Supervisors briefed on latest SEIL happenings

By BRYCE KELLY

Mt. Pleasant News

With not a single action item on the agenda to work with during Thursday?s Henry County Board of Supervisors meeting, Supervisor Marc Lindeen took some time to update Supervisors Gary See and Greg Moeller on the recent happenings of Southeast Iowa Link (SEIL).

Southeast Iowa Link provides health and social services to Des Moines, Henry, Jefferson, Keokuk, Lee, Louisa, Van Buren and Washington counties. Their mission is to provide integrated and individualized services that create opportunities to improve the lives of local citizens.

During SEIL?s latest board meeting, it was decided to provide an exception to policy for one individual citing that the exception will be valid for one year.

?We have core points that individuals have to meet in order to receive services from SEIL. With this individual, we found that they do not meet our core points, but we also found that they are unable to gain assistance from other government entities,? explained Lindeen. ?After looking into their needs and situation, we feel it?s vital they do receive services from some entity, so SEIL decided to make an exception to policy for them.?

According to Lindeen, SEIL does not make policy exceptions on a regular basis, and says ?less than a handful? of SEIL clients is currently registered for services due to an exception to policy.

In addition to discussion of SEIL policy, Lindeen also stated that the SEIL board is currently looking into hiring an independent attorney to represent them.

?I first brought up this idea of getting an outside attorney about a year ago, and since then it has become evident to many that having such a representative would be a good idea,? said Lindeen.

From his perspective, Lindeen feels having an attorney to represent the whole of SEIL would provide more consistency and facilitate feasible communication among the board.

?Right now, each representative has an attorney from their county that can provide legal counsel to the SEIL board,? explained Lindeen. ?By eliminating that and having one attorney representing the SEIL board, we cut out a lot of potential confusion.?

Finally, Lindeen says SEIL is also seeking out any weak links it may have in its privacy and security policies in order to stay up-to-date with current HIPAA policies and regulations.

The next Henry County Board of Supervisors meeting will be held Tuesday, June 16, at 9 a.m., inside the Henry County Courthouse.