Privacy Policy

The Children's Mercy Hospital (“CMH”) has created this Privacy Policy to demonstrate its commitment to your privacy rights and protection of personally identifiable information. This Privacy Policy describes the types of information CMH may collect from you or that you may provide when you visit the CMH website (“Website”) and CMH’s practices for collecting, using, maintaining, protecting and disclosing that information. 

Acceptance of the Privacy Policy

Please read this Privacy Policy carefully to understand our policies and practices regarding your personally identifiable information and how we will manage and protect it. If you are under 18 years of age, please be sure to review this Privacy Policy with your parent or guardian. If you do not agree with these policies and practices, your choice is to not use our Website.

Children’s Privacy

CMH is committed to protecting the privacy of children. The Website is offered to and intended for adults and young adults age 13 and over, and is not intended for or designed to attract children under the age of 13 (an individual under the age of 13 is referred to as “Child” in this Privacy Policy). While some sections of the Website may be of interest to a Child, CMH does not request, seek or intentionally collect personal information from any Child. If you are a Child, do not provide any information on this Website or through any of its features. If CMH determines it has collected or received personally identifiable information from a Child without verification of parental consent, CMH will attempt to alert such child's parent or guardian of the information and will provide instructions on how the parent or guardian can delete the information, if so desired.

Information We Obtain About You and How We Collect It

CMH collects several types of information from and about users of our Website, including:

• Information that identifies or can be used to identify an individual, such as name; addresses (postal and email); telephone number; Social Security numbers; medical insurance information; financial account numbers, credit/debit card numbers, or credit report information; passwords that would permit access to an individuals’ financial account; information about specific medical conditions; and, other unique identifiers (this information is referred to as “personally identifiable information”). CMH uses reasonable efforts to collect personally identifiable information only when there is a need to do so. 

• Information that is about you but individually does not identify you.

• Information about your internet connection, the equipment you use to access the Website and usage details.

CMH collects this information:

• Directly from you when you provide it to us.

• Automatically as you navigate through the Website. Information collected automatically may include usage details, IP addresses, and information collected through cookies, but CMH does not collect personally identifiable information automatically. 

• From third parties, for example, our business partners.

Information You Provide to CMH

The information CMH collects through the Website may include: 

• Information that you provide by filling in forms on the Website.

• Records and copies of your correspondence (including email addresses), if you contact CMH. 

• Your response to surveys that we might ask you to complete and which you choose to complete voluntarily. 

Information CMH Obtains Through Automatic Data Collection Technologies

As you navigate through and interact with the Website, CMH may use automatic data collection technologies to obtain certain information about your technological equipment, browsing actions, and patterns, as described below. 

• Details of your visits to the Website, including traffic data, location data, logs and other communication data and the resources that you access and use on the Website.

• Information about your computer and internet connection, including your IP address. 

The technologies CMH uses for this automatic data collection may include: 

• Cookies. A "cookie" is a small text file stored on the hard drive of your computer. The Website uses transient "cookies" during a site visit but does not gather information from a user's computer. CMH uses “cookies” to enhance Website usability and to store users’ preferences. The "cookie" is erased when the visit ends. You may refuse to accept browser cookies by activating the appropriate setting on your browser. However, if you select this setting you may be unable to access certain parts of the Website.

• Web Beacons. Pages of the Website may contain small electronic files known as “web beacons” (also referred to as clear gifs, pixel tags, and single-pixel gifs) that permit CMH, for example, to count users who have visited those pages and for other related Website statistics.

Google AdWords Remarketing

Google AdWords Remarketing is a form of online advertising that enables CMH to display targeted advertisements to Website users. Google AdWords Remarketing keeps track of Website users and shows CMH advertisements to them while they are browsing the web.

• CMH uses remarketing to advertise across web sites.

• Google will show ads across web sites that CMH users are visiting.

• Ads shown across other web sites are based on a user’s past visits to the Website by using cookies.

Third Party Use of Cookies and Other Tracking Technologies

In addition to Google AdWords Remarketing, some content or applications on the Website are served by third parties. These third parties may use cookies (alone or in conjunction with web beacons or other tracking technologies) to collect information about you when you visit the Website. The information they collect about you may be associated with your personal information or they may collect information about your online activities over time and across different websites and other online services. They may use this information to provide you with interest-based advertising or other targeted content. 

CMH does not control these third parties’ tracking technologies or how they may be used. If you have questions about an advertisement or other targeted content, you should contact the responsible provider directly.  

How CMH Uses Your Information

CMH uses information collected through the Website:

• To provide you with information, products or services that you request from CMH.
• To contact you about CMH services and those of our affiliates, based on the preferences you have indicated.
• To customize the advertising and content you see on the Website.
• To improve the Website.
• To develop new services and ideas.
• To better administer and troubleshoot the CMH information technology systems.
• In any other way we may describe when you provide the information. 
• For any other purpose with your consent. 

How CMH Discloses Your Information

CMH may disclose aggregated information about our users, and information that does not identify any individual.

CMH may disclose personally identifiable information that you provide to CMH or that we collect as described in this policy:

• To fulfill the purpose for which you provide it. For example, to provide a service you have requested.

• To contractors, service providers and other third parties who work on behalf of CMH, but (unless you tell us otherwise) CMH does not authorize such third parties to use or disclose the personally identifiable information except as necessary to perform the work on CMH’s behalf or to comply with legal requirements.

• To comply with any court order, law, or legal process, including to respond to any government, licensing, accreditation or regulatory agency or entity.

