by IDOG
After the Idaho Statesman threatened a lawsuit over a denied public records request for nursing home COVID-19 information, and the IDOG board sent a strongly worded letter to Gov. Brad Little, state Health & Welfare Director Dave Jeppesen, and the directors of all seven public health districts in the state about the importance of the releasing the information, the state has agreed to do so.
You can read the IDOG board’s letter here, and here is Director Jeppesen’s response:
“Betsy,
I very much appreciate the email and letter from the IDOG board.
I wanted to let you know that this afternoon, DHW will issue a press release and publish long term care (LTC) summary statistics for Idaho. In addition, we will publish a list of all long term care facilities that have had or currently have a COVID-19 outbreak (defined as at least one lab-confirmed or probable COVID-positive case associated with a facility) which will include number of total cases and number of total deaths by facility. This information will be on the coronavirus.idaho.gov site under the LTC tab. We plan to update this information weekly.
I believe that what we publish today will address the items and concerns raised in your letter, but I am happy to discuss additional questions or concerns that you or IDOG have after you see what we publish.
The department is committed to open and transparent government. We also are committed to protecting individuals privacy. Our challenge on this topic has been balancing those two items, particularly when it comes LTC facilities. We have been working for some time to find a way to balance both. We believe we have found a solution that does both, particularly given that (unfortunately) the number of case has increased.
Thanks again for the letter on this important topic. I always welcome any outreach, questions or correspondence from you or IDOG.
dave”
Dave Jeppesen
Director
Idaho Department of Health & Welfare
208-334-5500