Easter Seals Disability Services

• Online Network: Privacy Policy
• Personal Health Information: Privacy Practices

Easter Seals Online Network Privacy Policy

Notification of Change
The Information We Collect
Opting Out
Your California Privacy Rights
Correct/Update Your Profile
Aggregate Information
Cookies
Security of Your Information
Tell-A-Friend, Ecards and Personal Fundraising Pages
Links to Other Web Sites
Information from Children
Transmission of Health-Related Data

Welcome to the Easter Seals Online Network, the Web site of Easter Seals, Inc. (Easter Seals headquarters) and participating Easter Seals affiliates across the country.

Because Easter Seals values the privacy of constituents visiting the Easter Seals Online Network, users of the Easter Seals Online Network have the right to manage their own personal information.

You can contact Easter Seals for more information related to the privacy of the information you provide online:

Mail:  233 South Wacker Drive, Suite 2400, Chicago, IL 60606.
Phone:  312-726-6200
Online:  Click here to contact Easter Seals via email. Your request will be answered within 2-3 business days.

Notification of Change
Easter Seals reserves the right to change this policy at any time. Easter Seals privacy policy will be kept up-to-date and clearly posted on our Web site.

The Information We Collect
On many pages of the Easter Seals Online Network -- in particular when donating online, completing an action alert, registering for a special event, purchasing a product, or completing various feedback forms -- visitors are asked to list name, address, and other personal contact information. Information collected is specifically and knowingly provided by site visitors and may include name, email address, format preference (HTML vs. text), address, telephone number, interests and other similar information. Collecting this information helps Easter Seals to better provide site visitors with relevant and useful content.

Easter Seals has partnered with Convio, Inc. to power the Web content, email and transaction processing capabilities to serve our constituents and fulfill our mission on the Internet. Convio, Inc. is an Internet software and services company that provides online electronic Constituent Relationship Management (eCRM) solutions for nonprofit organizations and higher education institutions. Convio will not disclose your name or other personally identifiable information (such as your e-mail address or phone number) to any party other than Easter Seals.

Neither Easter Seals nor Convio store sensitive information such as credit card numbers. When an online transaction is completed through the Easter Seals Online Network, such as a charitable contribution, credit card information is used solely for the purpose of completing that specific transaction and is not retained in the Easter Seals or Convio database.

Easter Seals will not sell, share or exchange personal contact information collected from this Web site with other organizations. If a user has a previous relationship with Easter Seals through another channel (i.e., mail, phone), Easter Seals will occasionally rent or exchange those names and addresses with other organizations as a way of providing extra funds to help support services. If you do not want to participate in this program, please let us know.

Visitors to the Easter Seals Online Network are not required to share any personally identifiable information. Users who do not wish to share personal information when visiting the Easter Seals Online Network can still access the Network's Web pages and the valuable information provided.

Opting Out
Easter Seals provides site visitors with the opportunity to opt-out of receiving our online and offline communications.

If you would like to opt-out of receiving email communications please update your user profile. Email unsubscribe requests are processed immediately.

To discontinue the receipt of postal mail, please contact Easter Seals. Shortly, Easter Seals will be adding the capability to remove your name from our postal mailing list online. You'll need to register as user of the Easter Seals Online Network. Please note: there is a 8-12 week lapse period due to the fact that a subsequent mailing may already be in production. If you do receive another mailing, please disregard it.

Your California Privacy Rights
To review a special notice for California residents only per California Privacy Law (SB27): Exchanging, Renting, Reselling Personal Information, please visit the "Your California Privacy Rights" section. 

Correct/Update Your Profile
Easter Seals offers the option to change and modify personally identifiable information. Upon your request, Easter Seals will remove personally identifying information retained in organizational databases. If you are a registered user of this site, you can access your Easter Seals profile and update your contact information and user preferences by clicking here.

Easter Seals reserves the right to maintain information on users who have had their access to the Easter Seals Online Network blocked.

