Jewish Family Service of Somerset, Hunterdon, and Warren Counties follows the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) privacy policy.
THIS NOTICE DESCRIBES HOW HEALTH INFORMATION ABOUT YOU MAY BE USED AND DISCLOSED AND HOW YOU CAN GET ACCESS TO THIS INFORMATION. PLEASE REVIEW IT CAREFULLY.
THE PRIVACY OF YOUR HEALTH INFORMATION IS IMPORTANT TO US.
This Notice takes effect 01 / 01 / 2020 updated 4 / 01 / 2026
We are required by applicable federal and state law to maintain the privacy of your health information. We are also required to give you this Notice about our privacy practices, our legal duties, and your rights concerning your health information. We must follow the privacy practices that are described in this Notice while it is in effect.
We reserve the right to change our privacy practices and the terms of this Notice at any time, provided such changes are permitted by applicable law. We reserve the right to make the changes in our privacy practices and the new terms of our Notice effective for all health information that we maintain, including health information we created or received before we made the changes. Before we make a significant change in our privacy practices, we will change this Notice and make the new Notice available upon request.
We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time. Any changes will be posted on our website, and the date of the latest revision will be indicated. We encourage you to review this policy periodically to stay informed about how we are protecting your information. You may also request a copy of our Notice at any time. For more information about our privacy practices, or for additional copies of this Notice, please contact us using the information listed at the end of this Notice.
We use and disclose health information about you for treatment, payment, and healthcare operations. For example:
Treatment: We may use or disclose your health information to a physician or other healthcare provider providing treatment to you.
Payment: We may use and disclose your health information to obtain payment for services we provide you.
Healthcare Operations: We may use and disclose your health information in connection with our healthcare operations. Healthcare operations include quality assessment and improvement activities, renewing the competence or qualifications of healthcare professionals, evaluating practitioner and provider performance, conducting training programs, accreditation, certification, licensing or credentialing activities.
Your Authorization: In addition to our use of your health information for treatment, payment or healthcare operations, you may give us written authorization to use your health information or to disclose it to anyone for any purpose. If you give us an authorization, you may revoke it in writing at any time. Your revocation will not affect any use or disclosures permitted by your authorization while it was in effect. Unless you give us a written authorization, we cannot use or disclose your health information for any reason except those described in this Notice.
To Your Family and Friends: We must disclose your health information to you, as described in the Client Rights section of this Notice. We may disclose your health information to a family member, friend or other person to the extent necessary to help with your healthcare or with payment for your healthcare, but only if you agree that we may do so.
Persons Involved in Care: We may use or disclose health information to notify or assist in the notification of (including identifying or locating) a family member, your personal representative or another person responsible for your care, of your location, your general condition, or death. If you are present, then prior to use or disclosure of your health information, we will provide you with an opportunity to object to such uses or disclosures. In the event of your incapacity or emergency circumstances, we will disclose health information based on a determination using our professional judgment disclosing only health information that is directly relevant to the person's involvement in your healthcare. We will also use our professional judgment and our experience with common practice to make reasonable inferences in your best interest in allowing a person to pick up filled prescriptions, medical supplies, x-rays, or other similar forms of health information.
Marketing Health-Related Services: We will not use your health information for marketing communications without your written authorization.
We implement a variety of security measures to maintain the safety of your personal information. Your information is stored in secure networks and is only accessible by a limited number of personnel who have special access rights to such systems.
We will not share, sell, or disclose your information to third parties. We do not share personal data (phone numbers) and consent with third parties / affiliates or partners.
You have the right to access, correct, or delete your personal information that we hold. You can do so by contacting our customer support team. We will respond to your request within a reasonable timeframe.
When you subscribe to our SMS text messaging service, we may collect the following information:
We use the information collected for the following purposes:
By subscribing to our SMS text messaging service, you consent to receive SMS messages from us.
You can opt out of receiving SMS messages at any time by replying “STOP” to any message you receive from us. After you opt out, you will no longer receive SMS messages from us. You can also contact our office to opt out or for assistance.
If our organization receives Substance Use Disorder (SUD) records from another Part 2 program or maintains its own, we may provide a combined Notice that meets both HIPAA and Part 2 requirements. This Notice ensures that the disclosure and use of SUD information are consistent with federal privacy protections and gives you clear guidance on your rights regarding your protected health information (PHI).
