Opportunity Overview
North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services, Division of State Operated Healthcare Facilities (DSOHF) issued IFB 30-26061, Locum Tenens – Professional Medical Staffing, associated with eVP sourcing document Doc2282040224. The official North Carolina eVP record is currently Open. DSOHF intends to establish multiple agency-specific contracts for as-needed statewide clinical staffing across its state-operated healthcare facilities.
Deadline and Submission
Bids are due September 21, 2026 at 2:00 p.m. through the North Carolina Sourcing Tool / Ariba. The IFB cover labels the deadline 2:00 PM ET, while Section 2.4 and the addenda label it 2:00pm EST. Atlas preserves this source-language inconsistency rather than silently converting it; bidders should rely on the live authenticated Sourcing Tool immediately before submission. Written questions were due August 13, 2026 at 11:00 a.m. EST, with State responses scheduled for August 20 at 5:00 p.m. EST. Procurement lead: Brooke Wells, DSOHF Procurement Specialist, Brooke.Wells@dhhs.nc.gov; solicitation questions were required through the Sourcing Tool message board.
Scope of Work
DSOHF seeks licensed and/or certified clinicians as needed, including psychologists, psychiatrists, primary care and family medicine physicians, laboratory specialists, physical therapists, occupational therapists and assistants, speech therapists, radiology specialists, optometrists, dentists, cardiopulmonary specialists and pharmacists. Facilities include the State’s developmental centers, psychiatric hospitals, neuro-medical treatment centers, alcohol and drug abuse treatment centers and Whitaker Psychiatric Residential Treatment Facility. The procurement is intended to maintain staffing capacity, CMS and accreditation compliance, and continuity of patient care while permanent recruitment is underway.
Contract Value, Term and Pricing
Addendum 2 states that DSOHF estimates roughly $8 million in total annual spend. This is an estimate, not a guaranteed minimum or maximum. The base IFB establishes an initial three-year contract term beginning at final contract execution. Pricing is all-inclusive; the IFB states that each professional rate must include applicable pre-employment requirements and that bid pricing represents total cost for complete performance. Addendum 2 further states that submitted pricing should be considered firm and fixed. This is a service procurement, so grant-style match or cost share is not applicable.
Eligibility and Qualification Requirements
Vendors must be qualified to provide the labor categories they bid and support credentialing and compliance for assigned clinicians. Addendum 2 states that all providers must possess an unrestricted, valid North Carolina license and that agencies focusing on healthcare staffing, including physicians, nurses and other clinical professionals, require a North Carolina Nursing Pool License. The base IFB requires at least three references for similar size and scope, financial-capacity certification, national background checks and drug screening before work, applicable infection-control measures, and North Carolina Secretary of State registration before contract performance as specified in the IFB. Subcontracting requires prior State consent and does not relieve the prime vendor of responsibility.
Required Bid Package and Addenda
Two addenda dated August 20, 2026 are indexed for this solicitation. Addendum 1 materially updates Section 2.7. The bid package includes completed and signed execution pages with the IFB body; a signed receipt page for any addendum that requires return; Attachment A Pricing Submittal Excel Worksheet uploaded separately in Ariba; Attachment D Customer Reference Form; Attachment E Location of Workers Utilized by Vendor; signed Attachment F Certification of Financial Condition; signed Attachment G North Carolina Substitute W-9; signed Attachment H State Certifications; and signed Attachment I Business Associate Addendum. Addendum 1 moves provider-specific professional liability/malpractice documentation, licenses/certifications/registrations, BLS and TB documentation to the applicable-candidate post-award stage. Addendum 1 must be returned as instructed; Addendum 2 states that it does not need to be returned with the bid.
Method of Award
The State intends multiple awards and may make separate awards by line item. Responsive bids are evaluated based on the lowest price meeting specifications, including required past-performance, reference and financial verifications. Addendum 2 states there is no preset maximum number of awards and vendors may submit pricing for any and all specialties they can offer.
Atlas Fit Analysis
Atlas Opportunity Score: 84/100. This is a substantial statewide healthcare staffing procurement with a three-year initial term, multiple awards, broad clinical disciplines and an estimated $8 million annual spend. The principal barriers are the staffing-agency licensure, clinician credentialing, comparable-reference, fixed-pricing and statewide fulfillment requirements.
N9+ Fit Score: 0/100. Addendum 2 states that work is onsite except for scheduled remote on-call shifts and expressly answers that telemedicine is not an option at this time. The procurement is for professional clinical labor rather than remote physical-examination technology, connected diagnostics or telehealth equipment. N9+ should not be forced into this opportunity.
Direct Vendor Assessment and Realistic Organizations
Current Dr. Miltie/QC Healthcare records do not substantiate the North Carolina Nursing Pool License, locum-tenens staffing bench, provider credentialing infrastructure or three comparable staffing references required for a responsible direct-prime bid. Atlas therefore does not advance Dr. Miltie/QC Healthcare as a direct bidder. A realistic bidder example is Loyal Source Government Services LLC: a North Carolina DHSR nursing-pool listing published in 2026 shows an active nursing-pool license through December 31, 2027, and the company publicly describes locum tenens, physician and government healthcare staffing. Health Advocates Network, Inc. also appears in a 2026 North Carolina DHSR nursing-pool listing and publicly provides healthcare and government staffing. Each organization’s current bid-specific capabilities, references and clinician coverage must still be verified before treating it as fully qualified.
Amendment Control and Next Action
The official public eVP record confirms the solicitation is Open, but its read-only attachment and addenda panes currently return a permissions error. Atlas verified indexed copies of the base IFB, Addendum 1 and Addendum 2; bidders must nevertheless retrieve the live authenticated Sourcing Tool package, confirm that no later amendment has been issued, and use the current Ariba pricing workbook before submission.
Controlling public source: North Carolina eVP Solicitation Details.