DRAFT IGA BTW OME AND ASU FOR ELDER ABUSE STUDY.PDF
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Intergovernmental Agreement (IGA)
For
Data Sharing
Between
Arizona Board of Regents for and on behalf of
Arizona State University
And
Maricopa County through the Office of the Medical Examiner
This Intergovernmental Agreement (“IGA” or “Agreement”) No. is entered into as of the
last signature date herein (the “Effective Date”), pursuant to A.R.S. §§11-951 et seq., between
Maricopa County through the Office of the Medical Examiner (“MCOME”) and the Arizona Board
of Regents for and on behalf of Arizona State University (“ASU”), which shall be collectively
referred to as the Parties and each individually as a Party.
1. PURPOSE OF THE AGREEMENT:
This Agreement establishes the basis for the Maricopa County Office of the Medical Examiner
(MCOME) to share with ASU information contained in its records regarding decedents in
Maricopa County, aged 60 and older. The records will be used for the purpose of contributing
to understanding whether fractures sustained in a fall differ in pattern from fractures
associated with non-accidental injury.
The sharing of such records data will be in accordance with the terms and conditions stated
in this Agreement and predicated on the mutual assurance that all unique identifiers in these
data will be protected and kept strictly confidential.
2. TERM OF THE AGREEMENT:
The term of this Agreement shall become effective upon approval of the Maricopa County
Board of Supervisors and shall remain in effect for a period of five (5) years unless otherwise
terminated or canceled as provided herein.
This Agreement may be executed in two or more counterparts, each of which shall be deemed
an original but all of which together shall constitute the same instrument. Faxed, copied and
scanned signatures are acceptable as original signatures.
3. TERMINATION OR AMENDMENT:
Each Party shall have the right to terminate this Agreement by mailing the other Party written
notice of termination by certified mail, return receipt requested, at least thirty (30) days prior
to the termination date. This Agreement may be modified at any time by mutual written
amendment signed by the authorized representative of the respective Parties.
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4. CONFIDENTIALITY:
A. Any information that may be exchanged through this Agreement shall be subject to
the requirements of Section 15, and not be used for purposes other than those covered
in the Section 15 Scope of Work without prior approval of all Parties to this Agreement.
B. Neither medical information nor personally identifying information that may be
exchanged through this Agreement shall be made available for any political or
commercial purpose, nor shall such information be used as basis for determining
eligibility for care or source of payment for care to any individual.
5. PUBLIC RECORDS:
Notwithstanding any other provision of this Agreement, the Parties acknowledge that they are
subject to A.R.S. 39-121 through 39-128 regarding public records. Any provision regarding
confidentiality is limited to the extent necessary to comply with the provisions of Arizona law.
All reports of the medical examiner are subject to additional protections provided for by ARS
§ 11-597.02 and Schoeneweis v Hamner, 223 Ariz. 169, 221 P.3d 48 (App. 2009). ASU shall
not disclose reports originating from the medical examiner. ASU shall direct all individuals
making a request for medical examiner reports in ASU’s possession to the MCOME for such
reports.
6. APPLICABLE LAW:
This Agreement will be governed by and construed in accordance with the laws of the State
of Arizona. In addition, ASU’s obligations hereunder are subject to the laws of the State of
Arizona and the policies of the Arizona Board of Regents. The Parties agree that the venue
for any claim arising out of any or in any way related to this Agreement shall be Maricopa
County, Arizona.
7. COMPLIANCE WITH FEDERAL LAWS:
The Parties warrant that they are in compliance with all State and Federal laws.
8. CONFLICT OF INTEREST:
Pursuant to A.R.S. §38-511, the State, its political subdivisions or any department or agency
of either may, within three (3) years after its execution, cancel any Agreement, without penalty
or further obligation, made by the State, its political subdivisions, or any of the departments or
agencies of either if any person significantly involved in initiating, negotiating, securing,
drafting or creating the Agreement on behalf of the State, its political subdivisions or any of
the departments or agencies of either is, at any time while the Agreement or any extension of
the Agreement is in effect, an employee or agent of any other Party to the Agreement in any
capacity or a consultant to any other Party of the Agreement with respect to the subject matter
of the Agreement. A cancellation made pursuant to this provision shall be effective when ASU
or Maricopa County through the Office of the Medical Examiner receives written notice of the
cancellation unless the notice specifies a later time.
