The American Association for Respiratory Care (AARC) invites qualified organizations to submit a bid for conducting a national needs assessment in accordance with the attached project description for Exploring the Status of Non-Physician Advanced Practice Provider Employment Density and Sufficiency of Educational Background in the Care of Patients with Cardiopulmonary Disease.
The AARC is seeking a consultant to conduct a needs assessment to determine whether an education and/or workforce gap exists within the current and predicted future employment of non-physician advanced practice providers caring for patients afflicted with cardiopulmonary disease.
The AARC is a not-for-profit professional association of respiratory care professionals based in Dallas, TX representing more than 47,000 members. In conjunction with its professional partners, the National Board for Respiratory Care (NBRC) representing the interests of more than 170,000 credentialed respiratory therapists and the Commission on Accreditation for Respiratory Care (CoARC) programs, which represents over 450 educational programs is seeking to assure there is an appropriate workforce to care for persons afflicted with cardiopulmonary disease. These respiratory therapists work with physicians in the care of patients with lung disorders and other cardiopulmonary conditions.
The steps and timetable for this selection process are outlined below:
| Step | Completion Date |
| 1. Submit the RFP to consultants | January 3, 2017 |
| 2. Responses to the RFP due from consultants | February 3, 2017 |
| 3. Review responses | February 15, 2017 |
| 4. Selection of preferred consultant | March 20, 2017 |
| 5. Project commencement | April 3, 2017 |
| 6. Preliminary report | September 15, 2017 |
| 7. Final report | October 31, 2017 |
To respond to this RFP, please submit the following information:
- A proposal describing your qualifications (or the qualifications of the team of consultants) and how the tasks described above would be carried out.
- A firm estimate of fees to be charged, and an estimate of expenses that would be incurred.
- Resumes of all consultants who would be involved in the project.
- Names, phone numbers and email addresses of people at three non-profit organizations who have been your clients during the last 18 months, whom the AARC can contact as a reference.
Please submit your proposal electronically, no later than 5:00pm Central on February 3, 2017, to Shawna Strickland at shawna.strickland@aarc.org. You may submit any other supporting materials via email to shawna.strickland@aarc.org.
