Privacy Policy

Atwell Centre is committed to safeguarding the personal information entrusted to us by our clients and Centre Personnel.  Any personal information that we obtain and retain is kept in such a manner as to ensure its security and confidentiality. In addition to these Best Practices, Atwell Centre has adopted the following Privacy Statement to inform our Centre Personnel, clients and the public how we protect personal information. 

This privacy statement applies to Atwell Centre and to any person providing services on our behalf.  A copy of this privacy statement is provided to any client and Centre Personnel on request. This Privacy Statement is posted on our website and will be available to the general public:

What is personal information?

Personal information means information about an identifiable individual.  This includes an individual’s name, address, phone number, age, date of birth, sex, marital or family status, personal health information that may be collected by the medical personnel in the Centre. 

What personal information do we collect?

To be able to provide services to our clients it is necessary for us to collect, use and (in some instances) disclose personal information.  We collect only the personal information that we need for the purposes of providing services to our clients, including personal information needed to:

• Communicate with you.
• Provide you with pregnancy tests and pregnancy options.
• Provide you with one-on-one support and community referral.
• Provide you with medical services such as STI screening.

The Centre Operations Director or the Executive Director is responsible for ongoing review and checks of personal information protection policies and procedures. 

If health information is collected by (or, in some situations, on behalf of) one of the staff on our medical team. Any documentation written and/or signed by medical personnel is considered a part of the client’s medical record. The nurse manager is deemed to be the Privacy Officer of health information pursuant to the Health Information Protection Act, and the collection, use and disclosure of that health information by that staff on our medical team will be governed by the Health Information Protection Act.

We normally collect client information directly from our clients.  We may collect your information from other persons with your consent or as authorized by law for purposes of offering our services to you.  

How do we safeguard personal information?

We may transfer your personal information to service providers where information processing is outsourced by us in the course of our administrative procedures. Where personal information is transferred to a service provider for processing, we require the service provider to respect this privacy statement and we restrict them from using or disclosing personal information transferred to them for any purpose other than the provision of services to us. Be advised that in certain circumstances we are required by law to disclose certain personal information to third parties.

We make every reasonable effort to ensure that personal information is accurate and complete.  We rely on individuals to notify us if there is a change to their personal information that may affect their relationship with our organization.  If you are aware of an error in our information about you, please let us know and we will correct it on request wherever possible.  In some cases, we may ask for a written request for correction.  

We protect personal information in a manner appropriate for the sensitivity of the information.  We make every reasonable effort to prevent any loss, misuse, disclosure or modification of personal information, as well as any unauthorized access to personal information.  

We use appropriate security measures when destroying personal information, including shredding paper records and permanently deleting electronic records using the appropriate sanitation methods depending on the kind of electronic devices used and the sensitivity of the personal information to be destroyed. The Privacy Officer designated by Atwell Centre will record the security measures employed on a Certificate of Media Sanitation form.

It is beneficial for non-medical personnel to familiarize themselves with the best practices related to the protection of personal health information followed by the medical staff on the team, for the shared understanding of the importance of and the procedures for such safeguards.

Unfortunately, no data transmission over the Internet can be guaranteed to be 100% secure. As a result, while we strive to protect your personal information, we cannot ensure or warrant the security of any information you transmit to us or receive from us electronically. This is especially true for information you transmit to us via e-mail. We have no way of protecting that information until it reaches us. Once we receive your transmission, we make our best efforts to ensure its security on our servers.  

Questions and complaints.

If you have a question or concern about any collection, use or disclosure of personal information by Atwell Centre contact Lois Benham-Smith, Executive Director of Atwell Centre at 905-393-8525.