Woodland Terrace Senior Living and its affiliated communities is committed to protecting its residents’ protected health information (“PHI”). Our mission is to put the resident first in everything we do, including protecting our residents’ health information.
As part of its commitment to protecting PHI and in accordance with applicable laws, our Notice of Privacy Practices (“Notice”) is posted to our website.
If you have questions about anything contained in this Notice, please feel free to contact our Chief Compliance Officer. Contact information for this individual is provided in the final section of this Notice.
On behalf of Woodland Terrace Senior Living and its affiliated communities, we thank you for entrusting us to support you or your loved one to Live Life on Purpose.
Sincerely,
Ryan Novaczyk
Chief Executive Officer
NOTICE OF PRIVACY PRACTICES
THIS NOTICE OF PRIVACY PRACTICES DESCRIBES HOW HEALTH INFORMATION ABOUT YOU MAY BE USED AND DISCLOSED AND HOW YOU CAN GET ACCESS TO THIS INFORMATION. PLEASE REVIEW IT CAREFULLY.
This Notice of Privacy Practices (“Notice”) applies to the New Perspective Senior Living Communities (individually referred to herein as “Community” and collectively as “Communities”) included in Appendix A of this Notice.
Communities’ Responsibilities
By law, our Communities must keep protected health information (“PHI”) private, to provide you with this Notice, and to follow the terms and conditions of this Notice. Our Chief Compliance Officer will ensure any breaches of your PHI is reported in accordance with applicable laws.
The federal government defines PHI as any information, whether oral, electronic or paper, which is created or received by Communities that relates to a resident’s physical or mental health condition, or payment for any services provided to the resident. This does not only include services but also certain demographic information, such as your name, address and telephone number, documented in your health record.
A Word About Federal and State Law
Federal and state laws require our Communities to protect your health information. In addition, federal law requires us to describe to you how we handle that information. When federal and state privacy laws differ, with the state law being more protective – or providing you with greater access to your information, then state law will supersede federal law. For example, wherever we have specifically identified applicable state law requirements in this Notice, Communities will follow the more prescriptive state law requirements.
PART I
Most Common Uses and Disclosures
This section describes the most common circumstances in which our Communities may use or disclose PHI.
Treatment
Our Communities will use and disclose PHI to provide, coordinate, or manage your care. This applies to disclosures for treatment purposes to health care providers both within and outside of our Communities.
Additional Applicable State Law Requirements
Minnesota Law generally requires resident consent for disclosures of PHI by our Minnesota Communities for treatment purposes; however, there is an exception where consent is not possible due to a medical emergency.
Payment
Our Communities will use and disclose PHI to create bills and collect payment from you, insurance companies, Medicaid/Managed Care Organizations and other payers. This may include providing information such as dates, that are of service to your payers. Our Communities may disclose PHI to another health care provider if such information is needed by the other health care provider to obtain payment for medical services provided to you.
Additional Applicable State Law Requirements
Minnesota Law generally requires resident consent for disclosures of PHI by Minnesota Communities for payment purposes.
Health care operations
Our Communities will use and disclose PHI if it is necessary to improve the quality of care we provide to residents or to run our communities. These include activities to improve resident care, monitor licensed staff who care for residents, prepare for state and federal regulatory reviews, train health care and non-health care professionals, manage health care operations, and improve health care services.
Communities may also disclose PHI to another health care provider who has treated you, or to your insurance company, if such information is needed. This may be the case for quality improvement activities, evaluations of health care professionals, and state and federal regulatory reviews.
Additional Applicable State Law Requirements
Minnesota law generally requires resident consent for disclosures of PHI by Minnesota Communities for health care operations purposes, unless the disclosure is to an affiliated Community.
Wisconsin law generally requires resident consent to disclose HIV test results for certain health care operations.
Resident Contacts
At times, our Communities may access information, such as your name, address and general medical condition to contact you to:
- Set up or remind you about future appointments with your other health care providers; or other information that may be of interest to you; or
- Disclose health-related benefits or services that may be of interest to you.
Community Directory
Our Communities may include your name and location within a Community in current resident lists. This information is maintained for our workforce members to assist family members and other visitors or persons in locating you.
You can choose not to have such information released in Community. Please inform the person who assists you in the move-in process if you do not want us to release such information.
