Jefferson City Public Schools’ Board of Education last month approved a cloud-computing service that will grant sideline or courtside coaches and medical staff with instant access to student athletes’ emergency medical information.
“I remember the days of photocopying physicals, getting the forms and carrying it with me. This just expedites and makes it more accessible in case of an emergency,” JCPS Director of Secondary Education Gary Verslues told the board about Privit, which is provided by a Columbus, Ohio-based company.
Robert Ndessokia, the district’s assistant director of activities for middle schools, looked into a way to keep student athletes’ physical and medical information documents more accessible, Verslues said.
Privit is endorsed by the Missouri State High School Activities Association and has been adopted by numerous high schools in the state, including David H. Hickman High School in Columbia, he added.
“Robert came to us from Columbia Public Schools, and he said they’re loving every bit of it,” Verslues said of Hickman’s first year using Privit.
The News Tribune tried to contact Columbia Public Schools about their use of Privit, but did not receive a response.
Verslues told the board Privit “stores medical information for seven years in a highly secure, HIPPA-compliant system that meets the strenuous security and privacy requirements of major NCAA collegiate athletic programs such as Alabama, Florida, Stanford and many others.”
HIPPA refers to federal medical privacy laws that restrict the release of medical information.
Privit has a sideline app or mobile-enhanced website, and either option provides coaches with “instant access to an athlete’s emergency medical information. It also allows medics, athletic trainers or coaches to file detailed reports. In addition to collecting required medical forms, Privit can also host any form that’s required for completion by parents and athletes, such as drug-testing consent forms, athletic handbook verification forms, transportation permission forms, etc.,” Verslues said.
The board unanimously approved a $7,000 contract with Privit — $1,000 is due Aug. 1, another $3,000 on Aug. 1, 2019, and another $3,000 on Aug. 1, 2020.