PVHC officials remain hopeful they will win contract againA five-year contract for Powell Valley Healthcare to provide health-care services for area veterans has been put on hold while the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs reviews a protest by another company that bid for the contract.Powell Valley Healthcare was notified by Veterans Affairs on April 23 that it had been awarded the bid for the Basin Community Based Outpatient Clinic, which provides health care for veterans in the Big Horn Basin.

But Rod Barton, chief executive officer for Powell Valley Healthcare, told the organization's board on Monday that contract was rescinded after Sterling Medical Corporation filed a protest.

Sterling, a national company that runs veterans' clinics throughout the country, had filed a bid to operate the clinic out of Cathcart Health Center in Cody through an agreement with West Park Hospital.

Barton said it's his understanding that the Veterans Affairs official that Sterling worked with for the bid left that office and was replaced by another person, but Sterling wasn't advised of that and continued to send information to the original contact. Consequently, some of the information the company sent was not included in Sterling's bid packet, and the bid was declared incomplete.

Ray Tomori, head of Veterans Affairs contracting for the region in Denver, referred all questions about the contract to attorney Russ Emery, also in Denver.

Emery said he couldn't comment on the basis for Sterling's protest.

But an April 27 article in the Cody Enterprise quotes Tomori saying, “During evaluations, Sterling clinic did not respond to our request for a per-capita rate. They were declared nonresponsive.”

West Park Hospital chief executive officer Doug McMillan said the Veterans Affairs contracting officer had asked for additional information from both bidders, and that officer said Sterling did not provide it. However, McMillan said Sterling did provide the information, but it was not acknowledged.

According to the Enterprise article, Tomori said even if Sterling's bid had been in the proper format, the costs for care in Cody still were higher (than at Powell Valley Healthcare).

On Wednesday, Emery said he couldn't comment on whether Sterling would be allowed to change any of the terms in its bid.

Barton said he believes Powell Valley Healthcare will be awarded the contract again, provided Sterling isn't allowed to change its bid. He said Veterans Affairs officials are unlikely to allow any changes in either bid.

In the meantime, veterans continue to receive care at Powell Valley Healthcare through an interim contract.