Additional Applicable State Law Requirements
Wisconsin law requires resident consent for disclosure of your health condition. Our Communities generally do not provide this information, which is why we inform our residents to specifically let us know when they want this information provided to others.
Family Members and Others Involved in Your Care
Our Communities may disclose relevant PHI to a family member or friend who is involved in your care. We find that many residents want us to discuss their care with their family members and others to keep them up-to-date on your care, to help you understand your care, to help in handling your bills, or to be a part of scheduling of your appointments with your health care providers. In a disaster situation, we also may disclose relevant PHI to disaster relief organizations to help locate your family members or friends, and to inform them of your location, condition, or in case of death.
If family members or friends are present while care is being provided, the Communities will assume you want those individuals present to hear the discussion, unless you state otherwise. If you do not want our Communities to disclose your PHI to your family members, or others who are involved with your care or handling your bills, please inform the person assisting you during your move-in process.
Our Communities may also disclose your PHI to a personal representative who has authority to make health care decisions on your behalf.
Additional Applicable State Law Requirements
Wisconsin law generally requires resident consent to share PHI with family members or friends, except as required or authorized by law.
Medical Research
Medical research is vital to the advancement of medical science. Federal regulations permit use of PHI in medical research, either with your authorization, when your name and most other identifiers have been removed and the recipient of the information signs a Data Use Agreement. This is also the case when a research study in our Communities is reviewed and approved by an Institutional Review Board, before any medical research study begins. In some situations, limited information may be used before the approval of the study to allow a researcher to determine whether enough residents exist to make a study scientifically valid.
Additional Applicable State Law Requirements
Minnesota law generally requires resident consent for disclosures of PHI by our Minnesota Communities to outside researchers for medical research purposes. Our Minnesota Communities will ask for consent from their residents to participate in any research study or will make a good faith effort to obtain such consent, before releasing any identifiable information to an outside researcher for research purposes.
Wisconsin law generally requires resident consent before Communities may disclose PHI for research purposes to a researcher who is not affiliated with Communities. In some situations, Communities may disclose PHI for research purposes to a researcher who agrees to protect the privacy of your information. Private pay residents may be able to opt out of the use or disclosure of information for research purposes.
PART II
Other Potential Uses and Disclosures
This section describes the less common circumstances in which our Communities may use or disclose PHI.
To Avert a Serious Threat of Harm
Our Communities may use and disclose PHI to alert those able to prevent or lessen a serious and immediate threat to the health or safety of a resident, another person or the public.
Organ and Tissue Donation
If our Communities’ workforce determines that a resident decided to be a candidate for organ or tissue donation, Communities may release PHI to organizations that handle organ procurement, or organ, eye, tissue donation banks, or other health care organizations to make organ or tissue donation and transplantation possible.
Additional Applicable State Law Requirements
Wisconsin law generally requires resident consent to disclose mental health treatment records for organ or tissue donation purposes.
Military Personnel
If a resident is a member of the United States Armed Forces, we may release PHI as required by military authorities. Communities also may release PHI about foreign military personnel to the appropriate foreign military authority. When the military organization is sponsoring the medical evaluation, the resident’s PHI is shared with both the resident and the sponsoring organization. Residents being evaluated on behalf of the military should be aware of these arrangements.
Additional Applicable State Law Requirements
Minnesota law generally requires resident consent for disclosures of PHI by Minnesota Communities for the military purposes referenced above, unless the disclosure is specifically required by federal law.
Wisconsin law generally requires resident consent to disclose information from your mental health treatment records or HIV test results, unless the disclosure is otherwise authorized or required by law.
Workers’ Compensation
Our Communities may disclose PHI for workers’ compensation or similar programs as authorized or required by law. These programs provide benefits for work-related injuries or illness.
Public Health Purposes
Our Communities may disclose PHI for public health purposes. The following are some examples of releases that are allowed for public health purposes:
- To report vital statistics (e.g., births and deaths);
- To report to the federal government adverse reactions to medication;
- Safety problems with FDA-regulated products;
- To notify people of product recalls; or
- To report communicable diseases to local, county, state, and federal health officials.
Additional Applicable State Law Requirements
Wisconsin law generally requires resident consent to disclose information from your mental health treatment records and your HIV test results, unless the disclosure is otherwise authorized or required by law.