In accordance with federal HIPAA regulations and 42 CFR Part 2, our organization protects the confidentiality of records relating to substance use disorder (SUD) treatment. These records may contain information regarding your diagnosis, treatment, or referrals for SUD services.
Permitted Uses and Disclosures: We may use or disclose SUD records without your authorization in limited circumstances, including:
Your Rights Regarding SUD Records:
Required by Law: We may use or disclose any or all of your health information when we are required to do so by law.
Abuse or Neglect: We may disclose your health information to appropriate authorities if we reasonably believe that you are a possible victim of abuse, neglect, or domestic violence or the possible victim of other crimes. We may disclose your health information to the extent necessary to avert a serious threat to your health or safety or the health or safety of others.
National Security: We may disclose to military authorities the health information of Armed Forces personnel under certain circumstances. We may disclose to authorized federal officials health information required for Lawful intelligence, counterintelligence, and other national security activities. We may disclose to correctional institution or law enforcement official having lawful custody of protected health information of an inmate or patient under certain circumstances.
Appointment Reminders: We may use or disclose your health information to provide you with appointment reminders (such as voicemail messages, postcards, or letters).
Access: You have the right to look at or get copies of your health information, with limited exceptions. You may request that we provide copies in a format other than photocopies. We will use the format you request unless we cannot practicably do so. You must make a request in writing to obtain access to your health information. You may obtain a form to request access by using the contact information listed at the end of this Notice. We will charge you a reasonable cost-based fee for expenses such as copies and staff time. You may also request access by sending us a letter to the address at the end of this Notice. If you request copies, we will charge you current going rate for each page, and postage if you want the copies mailed to you. If you request an alternative format, we will charge a cost-based fee for providing your health information in that format. If you prefer, we will prepare a summary or an explanation of your health information for a fee. Contact us using the information listed at the end of this Notice for a full explanation of our fee structure.
Disclosure Accounting: You have the right to receive a list of instances in which we or our business associates disclosed your health information for purposes other than treatment, payment, healthcare operations and certain other activities, for the last 6 years. If you request this accounting more than once in a 12-month period, we may charge you a reasonable, cost-based fee for responding to these additional requests.
Restriction: You have the right to request that we place additional restrictions on our use or disclosure of your health information. We are not required to agree to these additional restrictions, but if we do, we will abide by our agreement (except in an emergency).
Alternative Communication: You have the right to request that we communicate with you about your health information by alternative means or to alternative locations. (You must make your request in writing.) Your request must specify the alternative means or location, and provide satisfactory explanation how payments will be handled under the alternative means or location you request.
Amendment: You have the right to request that we amend your health information. Your request must be in writing, and it must explain why the information should be amended. We may deny your request under certain circumstances.
Electronic Notice: If you receive this Notice on our website or by electronic mail (e-mail), you are entitled to receive this Notice in written form.
If you want more information about our privacy practices or have questions or concerns, please contact our Privacy Officer:
Contact Officer: JFS Executive Director
Telephone: 908-725-7799
Fax: 908-725-0284
E-mail: Admin@JewishFamilySvc.Org
Address: 150 West High Street, Somerville, NJ 08876
Jewish Family Service clients have the right to articulate concerns and bring complaints and to have a complaint process, which assures a serious consideration of their issues.
If you are concerned that we may have violated your privacy rights, or you disagree with a decision we made about access to your health information or in response to a request you made to amend or restrict the use or disclosure of your health information including your SUD records, you may complain to us using the contact information listed above. You also have the right to have us communicate with you by alternative means or at alternative locations. You may also submit a written complaint to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. We will provide you with the address to file your complaint with them upon request. We support your right to the privacy of your health information. We will not retaliate in any way if you choose to file a complaint with us or with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
This policy shall apply to any question(s) related to service delivery, denial or termination of services. It will apply to all client applicants to the agency who have been clients within the last three months or his/her designee, parent or guardian.
Clients can present their complaint directly to an external advocacy service (listed below) or through the following internal complaint procedure:
However, unless the client signs an appropriate release form, the names can be deleted or disguised in relevant materials.
Clients participating in agency programs may avail themselves of the following external resources: