The Washington County Board of Supervisors approved an associates agreement with Washington County Hospital and Clinics at their meeting on Tuesday. Supervisor Jack Seward Jr. gives details about what the agreement entails, “It’s associated with that agreement with the hospital, and it involves some HIPPA rules. So it’s a business agreement that both sides are going to conform to HIPPA requirements, and generally, a department head would be able to sign these agreements to enter into this kind of thing without our specific approval, but we thought this time that since Katrina is the interim director, that it ought to be passed before us to get our blessing.” HIPAA, or The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act, is a federal law that requires the creation of national standards to protect sensitive patient health information from being disclosed.