Health Oversight Activities
Our Communities may disclose PHI to health oversight agencies that oversee Communities’ operations or personnel. For example, PHI may be disclosed to state agencies that oversee our Communities or licensed health care personnel (e.g., Department of Health and board of nursing), or the state agencies that oversee Medicaid. These agencies need such information to monitor Communities’ compliance with state and federal laws.
Lawsuits and Other Judicial Proceedings
Our Communities may disclose PHI in response to a valid court or administrative order. Our Communities also may disclose PHI in response to certain types of subpoenas, discovery requests or other lawful process.
Law Enforcement Activities
Our Communities may disclose PHI to law enforcement officials. For example, Communities may release PHI to law enforcement officials:
- In response to a valid court order, grand jury subpoena, or search warrant;
- To identify a suspect, fugitive or missing person;
- About the victim of a crime under certain limited circumstances;
- About a death believed to be a result of criminal conduct; or
- About a crime committed on any of our Community premises.
Additional Applicable State Law Requirements
Minnesota law generally requires resident consent for disclosures of PHI for law enforcement purposes, unless the disclosure is in response to a valid court order or warrant.
Wisconsin law generally requires resident consent for disclosures of PHI for law enforcement purposes, unless the disclosure is otherwise authorized or required by law.
Coroners, Medical Examiners and Funeral Directors
Our Communities may release PHI to a coroner or medical examiner when necessary to identify the deceased, determine the cause of death, or as otherwise authorized by law. Our Communities also may release PHI to a funeral director as necessary to carry out the funeral director’s duties, including arrangements after death.
Additional State Law Requirements
Minnesota law generally requires the consent of a resident’s authorized family or legal representative for disclosures of PHI in Minnesota to funeral directors.
Wisconsin law generally requires consent of a resident’s authorized family or legal representative to release PHI to funeral directors; however, HIV test results and certain other PHI may be disclosed to a funeral director when necessary to permit the funeral director to carry out his/ her duties.
Wisconsin law generally requires consent of a resident’s authorized family or legal representative or a court order to release mental health treatment records to a coroner or medical examiner.
National Security Activities
Our Communities may release PHI to authorized federal officials for intelligence, counterintelligence or other national security activities authorized by law. Our Communities may also disclose PHI to authorized federal officials, so that they may provide protection to the President or other authorized individuals.
Additional Applicable State Law Requirements
Minnesota law generally requires resident consent for disclosures of PHI for national security purposes, unless the disclosure is specifically required by federal law.
Wisconsin law generally requires resident consent for disclosures of PHI for national security purposes, unless the disclosure is specifically required by federal law.
Required by Law
Our Communities will use or disclose PHI when required by federal, state, or local laws. For example, our Communities are required to report certain injuries that may have resulted from an unlawful act, and abuse or neglect of a child or vulnerable adult.
Permitted by Law
Our Communities may use or disclose PHI when permitted by federal, state, or local laws. For example, our Communities are permitted to make a report to the Department of Transportation regarding a resident’s ability to drive when the report is necessary to prevent or lessen a threat to the health or safety of a person or the public.
Uses and Disclosures Pursuant to an Authorization
Except for circumstances described in this Notice, or when specifically required or permitted by law, our Communities will not use or disclose your PHI without your specific written authorization. At times, our Communities may ask you to provide specific written permission to allow us to use or disclose PHI about you. Our Communities generally will not use or disclose your PHI for marketing purposes, in exchange for remuneration, or use or disclose any psychotherapy notes about you, unless we receive your authorization to do so. A valid authorization may be revoked in writing at any time. Written revocation of authorization must be submitted to the applicable Community. Once the authorization is revoked, our Communities will no longer be allowed to use or disclose PHI for the purposes described in the authorization, except to the extent the Community has already acted based upon the authorization.
Information with Additional Protections
Certain types of PHI may have additional protection under federal or state law. For example, mental health, HIV/AIDS, and genetic testing results are all treated differently from other types of PHI under certain state laws. Additionally, federally assisted alcohol and drug abuse programs are subject to certain special restrictions on the use and disclosure of alcohol and drug abuse treatment information. To the extent applicable, our Communities would need to get your written permission before disclosing that information to others.
