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B-298444 1 (2006-09-21)

handle is hein.gao/gaobaczpk0001 and id is 1 raw text is: im G A 0Comptroller General WAM Accountability * Integrity * Reliability of the United States United States Government Accountability Office Washington, DC 20548 D .. Decision Matter of: Bausch & Lomb, Inc. File: B-298444 Date: September 21, 2006 John F. LaFave, Esq., for the protester. Dennis Foley, Esq., and Philip Kauffman, Esq., Department of Veterans Affairs, for the agency. Katherine I. Riback, Esq., and James A. Spangenberg, Esq., Office of the General Counsel, GAO, participated in the preparation of the decision. DIGEST Agency's sole-source order of ophthalmology equipment based on unusual and compelling urgency was improper where the awardee was determined to be the only responsible source, yet the capabilities of the equipment of other interested firms were not considered. DECISION Bausch & Lomb, Inc. (B&L) protests the Department of Veterans Affairs' (VA) issuance of sole-source purchase orders to Alcon Laboratories, Inc. for ophthalmology equipment used in cataract procedures for the VA Medical Centers (VAMC) located at Albany and Syracuse, New York. We sustain the protest. The Chief of Ophthalmology in the VAMC Albany facility indicated, in a memorandum dated May 31, that two patients developed eye infections due to the use of certain medical equipment used in cataract procedures because the equipment had been improperly cleaned. The doctor went on to state in the memorandum that the medical equipment was outdated in any case and required replacement and that her doctors were familiar and comfortable with the Infiniti machine manufactured by Alcon as a result of their private practice experiences. Agency Report, Tab B, VAMC Albany Memorandum (May 31, 2006). On that same day, the VA issued a purchase order for ophthalmology medical equipment for cataract procedures to Alcon for the VAMC Albany facility. The order

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