Aggregate Information
Demographic and profile data (i.e., age, gender, browser usage) is also collected via the Easter Seals Online Network. Easter Seals uses such data to improve marketing and promotional efforts, statistically analyze site usage, improve content and product offerings and to customize site content, layout, and services. Additionally, this data may be shared with third parties on an aggregated basis. Easter Seals does not share personally identifying information with third parties, except to a court or governmental agency if required by law and as stated above in the section titled "The Information We Collect."

Cookies
A cookie is a small text file a Web site places on a site visitor’s computer hard drive. Its purpose is to let the site know when a user visits and to perform certain functions such as saving passwords and personal preferences.
 
Cookies help evaluate visitors' use of a Web site, such as what viewers want to see and what they never read. This information allows Easter Seals to better focus online information and to concentrate on information people are using.

Your browser is probably set to accept cookies. If you would like to turn this feature off, you will need to change the settings of your Internet browser.

Security of Your Information
All credit card and personal profile information provided to Easter Seals or our Internet software partner, Convio, Inc., is transmitted using SSL (Secure Socket Layer) encryption using Verisign as a payment gateway. SSL is a proven coding system that allows a browser to automatically encrypt, or scramble, data before it is sent.

Easter Seals also protects account information by placing it on a secure portion of the Easter Seals Online Network that is only accessible by certain qualified employees of Easter Seals. Unfortunately, no data transmission over the Internet is 100% secure. Easter Seals strives to protect your information, however cannot ensure or warrant the security of such information.

Tell-A-Friend, Ecards and Personal Fundraising Pages
If you elect to use the referral service to inform a friend about a page on the Easter Seals Online Network, send an ecard, or raise funds for Easter Seals by soliciting friends and family, you will be asked for the friend's name and email address. Easter Seals will automatically send the friend a one-time email inviting them to visit the site. Easter Seals stores this information to send this one-time email only. In addition, the contact information will be maintained solely for the future convenience of the individual who provided the information -- to send subsequent ecards or fundraising reminders/updates.

Links to Other Web Sites
Easter Seals has links to other Web sites outside of the Easter Seals Online Network. Easter Seals is not responsible for the content of any linked Web site, or any link contained in a linked Web site, or any changes or updates to such Web sites. The inclusion of any link does not imply endorsement by Easter Seals of that Web site.

In addition, please be aware that Easter Seals is not responsible for the privacy practices of such other Web sites. Easter Seals encourages you to read the privacy statements of each and every Web site that requests personal information from you.

Information from Children
Easter Seals does not seek to collect personal information about children through the Easter Seals Online Network. If a child submits information through any part of the Network, and Easter Seals is aware that the user submitting the information is a child, the information is not used for any purpose, nor is it disclosed to third parties. Easter Seals will comply with all regulations set forward by the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA). To learn more about COPPA, visit the Federal Trade Commission.

Transmission of Health-Related Data
Easter Seals understands the sensitivity of collecting and using health-related data. Personally identifiable health-related data collected on the Easter Seals Online Network will not be shared with entities other than Easter Seals, Inc., and Easter Seals affiliates. Any transfer of personally identifiable health-related data between Easter Seals organizations will take place in a secure environment with access allowed only to certain qualified employees of Easter Seals. Easter Seals will comply with all regulations set forward by the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA). To learn more about HIPAA, visit the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office for Civil Rights.

Notice of Privacy Practices

THIS NOTICE DESCRIBES HOW MEDICAL INFORMATION ABOUT YOU MAY BE USED AND DISCLOSED AND HOW YOU CAN GET ACCESS TO THIS INFORMATION. 
PLEASE REVIEW IT CAREFULLY.

This Notice applies to Easter Seals Central Pennsylvania referred to as the “Agency”.

