdf

The Navajo Area Indian Health Service (NAIHS) seeks a contractor for comprehensive Referral Laboratory Cytology, Pathology, and Histology Testing Services. This contract, expected to be a Requirements Type with a one-year base and four one-year option periods, aims to supplement existing NAIHS laboratory services, particularly in remote areas. The contractor will provide specimen collection, transport, testing, and reporting for various NAIHS facilities, handling an estimated 5,200 PAP smears, 14,000 PAP liquid-based preparations, 500 HPV tests, 200 cytology tests, and 3,000 gross pathology specimens annually. Key requirements include at least three years of experience, CLIA '88 certification, timely specimen transport (within 12 hours), and specific turnaround times for testing (5 days for cytology, 14 days for histopathology). The contractor must also install and maintain a Laboratory Data Manager (LDM) system at each NAIHS facility, provide various reports, and adhere to strict quality control, privacy, and cybersecurity standards.

The Indian Health Service, Navajo Area Indian Health Service is issuing this sources-sought synopsis as a means of conducting market research (FAR 10.001) in identifying prospective sources to fill a government requirement for Cytology, Histology, and Pathology Testing Services.

The applicable North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) code assigned to this requirement is 621511, Medical Laboratories with a small business size standard in millions of dollars $41.50.

**THIS IS NOT A SOLICITATION.** Information collected from this notice is purely for market research only and will be used to determine the contracting office’s acquisition strategy including competition, set asides, and locating Indian-owned economic enterprises.  Submission of any information in response to this market survey is purely voluntary.  The government assumes no financial responsibility for any costs incurred in response to this request for information.

In accordance with FAR 4.1102(a), offerors and quoters are required to be registered in System for Award Management at SAM.gov, at the time an offer or quotation is submitted in order to comply with the annual representations and certifications requirements.

**Submission Instructions:** Interested parties who consider themselves qualified to perform the above-listed services are invited to submit a response to this notice by 01/22/2026 at 5pm MST to Bennett Arvessto, Contract Specialist at bennett.arvessto@ihs.govwith the subject line *“*SSN-26-NAIHS-001. Your submission must include the following information, at a minimum:

1. Company Profile that includes:  UEI, Name and Address, Primary POC information, business size and type of ownership, socio-economic status/participation such as 8(a), WOSB/EDWOSB, SDVOSB and HUBZone, identification of Native American ownership (if applicable), SAM.gov representations and certifications, and other related documentation.
2. A brief statement of the company’s capability that relates to the described government requirement.  Additional demonstrations of capability may include current and past performance history for the same or similar requirement, established contracts such as GSA or VA Schedule, etc.
3. If claiming Indian-owned Small Business Economic Enterprise (ISBEE) or Indian-owned Economic Enterprise (IEE), submit completed IHS IEE Representation Form (attached).
4. Experience: Contractor shall have at least 3 years of experience providing laboratory pathology/cytology/histology testing services. Each of the Contractor’s testing facilities shall be certified and shall maintain certification as a medical laboratory in accordance with CMS/CLIA ’88 guidelines. Contractor shall ensure testing and supervisory personnel at all contractor-owned, affiliate, or subcontracted laboratories assigned to work under this contract meet and maintain the applicable personnel qualifications set forth under CLIA’88 regulations, the College of American Pathology (CAP) accreditation standards, other accrediting organizations and state standards.

Background:

The Navajo Area Indian Health Service (NAIHS) is one of 12 regional administrative units of the Indian Health Service (IHS), in the US Department of Health and Human Services. The NAIHS delivers health services to a user population of over 244,000 American Indians in five Federal service units on and near the Navajo Nation. The Navajo Nation is one of the largest Indian reservations in the United States. The Navajo Nation consists of more than 25,000 contiguous square miles and three satellite communities, and extends into portions of the states of Arizona, New Mexico, and Utah. NAIHS primarily delivers health services to members of the Navajo Nation and the San Juan Southern Paiute Tribe, and also provides services to other Native Americans, including Zunis, Hopis, and other American Indian beneficiaries. The five (5) Federal Service Units (SUs) include Chinle, Crownpoint, Gallup, Kayenta, and Shiprock SUs.

NAIHS provides inpatient, emergency, outpatient, public health, and other services at four hospitals: Chinle Comprehensive Health Care Facility, Crownpoint Health Care Facility, Gallup Indian Medical Center, and Northern Navajo Medical Center (Shiprock, NM). These inpatient facilities comprise a total of 222 hospital beds. The Kayenta Health Center in Kayenta, AZ will begin operating as an Alternative Rural Hospital in mid-2020 by offering ten short stay nursing beds and ambulatory surgery. Navajo Area also has seven full-time health centers providing outpatient, community health, preventive health, and other services. There are also five part-time health stations.

General requirements:

Purpose: The provision of referral laboratory (cytology & histo-pathology) testing services for the Navajo Area Indian Health Service (NAIHS) facilities.

Scope: The Contractor shall provide cytology / histology / pathology lab testing services to the following NAIHS locations: Chinle Comprehensive Health Care Facility, Tsaile Health Center, Pinon Health Center, Tohatchi Health Center, Crownpoint Health Care Facility, Kayenta Health Center, Inscription House Health Center, Gallup Indian Medical Center, Dzilth-Na-O-Dith-Hle (DZ) Health Center, Four Corners Regional Health Center, and the Northern Navajo Medical Center. The relative number of specimens submitted by each NAIHS location is variable and dependent upon the size of each facility. As a general standard, these testing services do not encompass clinical lab specimens.

Duties and Responsibilities: These duties encompass cytology / histology / pathology lab testing to include specimen collection, specimen pickup/transport, testing, and reporting.

Place of Performance: Regarding specimen collection, pick-up/transport and ordering/reporting services, will be performed at the various NAIHS facilities. Regarding specimen testing services, they will be performed at the Contractor’s testing locations.

Telephone inquiries will not be accepted or acknowledged, and no feedback or evaluations will be provided to companies regarding their submissions.

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