This document is a Justification and Approval (J&A) for a bridge contract for NIH Laundry Services, approved on December 23, 2025. The National Institutes of Health (NIH) Clinical Center (CC), Materials Management and Environmental Services Department (MMESD) requires urgent, immediate laundry services to maintain patient safety and regulatory compliance. The contract is a sole source award to Railroad Cleaners, the current vendor, to ensure continuity of service without setup delays. The estimated value is $180,000.00, with a determined fair and reasonable price of $80,000.00 after price analysis. The statutory authority cited for this non-competitive acquisition is FAR 6.302-2,
The National Institute of Health, Clinical Center (NIH-CC) issued a Notice of Intent (NOI-CC-26-001593) to sole source a bridge contract for essential cleaning and laundry services. The NIH-CC intends to negotiate with Railroad Cleaners without full and open competition to ensure continuity of services vital for human safety and healthcare. Railroad Cleaners is the current provider, eliminating lead or setup times. This temporary sole-source agreement is justified by urgent needs for patient safety and regulatory compliance under Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) Part 13—Simplified Acquisition Procedures. Comments are invited until December 30, 2025.
This Performance Work Statement (PWS) outlines the requirements for bulk laundry services at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) Clinical Center, Hospice Unit, The Children’s Inn, and Edmond J. Safra Family Lodge in Bethesda, MD. The contractor will be responsible for providing all personnel, equipment, transportation, supplies, vehicles, and facilities necessary to pick up soiled laundry, transport it to a cleaning facility, clean, sanitize, press, fold, bundle, hanger-rack lab coats, and return cleaned linen within a 24-hour turnaround timeframe. The PWS details administrative requirements, contractor experience and staff qualifications, contingency plans for labor disputes and disasters, quality control and assurance programs, and specific tasks such as annual linen inventory, handling of repairable and unserviceable articles, and special handling for medical items. The document also includes an extensive list of definitions and acronyms, outlines government-furnished property and services, and specifies contractor-furnished items. Performance standards for pickup, delivery, and laundry quality are also provided, along with details on government quality assurance and contract administration.