Caledonia Argus

Motion to sign letter of support fails at County Board

Posted: 9/10/02

by Jane Palen
Managing editor

The Houston County Board wonít be signing a letter of support for the Area Agency on Agingís ElderCare Development Plan. The agency is seeking a $50,000 planning grant for delivery of community-based services to the elderly. The issue was discussed for the second time at the boardís meeting of September 3, but a motion by Commissioner Nels Gulbranson to sign the letter failed for lack of a second.

In the discussion preceding the motion, County Board Chairman Kevin Kelleher expressed his frustration that the state channels funds through non-profit agencies while the county is doing the work. The funds, he said, should be given to counties.

ìThe various bureaucracies that take the money should just give us the money,î said Kelleher. He said he is ìleeryî of letters of support, and noted that the county already funds chore services.

Beth Wilms, human services director, commented that ì$50,000 is not a lot for three counties. It would be better if counties would get it directly.î

Wilms noted that the grant is for planing and not to provide direct services. The purpose of the grant is to fund an administrative position to coordinate a program to provide services.

Commissioner Ann Thompson asked if there was a way for the county to apply for the funds directly. Wilms and public health nursing director Linda Grupa said that given the deadline for the grant, it is probably not possible for the county to apply for the grant.

Commissioner Gulbranson noted that a lot of Semcac funds come from the SEMAAA.

Commissioner Kelleher said that ìThe system is broken. Itís another layer of administration. It would be different if the money went directly to Semcac or the county.î He added that with budgets coming up, things will be tight in the county.

ìWeíre the ones getting whacked. They should be the ones getting whacked.î

In another matter, the board approved a letter of support for the Lutheran Home-Caledonia Campus, for a transition planning grant.

In other business, Grupa reported that 30 clients were seen at the most recent dental clinics. About $13,000 worth of services were rendered. Grupa informed the board that Spanish interpreters were hired to assist with patients who spoke no English.

The dental clinics are funded through a grant shared by Houston, Fillmore and Winona Counties.

County must appoint HIPAA coordinator

In other business, the county learned that it must appoint a HIPAA coordinator.

HIPAA is the Health Information Portability and Accountability Act passed by Congress. The US Department of Health and Human Services created HIPAA privacy regulations, and those regulations go into effect April 14, 2003. HIPAA-regulated entities will face criminal and civil penalties if they violate the privacy rule.

The regulations govern what medical information about an individual may be released. For example, if the county were to experience a natural disaster, HIPAA would prevent the posting of names of injured or dead in a public place.

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