Health department set to expand
The Warren County Health Department will have a little more room to move around, as well as provide more privacy for patient records, once a proposed expansion to the facility is completed, according to director Glenda Holland.
“The reason for the expansion is we’re running out of space for records up front,” Holland said. “That’s one of the main reasons. The front area is just really congested with people. We have clinics up front here, so we’re getting the clinics out of the front. We’re making all the front administrative.”
Though there will be other renovations, including moving the clinics, the main expansion will be to the records area. Records are stored up front in the reception area at present. Concerns about privacy with these type of storage areas have generated some legislation recently.
“The records have to be locked up now according to HIPAA,” Holland said.
HIPAA stands for Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act.
“Basically, what that is, is the patient’s right to keep his health information protected,” she said.
Holland says the new expansion will allow the local health department to comply with that law, along with many other counties who will be dealing with the same issues. The new design will also allow for more privacy with interviews as well. Sound-proofing for cubicles will be improved thus preventing an interview from being overheard by other patients nearby.
The project is being financed by the State Department of Health in an effort to meet HIPAA standards around the area.
“They allocated the money, not only for here, but for every health department that needed to be brought up to standards,” Holland said.