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Snohomish County Council OKs data‑sharing agreement with Washington State Department of Health
Summary
The Snohomish County Council on Feb. 26 approved Ordinance 25‑005 authorizing the county executive to sign a data‑sharing agreement with the Washington State Department of Health to access hospital abstract reporting and vital records data for public‑health monitoring.
Snohomish County Council approved Ordinance 25‑005 on Feb. 26, authorizing the county executive to execute a data‑sharing agreement with the Washington State Department of Health to obtain comprehensive hospital abstract reporting system (CHARS) and vital‑records datasets.
The data, the council was told, will be used for injury prevention, tracking trends in chronic disease and for maternal and child health work. Cynthia Foley, council staff, said the ordinance was last presented to council Jan. 29 and requested consideration of the measure.
Cynthia Foley, council staff, told the council the agreement would provide the county access to CHARS and vital‑records datasets for use by county public‑health programs. Public testimony was opened and no speakers were present in the council chambers or online, and the council closed public testimony before voting.
A motion to approve the ordinance was made and seconded; a roll‑call vote recorded votes of Chair Nearing, Vice Chair Done, Council Member Mead, Council Member Low and Council Member Peterson in favor. The ordinance passed 5‑0.
The council did not ask for further amendments during the meeting and staff said they were available for follow‑up questions after passage. No implementation timeline or data‑use policy details were specified during the hearing.