OUR RESPONSIBILITIES UNDER THE FEDERAL PRIVACY STANDARD

In addition to providing you with your rights, as detailed below, the federal privacy standard requires the Agency to:

• Maintain the privacy of your health information, including implementing reasonable and appropriate physical, administrative, and technical safeguards to protect the information.
• Provide you with this Notice as to our legal duties and privacy practices with respect to the individually identifiable health information we collect and maintain about you.
• Abide by the terms of this Notice.
• Mitigate (lessen the harm of) any breach of privacy or confidentiality.

All Agency staff, volunteers and contracted individuals who are involved in providing your care are expected to follow the privacy practices as stated in this Notice.

USE AND DISCLOSURE OF HEALTH INFORMATION

The Agency will not use or disclose your health information without your authorization, except as described in this Notice or otherwise required by law.  We reserve the right to change our practices and to make the new provisions effective for all individually identifiable health information we maintain.  Should we change our information practices, you may request a copy of the Notice or access it at our website (http://www.eastersealscentralpa.org/).

The following are examples of how the Agency will use and disclose your health information for treatment, payment and healthcare operations.  These examples are not meant to be inclusive, but describe types of uses and disclosures.

To Provide Treatment. 
A therapist, teacher or other member of your healthcare team will record information in your clinical record to assess and/or diagnose your condition and determine the best course of treatment for you.  Your physician may give treatment orders and document what she or he expects other members of the healthcare team to do to provide you with care or service.  Those other members will then document the actions they took and their observations.  

We will also provide your physician, other healthcare professionals or providers, with copies of portions of your clinical record in order to coordinate your care while you are receiving services from the Agency and/or after you are discharged. 

To Obtain Payment. 
The Agency’s business office staff will use your health information and may include your health information on invoices to collect payment from third parties for the care you receive from us. 

The information on or accompanying the bill may include information that identifies you, your diagnosis, treatment received and supplies used. 

To Conduct Health Care Operations. 
Members of the Agency’s clinical and support staff, including clerical staff, will use your information to conduct the day-to-day operations that support the care that we provide to you.  Agency staff may also use information in your clinical record for other health care operations such as: quality assessment and improvement activities; activities designed to improve health or reduce health care costs; training programs; accreditation, certification, licensing or credentialing activities.

The Agency may use information about you including your name, address, phone number and the dates you received care at the Agency in order to contact you or your family to raise money for the Agency.  We may also release this information to a related Agency foundation.  We may contact you to provide appointment reminders or provide information about treatment alternatives or other health-related benefits and services that may be of interest to you.  If you do not want the Agency to contact you or your family, notify the Compliance Officer and indicate that you do not wish to be contacted.  

Federal privacy rules allow the Agency to use or disclose your health information without your prior authorization for a number of other reasons, which include: when required by law, public health purposes, abuse or neglect reporting, health oversight activities, research studies, funeral arrangements, when a crime has been committed at the Agency; workers’ compensation and emergencies.

Unless you object, our staff, using their best judgment, may disclose to a member of your family, close personal relative, close personal friend, or any other person you identify, health information relevant to that person’s involvement in your care or payment related to your care.  We may also use or disclose your information to any of these people to notify or assist in notifying them of your location and general condition in case of an emergency. 

YOUR RIGHTS UNDER THE FEDERAL PRIVACY STANDARD

Although your health records are the physical property of the healthcare provider who completed it, you have certain rights with regard to the information the record contains.  You have the right to:

Request restrictions on the uses and disclosures of your health information for treatment, payment, and health care operations.  “Healthcare operations” consists of activities that are necessary to carry out the operations of the Agency, such as quality assurance and peer review.   The Agency does not, however, have to agree to the restriction.  If we do, however, we will adhere to it unless you request otherwise or we give you advance notice.  If you wish to make a request for restrictions, please contact the Agency staff providing you with care.

Review and request a copy your health information, including billing records.  Again, this right is not absolute.  In certain situations, such as if a review would cause harm, the Agency can deny access. 

