Board rejects $10,000 MPHI contract to support accreditation training after privacy and vendor-concerns

Dorel Glasshauer, an epidemiologist with the Ottawa County Department of Public Health, described a $10,000 contract with the Michigan Public Health Institute (MPHI) intended to fund performance-management training and preparatory modules for local public-health accreditation ahead of the county's 2026 review.

"The grant, it's for $10,000 to help us prepare for accreditation," Glasshauer said, explaining the deliverables: in-person staff training, asynchronous modules and certificates that satisfy accreditation checkboxes. He told commissioners that the external training vendors would not be MPHI and that the county did not intend to transmit protected health information under the contract.

Commissioner Sylvia (speaker 5) raised concerns about multiple NGO contractors in the accreditation ecosystem (MDHHS, MPHI, NACCHO, ASTHO, NNPHI) and whether that model reduces transparency or routes government functions to private entities. Other commissioners expressed privacy concerns about contract exhibits referencing HIPAA and additional privacy requirements, though staff and legal review language in the contract noted confidentiality and breach remedies.

After public discussion and a roll-call vote, the motion to approve the MPHI contract failed. Commissioner (speaker 1) said he might support equivalent funding from contingency but opposed entering into a contract with MPHI; several commissioners voted no on the MPHI vendor while acknowledging training needs for accreditation.