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Iowa County updates HIPAA policies for EMS, rolls out AED mapping and reviews ambulance finances
Summary
The board approved HIPAA policy updates affecting reproductive health information, Iowa County EMS staff described rollout of a PulsePoint AED mapping app, and the county reviewed ambulance costs and revenues.
The Iowa County Board approved updates to the county’s HIPAA policies required by recent federal guidance and heard an operations report from EMS leadership covering ambulance finances, staffing and two new public-safety initiatives.
County EMS staff told the board that federal changes around reproductive health require an update to policies on use and disclosure of protected health information. The board voted to approve two HIPAA policy updates during the meeting.
EMS leadership also reported operational figures: in November the county had 161 calls with 127 transports and 34 refusals; the fiscal-year-to-date call count was 775. Finance figures presented showed November expenses of $162,451 and year-to-date actual expenses of $1,187,032 compared with a budgeted $1,055,911. EMS reported year-to-date revenue of $545,873 against budgeted revenue of $466,042; EMS staff noted a budget variance tied in part to the purchase of a new ambulance.
As part of preparedness work, EMS staff described deploying the PulsePoint AED app (PulsePoint AED) to register county AED locations. Staff said county administrators will maintain county-owned AEDs in the app and help organizations add privately owned AEDs; future functionality could notify trained volunteers nearby when someone needs CPR.
The board also heard a summary of equipment and maintenance items, including a recently returned mini-ambulance needing minor finishing work, new rear brakes and tires on a 2020 ambulance, and a resolved radio firmware issue following a vendor visit. EMS said it recently completed required training partnerships with Kirkwood’s paramedic program and that staff completed new HIPAA training.
During the meeting a supervisor moved to approve the HIPAA policy updates; the motion passed on voice vote.
EMS staff identified next steps as completing AED data collection, ongoing budget monitoring, and continuing training and vehicle maintenance plans.