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9. ARBITRATION:
Pursuant to A.R.S. §12-1518, disputes under this Agreement shall be resolved through the
use of arbitration as follows:
a) Cases under the Jurisdictional Limit. The Parties agree to arbitrate disputes filed in
Arizona Superior Court that are subject to mandatory arbitration pursuant to A.R.S.
§12-133. A.R.S. §12-1518 requires this provision in all ASU contracts unless all
Parties file a written stipulation waiving the arbitration requirement, and the court
waives the arbitration requirement on a showing of good cause.
10. FUNDING:
This Agreement is not an obligation of or a commitment of funds, or a basis for a transfer of
funds, but rather a statement of agreement between the Parties concerning the sharing and
use of information related to the purposes of this Agreement. Expenditures by each Party
are subject to that Party's budgetary processes and to the availability of funds and resources
pursuant to applicable laws, regulations, and policies of the respective Parties.
11. RELATIONSHIP:
Nothing in this Agreement shall make any ASU employee or MCOME employee an agent or
employee of the other Party to this Agreement.
12. INSURANCE:
The Maricopa County Office of the Medical Examiner and ASU are self-insured for liability per
A.R.S. § 41-621.
13. INDEMNIFICATION:
Each Party (as "indemnitor") agrees to indemnify, defend, and hold harmless the other Party
(as "indemnitee") from and against any and all claims, losses, liability, costs, or expenses
(including reasonable attorney's fees) (hereinafter collectively referred to as "claims") arising
out of bodily injury of any person (including death) or property damage, but only to the extent
that such claims which result in vicarious/derivative liability to the indemnitee are caused by
the act, omission, negligence, misconduct, or other fault of the indemnitor, its officers, officials,
agents, employees, or volunteers. Notwithstanding any other provision of this Agreement to
the contrary, the Parties acknowledge that ASU is a public institution and instrumentality of
the State of Arizona and, as such, any hold harmless provision is limited as provided by the
laws of the State of Arizona, including without limitation, Article 9, Section 7 of the Arizona
Constitution and Sections 35-154 and 41-621 of the Arizona Revised Statutes. ASU’s liability
under any hold harmless claim is therefore limited to claims for property damage, personal
injury or death to the extent caused by acts or omissions of ASU.
14. BACKGROUND:
ASU is conducting a research study entitled “Research on the Abuse, Neglect, and
Exploitation of Elderly Individuals, Fiscal Year 2020” (“Research Project”) under the direction
of Katelyn Bolhofner, PhD, Assistant Professor (“ASU Researcher”). The purpose of this
study is to gather data on fractures seen in decedents over the age of 60, in order to help
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understand whether fractures sustained in a fall differ in pattern from fractures associated with
non-accidental injury. Data gathered will be analyzed with the goal of establishing a skeletal
atlas of elder abuse to help inform stakeholders. Utilizing radiographs and bone samples
showing fractures at varying stages of healing from cases of suspected elder abuse and
witnessed accidental falls, the research project aims to address a gap in current knowledge
of how the aging process affects healing time following a fracture. Results will aid in education
and improved criminal justice procedures as it clarifies how differentiation of physical abuse
from accidental injury contributes to the identification of modifiable risk factors for prevention
of abuse.
15. SCOPE OF WORK:
A. MCOME agrees to provide ASU with the following records (“Data”):
i.
Access to Preliminary Investigative Reports (PIR), Autopsy Reports,
Toxicology Reports, and Radiographs for cases where the decedent is over
the age of 60.
a) ASU will access these reports dated 2017 and forward.
b) These reports will be made available to ASU through use of an OME-
issued laptop already provided as part of the voluntary anthropology
work Dr. Bolhofner conducts for OME as she provides services for
continuity in the absence of the forensic anthropologist and acts as a
secondary opinion for cases.
c) ASU understands and agrees that MCOME reserves the right to restrict
and/or withhold access to any and all such reports and records which,
in MCOME's sole discretion, is necessary and otherwise appropriate in
order to comply with the Arizona Court of Appeals’ most recent decision
in Schoeneweis v Hamner, 223 Ariz. 169, 221 P.3d 48 (App. 2009) and
ARS § 11-597.02.
d) ASU understands that review of OME records may be subject to
approval by law enforcement, the Maricopa County Attorney’s Office,
and Victim Services.
B. Confidential Information:
i.
The Parties agree to provide and access information following a mutually
agreeable format. All confidential information in the Data records furnished
shall be marked confidential if disclosed in written or other tangible form, or if
disclosed orally or visually, identified as confidential at the time of disclosure
and reduced to writing and marked confidential and transmitted to the receiving
Party within thirty (30) days of the initial disclosure.
ii.