PART III
Patients’ Rights with Respect to PHI
This section describes the rights of Community residents to PHI.
Right to Inspect and Copy
You have the right to inspect and to request a copy of information maintained in our Community’s designated health record about you. This includes medical and billing records maintained and used to make decisions about your care.
To obtain or inspect a copy of your PHI, submit a written request to the applicable Community. In accordance with applicable laws, our Communities may charge a reasonable, cost-based fee to cover the expense of providing copies.
Most residents have full access to inspect and receive a copy of their full health record. On rare occasions, our Communities may deny a request to inspect and receive a copy of some information in the health record. For example, this may occur if, in the professional judgment of our Chief Compliance Officer in collaboration with applicable Community leadership, the release of the information would be reasonably likely to endanger the life or physical safety of the resident or another person.
Right to Request Alternate Methods of Communication
You have the right to request that we communicate your health matters with you in a certain way or at a certain location. For example, a legally responsible party could ask that we contact them only at work or by email. Please note that if you choose to receive communications from us via email or other electronic means, those may not be secure means of communication. Your PHI may not be encrypted and may be contained in our emails to you. This means that there is a risk that PHI in emails may be intercepted, read by, or disclosed to, unauthorized individuals. To request confidential communication of your PHI, submit your request in writing to the executive director or the Privacy Officer of the community in which you reside. In your request, you will designate how you want to be contacted. We will accommodate all reasonable requests; however, if we are unable to contact you following the direction you provided, we may contact you through other means, using the contact information we have. We will also discuss with you any issues, if how and when you prefer to be contacted presents an unreasonable administrative burden necessitating a discussion of alternative means of communication.
Right to Request Amendment
You have the right to request that your PHI in your designated health record be amended. If you wish to request amendment of the information in your record, submit a written request to the Chief Compliance Officer. The request must include a reason to support the amendment.
The Chief Compliance Officer may deny a request for amendment based upon any of the following circumstances:
- The request is not in writing or does not include a supporting reason;
- The information you want to change was not created by any of our Communities and the originator of the information is available to make the amendment;
- The information is not part of the designated health record; or
- The information in the record is accurate and complete.
If the Chief Compliance Officer denies your request for an amendment, you will receive a written explanation of the denial. If you still disagree with the explanation provided, you can submit your written disagreement to the corporate headquarters of New Perspective Senior Living to the attention of the President, or you can ask that your request for amendment and explanation of the denial, or an accurate summary of such information, be included in any future disclosure of the pertinent PHI. If you submit a statement of disagreement, the Community may include a rebuttal statement addressing your statement of disagreement in the designated medical record.
Right to a List of Certain Disclosures
You can ask a Community for a list of the persons or organizations to which the Community has disclosed your PHI. This list would provide you with a summary of certain disclosures the Community has made, of which you would otherwise not be able to know about. The following are examples of disclosures that would not be included in the list of disclosures:
- Disclosures to carry out treatment, payment and health care operations;
- Disclosures made directly to you (the resident) or disclosures that you have specifically authorized;
- Disclosures made from the Community directory;
- Disclosures to persons involved in your care;
- Disclosures incident to a use or disclosure that is otherwise permitted or required by law;
- Disclosures made for national security or intelligence purposes;
- Disclosures made to correctional institutions or law enforcement officials having custody over a resident; or
- Disclosures that took place before April 14, 2003.
To obtain a copy of the list, submit a written request to the Chief Compliance Officer. Your request must state a time period (beginning no earlier than April 14, 2003 when the federal privacy rules went into effect and for no longer than six (6) years. The first list requested within a 12-month period shall be provided at no charge. For additional request requested during the same 12-month period, the Community may charge for the costs of providing the list.
Right to Request Restrictions
You can ask our Communities to restrict the use or disclosure of PHI about you for treatment, payment, or health care operations. Your request must be in writing and submitted to the Chief Compliance Officer. Our Communities will carefully consider all requests. Our Communities are not generally able to honor most requests, nor are our Communities legally required to do so. If you or someone on your behalf pays for a health care item or service in full, you can request that the Community not disclose information about the item or service to your health plan for payment or health care operations purposes, and the Community will agree to your request unless required by law.
