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Committee questions accreditation, ECHO funding and possible EMS transfer as department reshapes functions
Summary
Lawmakers pressed department leaders about accreditation standards and DEI language, a $200,000 Project ECHO line, and draft legislation to move the Bureau of Emergency Medical Services to emergency management.
During the JFAC hearing, several lawmakers raised questions about the Division of Public Health’s organizational choices and which programs belong in the department versus other agencies.
Senator Tanner (Bierke) asked whether the Office of Accreditation and Planning — a newly formed office the department seeks to restore — embeds diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) concepts into public-health standards. Tanner said the accreditation materials he reviewed referenced DEI repeatedly and raised concerns about whether those elements should be funded through the public-health budget. Director Alex Adams said accreditation is a voluntary process the department has pursued since 2012 and that internal approval procedures now include evaluations of how initiatives comport with “Idaho values, specifically family values.” Elke Shaw Tullock, division administrator, described the Office of Accreditation and Planning as supporting national accreditation and internal performance measurement work.
Representative Horman and others questioned a $200,000 base reduction tied to Project ECHO, a continuing medical-education platform hosted by the University of Idaho. Director Adams said Project ECHO is organized and staffed by the university and asked why the state budget would function as a pass-through for personnel housed at the university; he noted the legislature had included legacy intent directing the department to continue passing the funding to Project ECHO and suggested removing that intent if the committee moves the appropriation. Representative Cook asked the department to provide documentation of prior IT and system modernization work connected to ARPA-funded projects before approving more funding for similar efforts.
Committee members also discussed draft legislation to move the Bureau of Emergency Medical Services from the Division of Public Health to the Office of Emergency Management, an idea the department said had circulated previously in the Legislature. Adams said he was not opposed to the transfer and that the Office of Emergency Management may offer synergies with hazards, HAZMAT and other emergency response functions.
No formal votes occurred in the hearing. Committee members requested additional documentation, and some asked staff to remove legacy intent language if future appropriations include pass-through grants to external institutions.