• To enforce or apply the CMH Website Terms of Use and other agreements. 

• For any other purpose disclosed by CMH to you when you provide the information. 

Choices About How CMH Uses and Discloses Your Information

Unsolicited Information. We will give you the opportunity to opt-out of receiving any unsolicited information from CMH or to limit the unsolicited information you receive from CMH to information regarding the service about which you requested information.

Google AdWords Remarketing. You can opt-out of CMH’s Google Adwords Remarketing campaign by visiting Google’s Ads Settings page. You may visit the Google’s Ad Settings to opt-out of Google’s use of cookies for the remarketing services. Google’s Ads Settings page is located at http://www.google.com/settings/ads.

Your CMH Accounts and Passwords

If you register for a service or account through the Website, you are not anonymous to CMH. You are responsible for taking all reasonable steps to ensure that no unauthorized person has access to your CMH account(s) or password(s), if applicable. 

Data Security

CMH maintains safeguards to ensure the security of your personally identifiable information. For example, all personally identifiable information obtained through the Website is handled in accordance with HTTPS protocol, and is automatically encrypted using industry standard encryption technology. However, no method of transmission over the internet, or method of electronic storage, is 100% secure. Therefore, while CMH strives to use commercially acceptable means to protect personally identifiable information, CMH cannot guarantee its absolute security. 

The safety and security of your personally identifiable information also depends on you. Where CMH has given you or where you have chosen a password for access to certain parts of the Website, you are responsible for keeping this password confidential. 

CMH urges you to be careful about giving out personally identifiable information in public areas of the Website (if any). IF YOU PROVIDE CONFIDENTIAL INFORMATION THROUGH THE WEBSITE, IT IS AT YOUR OWN RISK.

International Transfers of Personally Identifiable Information to U.S.

CMH is located in the United States of America. CMH makes no claims that the Website is appropriate or may be downloaded outside of the United States. Access to the Website by certain persons or in certain countries may not be legal. If you access the Website from outside the United States, you do so at your own risk and are responsible for compliance with local laws.

By providing CMH with personally identifiable information, you acknowledge and agree that personally identifiable information may be transferred outside of the country from which you are accessing the Website, including transferred outside the European Economic Area (“EEA”) ”) or the United Kingdom (“UK”), to the United States. Each of these countries has different privacy laws that afford varying levels of protection for personally identifiable information, and such laws may not be as comprehensive as those that exist in the EEA or the UK. 

By registering on the Website or otherwise using our Website and services, you may be asked to separately consent to CMH and its affiliates’ transmission to, and collection and processing of, personally identifiable information about you outside the EEA or UK, in accordance with this Privacy Policy. You further acknowledge that the United States has not received a finding of “adequacy” from the European Union under Article 45 of the Regulation (EU) 2016/679 (General Data Protection Regulation)(“EU GDPR”) or under Article 45 of the UK General Data Protection Regulation (“UK GDPR”, together with EU GDPR, “GDPR”). CMH relies on derogations for specific situations as set forth in Article 49 of the GDPR. In particular, CMH collects and transfers to the U.S. personally identifiable information only: with your consent; to perform a contract with you; or to fulfill a legitimate interest of ours in a manner that is not overridden by your rights and freedoms. CMH endeavors to apply suitable safeguards to protect the privacy and security of your personally identifiable information and to use it only consistent with your relationship with us and the practices described in this Privacy Policy.

Your Rights Concerning Personally Identifiable Information

If you would like to access, amend, erase, export (i.e., data portability), or object to or restrict the processing of personally identifiable information, you may submit a request to [email protected]. CMH will promptly review all such requests in accordance with applicable laws. 

Depending on where you live, you may have a right to lodge a complaint with a supervisory authority or other regulatory agency if you believe that we have violated any of the rights concerning personally identifiable information about you. CMH encourages you to first reach out to us at [email protected] so CMH has an opportunity to address your concerns directly before you do so.

Your California Privacy Rights

California Civil Code Section 1798.83 (the “Code”) permits CMH Website users who are California residents to request and obtain from CMH information about their personally identifiable information, as defined in the Code, (if any) CMH disclosed to third parties for direct marketing purposes in the preceding calendar year. If you are a California resident and would like to make such a request, please submit your request in writing to: [email protected].

Retention of Personally Identifiable Information

CMH will retain personally identifiable information about you for the period necessary to fulfill the purposes for which personally identifiable information about you has been collected as outlined in this Privacy Policy, unless a longer retention period is required by law. 

Policies of Other Sites

This Privacy Policy applies only the personally identifiable information obtained by CMH through the Website and in electronic messages between you and the Website. The Website contains links to other websites.  CMH is not responsible for the privacy practices of such other sites. You should read the privacy policies of each site you visit to determine what information that site may be collecting about you and the site owner’s privacy practices with respect to the management and privacy of such information.

Changes to this Privacy Policy

CMH reserves the right to change, modify or otherwise update this Privacy Policy at any time. Such changes or updates will be effective immediately upon notice thereof, which may be given by posting on this page, by electronic or conventional mail or by any other means by which you obtain notice of the changes or updates. The date the Privacy Policy was last revised is identified at the top of the page. You are responsible for periodically visiting this page to check for any changes to CMH’s privacy practices. 

Contact Information

To ask questions or comment about this Privacy Policy and CMH’s privacy practices, contact CMH at:

The Children’s Mercy Hospital
Attn: Privacy Officer
2401 Gillham Road
Kansas City, MO 64108

or, via email at: [email protected].