Right to Notice of Privacy Practices
You have the right to obtain a paper copy of this Notice upon request, even if you have agreed to receive the Notice electronically. To obtain a paper copy of this Notice, submit a written request to the Community.
Complaints
If you want to file a complaint or express concerns about any of our Communities’ use or disclosure of PHI, please contact the Privacy Officer at the address included in Appendix A.
You also may file a written complaint with the United States Department of Health and Human Services – Office for Civil Rights. Our Communities honor your right to express concerns regarding your privacy. Our Communities would not – nor could it legally or ethically – act against you for filing a concern or complaint regarding the use, disclosure, and rights of your PHI.
Key Information About This Notice
This is a revised Notice of the New Perspective Senior Living Communities. The effective date of this revised Notice is November 8, 2019. From time to time, our Communities may change its practices concerning how we use or disclose PHI, or how we will implement resident rights concerning their information. New Perspective Senior Living Communities reserves the right to change the terms of this Notice and make the new Notice’s provisions effective for all PHI maintained by it. The Communities will follow the terms and conditions of the Notice that is currently in effect. When the Notice is revised, it will be posted within the Communities and on the New Perspective Senior Living website.
For Additional Information or Questions About This Notice
If you have any questions or would like to discuss this Notice in more detail, please contact our Chief Compliance and Privacy Officer at (952) 241-8260.
APPENDIX A
The below listed Communities are managed by New Perspective Senior Living, LLC.
CHIEF COMPLIANCE OFFICER AND PRIVACY OFFICER CONTACT INFORMATION
5900 Clearwater Drive – Suite 500, Minnetonka, MN 55343
Chief Compliance Officer and Privacy Officer at (952) 241-8260
| Community | Address | City | State | Zip |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| New Perspective | Cloquet & Barnum | 701 Horizon Dr | Cloquet | MN | 55720 |
| New Perspective | Columbia Heights | 3801 Hart Blvd., NE | Columbia Heights | MN | 55421 |
| New Perspective | Eagan | 3810 Alder Lane | Eagan | MN | 55122 |
| New Perspective | Faribault | 828 1st Street NE | Faribault | MN | 55021 |
| New Perspective | Franklin | 7220 S. Ballpark Drive | Franklin | WI | 53132 |
| New Perspective | Highland Park | 750 Mississippi River Blvd. | St. Paul | MN | 55116 |
| New Perspective | Howard | 2790 Elm Tree Hill | Howard | WI | 54313 |
| New Perspective | Island Shores | 131 E North Water St | Neenah | WI | 54956 |
| New Perspective | Long Grove | 2300 Illinois Rte. 23 | Long Grove | IL | 60047 |
| New Perspective | Mahtomedi | 113 East Avenue | Mahtomedi | MN | 55115 |
| New Perspective | Mankato | 100 Dublin Road | Mankato | MN | 56001 |
| New Perspective | Minnetonka | 500 Carlson Parkway | Minnetonka | MN | 55305 |
| New Perspective | North Shore | 8875 N. 60th Street | Brown Deer | WI | 53223 |
| New Perspective | Prior Lake | 4685 Park Nicollet Avenue SE | Prior Lake | WI | 55372 |
| New Perspective | Roseville | 2750 North Victoria Street | Roseville | MN | 55113 |
| New Perspective | Silvis | 1900 10th Street | Silvis | IL | 61282 |
| New Perspective | Sun Prairie | 222 S. Bristol Street | Sun Prairie | WI | 53590 |
| New Perspective | Twin Ports | 1915 N. 34th Street | Superior | WI | 54880 |
| New Perspective | Waconia | 500 S. Cherry Street | Waconia | MN | 55387 |
| New Perspective | Waukesha | 1701 E Broadway | Waukesha | WI | 53186 |
| New Perspective | West Bend | 2130 Continental Drive | West Bend | WI | 53095 |
| New Perspective | West Fargo | 645 33rd Ave. East | West Fargo | ND | 58078 |
| New Perspective | Woodbury | 2195 Century Avenue South | Woodbury | MN | 55125 |
| Woodland Terrace | Carmel | 689 Pro Med Lane | Carmel | IN | 46032 |
| Woodland Terrace | Danville | 200 Arbor Ln | Danville | IN | 46122 |
| Woodland Terrace | New Palestine | 4400 Terrace Drive | New Palestine | IN | 46163 |