About Us

Who We Are
The West Virginia State Privacy Office (SPO) protects the privacy of Personally Identifiable Information (PII) collected and maintained by Executive Branch Agencies. Originally housed at the West Virginia Health Care Authority beginning in 2003 per Executive Order 7-03, the SPO was moved to the West Virginia Board of Risk and Insurance Management (BRIM) in 2017, by Executive Order 3-17. The SPO has worked closely with BRIM for many years, in developing risk mitigation strategies in the areas of privacy and cyber liability.

The SPO consists of a Chief Privacy Officer, an Assistant Chief Privacy Officer, and an Administrative Secretary. It leads the Privacy Management Team (PMT), an enterprise-wide team established to promote the protection of PII (including protected health information (PHI)) while balancing others’ need and right to know. The PMT is comprised of Privacy Officers from each Executive Branch Department, as well as representatives from the Governor’s Office, BRIM leadership, the state’s Cyber Security Office and others. The Privacy Office and the PMT work together to develop privacy policies and procedures for the Executive Branch Departments and to support the team’s objectives including keeping up-to-date with changes and best practices within the privacy sphere.

The SPO has led compliance with the Executive Branch’s Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) Project since its formation in 2003. It also supports the Executive Branch's compliance with the Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health (HITECH) Act of 2009.