In certain limited situations, we may deny you access to your clinical record.  If we do, you may request a review of our decision denying your request.  If you request that our denial be reviewed, another licensed healthcare professional must evaluate the decision within 60 days.  Reasons for denial may include:

• A licensed healthcare professional has determined, in the exercise of professional judgment, that the access is reasonably likely to endanger the life or physical safety of you or another person.
• The information in your clinical record makes reference to another person and a licensed healthcare provider has determined, on the exercise of professional judgments, that the access is reasonably likely to cause substantial harm to the other person.
• The request is made by your personal representative and a licensed healthcare professional has determined, in the exercise of professional judgment, that providing access to this person is reasonably likely to cause substantial harm to you or another person.
• The information was compiled in reasonable anticipation of or for use in a civil, criminal or administrative actions or proceedings.
• The information was obtained from someone other than another healthcare provider, under a promise of confidentiality and the request would be reasonably likely to reveal the source of the information.

If we deny you access, we will explain why and inform you of your rights, including how to seek a review.

If we grant access, we will tell you what, if anything, you have to do to get access.  The Agency reserves the right to charge a reasonable, cost-based fee for making copies.  A request to review or to obtain a copy of your record can be made to any of the Agency staff providing you with care.

Right to amend your health care information.  If you believe that the information in your clinical record is incorrect or incomplete, you may request that the Agency amend the record.  That request may be made as long as the information is maintained by the Agency.  A request for an amendment of records must be made in writing to the Compliance Officer. 

We may deny the request if it is not in writing or does not include a reason for the amendment.  The request also may be denied if your clinical record was not created by the Agency, if the records you are requesting are not part of our records, if the health information you wish to amend is not part of the health information you are permitted to inspect and copy, or if, in the opinion of the Agency, the records containing your health information are accurate and complete.  If we deny your request for amendment, we will notify you why, how you can attach a statement of disagreement to your records (which we may rebut), and how you can complain.  If we grant your request, we will make the correction and distribute the correction to those who need it and those you identify to us that you want to receive the corrected information.

Right to receive confidential communication.  You have the right to request that health information about you be communicated to you in a confidential manner.  For example, you may ask that we send you mail to an address other than your home address.  We will not request that you provide any reasons for your request and will attempt to honor your reasonable requests.  Unless you make a request, we will use the information you have given us to contact you by sending mail to your home address, by calling at your home telephone number, and by leaving a very limited message on your answering machine (if you have one).  If you wish to receive confidential communications, please discuss this with the staff providing you with service.

Right to an accounting.  You have the right to request an accounting of disclosures of your health information made by the Agency for any reasons other than for treatment, payment, or health operations, or when you signed an authorization for us to disclose the information.  The request for an accounting must be made in writing to the Compliance Officer.  The request should specify the time period for the accounting no earlier than April 14, 2003.  Accounting requests may not be made for periods of time more than six years.  We will provide the first accounting you request during any 12-month period without charge.  Subsequent accounting requests in the 12-month period may be subject to a reasonable cost-based fee.

Right to a paper copy of this notice.  You have a right to a paper copy of this Notice at any time, even if you have received this Notice previously.  To obtain a separate paper copy, please contact the Compliance Officer.  You may also obtain a copy of the current version of the Agency’s Notice of Privacy Practices at our website, http://www.eastersealscentralpa.org/

Right to revoke your authorization to use or disclose information except to the extent that we have already taken action in reliance on your previous authorization.

CONTACT PERSON

You have the right to express complaints to the Agency and to the Secretary of Health and Human Services if you believe that your privacy rights have been violated.  Any complaints to the Agency should be made in writing to the Compliance Officer.  The Agency encourages you to express any concerns you may have regarding the privacy of your information.  You will not be retaliated against in any way for filing a complaint

The Compliance Officer can be reached at 814-944-5014 or 1-888-372-7280, during the Agency’s regular business hours of 8:00 am to 4:00 pm.

EFFECTIVE DATE

This Notice is effective September 1, 2006.