Without MCOME prior written approval, ASU will not use, or disclose to any
third Party, confidential information contained in the Data records of MCOME
in any manner whatsoever except for the "Purpose" stated in Section 1 and will
require that its employees and agents, and third parties, who have access to
such confidential information maintain the same in strict confidence after the
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termination of this Agreement; provided that ASU's obligations hereunder shall
not apply to information that was already known to the receiving Party prior to
the time of first disclosure, as demonstrated by contemporaneous, written
documentation; or
a) At the time of disclosure is in the public domain, or after the date of the
disclosure, lawfully becomes a part of the public domain other than
through breach of this Agreement by the receiving Party; or
b) Is received without any obligation of confidentiality from a third Party
having a legal right to disclose the same; or
c) Is independently developed by the receiving Party by individuals
without
access
to
such
information,
as
demonstrated
by
contemporaneous, written documentation; or
d) Is required to be disclosed by the receiving Party pursuant to a legally
enforceable order, subpoena, or other regulation ("ORDER"), provided,
however, that the receiving Party promptly notifies the disclosing Party
in advance of such disclosure and discloses only that INFORMATION
necessary to comply with said ORDER.
C. Data Rights and Protection:
i.
ASU agrees to carefully restrict use and access of information to those
persons designated by ASU and agrees that MCOME retains ownership of
its Data. Data provided by MCOME for review by ASU are for the use of the
research project only and no copies may be made of such records to provide
to other individuals or entities, or for any other purposes. ASU may not
release, store, save, disseminate or otherwise use Data in any manner or
form that is not authorized in this Agreement. Notwithstanding the forgoing,
ASU shall be permitted to freely publish, without prior MCOME written
approval, Data in aggregate form with no identifiers.
ii.
ASU agrees that it is responsible for safely maintaining the integrity and
confidentiality of MCOME’s data received or under its control as a result of
the Agreement. ASU will immediately notify MCOME upon discovery of a
breach of the Data, and will work cooperatively with MCOME to terminate,
minimize, and resolve the breach.
iii.
ASU shall prohibit identifying information about a person that was supplied
under the terms of this Agreement from being released to anyone not
working on the research project.
iv.
ASU shall require all officers, agents and employees to keep all such shared
confidential information strictly confidential as set forth in Section 15C. To
communicate the requirements for this section to all officers, agents and
employees, to discipline all persons who may violate the requirements of this
section and to notify the originating Party in writing within forty-eight (48)
hours of any violation and corrective actions to be taken.
D. Title to any intellectual property conceived, expressed, and/or reduced to
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practice as a result of performance of this Agreement will belong to the creator
or author, which will be determined in accordance with United States patent and
copyright law.
16. AUTHORITY:
A. This Agreement does not imply authority to perform any tasks, or acceptance
responsibility, not expressly stated in this Agreement.
B. This Agreement does not create a duty or responsibility unless the intention to do so
is clearly and unambiguously stated in the Agreement.
17. SECTION HEADINGS:
Sections and other headings contained in this Agreement are for reference purposes only and
shall not affect in any way the meaning or interpretation of this Agreement.
18. NOTICES, CORRESPONDENCE, AND REPORTS:
Notices, correspondence, and reports shall be sent to:
COUNTY
ASU
Administrative Director
AZ Board of Regents on behalf of
Maricopa County Office of the
Arizona State University
Medical Examiner
Ms. Kristy Macdonald
PO Box 876011
701 W Jefferson Street
Tempe AZ 85287-6011
Phoenix AZ 85007
Email: asu.awards@asu.edu
Phone: 602-506-3322
Phone: 480-965-9077
Copy: Katelyn Bolhofner, PhD
4701 W Thunderbird Rd
Glendale, AZ 85306-4900
Katelyn.Bolhofner@asu.edu
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SIGNATURE APPROVALS:
COUNTY
By:___________________________________
Chairman, Board of Supervisors
(DATE)
APPROVED AS TO FORM
ATTEST
By:__________________________________ By:_______________________________
Attorney for the Board of Supervisors (DATE) Clerk of the Board of Supervisors (DATE)
ARIZONA BOARD OF REGENTS
APPROVED AS TO FORM
FOR AND ON BEHALF OF ARIZONA
STATE UNIVERSITY
By:_________________________________
By:________________________________
(DATE)
(DATE)