County Sends HIPAA Statement

Chautauqua County announced that on March 29, it discovered an email was sent out by the Chautauqua County Department of Health and Human Services on March 26 to several individuals which accidentally made visible and listed the personal e-mail account addresses of all the recipients in the subject line. The email sent by the Department of Health and Human Services contained an updated map for the second dose COVID vaccination clinic to be held on March 27; no other personal information or health information was included.

Chautauqua County is currently conducting an in-depth investigation of this situation. The Department of Health and Human Services is responding to this incident by sending letters to all of the March 26 email recipients informing them of this situation, conducting supplemental HIPAA and protected health information staff trainings in addition to its yearly mandatory trainings, and issuing e-mail security and best practice reminders to its staff to ensure this type of accident does not occur again.

Chautauqua County and the Department of Health and Human Services recognize the unfortunate nature of this incident and assure the public that protecting the confidentiality and privacy of individuals’ personal and health information in our possession is among Chautauqua County’s highest priorities.

Anyone with questions is asked to call Debra Zahn, county compliance officer, at 753-4714.

DMV Terminals Back In Service

Chautauqua County Clerk Larry Barmore on Tuesday said the Department of Motor Vehicles testing terminals that had been out of service as well as the state road test scheduling website are back in service.

Land Bank

Corporation To Meet Today

The Chautauqua County Land Bank Corporation board will meet at 9 a.m. today online via Zoom. The public is welcome to attend by emailing gparadis@chautauqualandbank.org with a request to register for the meeting, including the viewer’s name, address and phone number. They will then receive a link and password. A recording of the meeting will be available. County land bank meetings are conducted to discuss business associated with the acquisition and potential sale of property by the land bank and other official business as required. Agendas will be provided at the meetings. For more information, call Paradis at 969-7843.

CAP To Host Step Up For Kids 5K Run/Walk

On May 15, the Child Advocacy Program will host its eighth annual Step Up For Kids 5K Run/Walk at Cassadaga Beach. The Step Up for Kids Run is an awareness event to raise funds to support CAP’s counseling and advocacy programs, prevention trainings, forensic interviews, and medical evaluations. CAP has two offices, one at 405 West Third Street in Jamestown and another at 425 Main Street in Dunkirk. Community members will need to pre-register at capjustice.org for the 5KRun/Walk as there will be no registration available the day of the race. There will be a number of protocols in place for the safety of our runners and volunteers. All participants are asked to wear a mask and respect social distancing requirements. The race is limited to 100 participants. Race day begins at 9 a.m. with the 5K Run/Walk starting at 10 a.m.