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Privacy Policy

Last Updated: October 23, 2023

INTRODUCTION

Paragon Health Institute (PHI) recognizes that visitors to our website (the “PHI Site”) should know how we collect, use, and maintain information we collect or may collect about them. PHI is strongly committed to protecting the privacy of PHI Site visitors and people who communicate with us. This Privacy Statement seeks to help you better understand (a) how we collect and use your information; (b) how we share and protect your information; and (c) your choices regarding our use of such information.

This Privacy Statement applies when you visit PHI Site or share your personal information with us, as discussed below. By using PHI Site, you acknowledge that your information may be used in accordance with this Privacy Statement and the Terms of Use, both of which may be updated by us at any time. If you do not agree with this Privacy Statement for any reason, please do not use PHI Site or share your personal information with us as discussed below. Please note that this Privacy Statement applies only to PHI Site and not to any other website linked to ours or other web-based resources linked therefrom. We do not control the privacy policies or practices of others. We encourage you to ask questions and read the privacy policies of other websites before you disclose any personal information to them. Please note that this Privacy Statement may change from time to time.

A Special Note About Children

We encourage everyone to visit PHI Site and learn about PHI. Children, however, are not eligible to register to use the services of PHI, and we ask that minors not submit any personal information to us. We do not knowingly collect information about minors under the age of 13.

California Residents

If you are a California resident, you may ask us to refrain from sharing your information (whether collected online or offline) with our affiliates for their marketing purposes, if the affiliates are separate legal entities. Please tell us your preference by contacting us as indicated in the “Complaints or Questions” section of this Privacy Statement.

Security

Although PHI Site has certain security measures in place to protect the loss, misuse, and alteration of the information you provide, no email or web transmission is completely secure against interception or incorrect routing. Thus, there is always the risk that unauthorized persons may access or use your information. If you are worried because your communication is very sensitive, do not send it electronically. Please consider this prior to submitting any information to us via PHI Site. You use PHI Site and send us such information at your own risk.

Although we take reasonable measure to protect your privacy on PHI Site, we need your help. You have control over your own privacy. Think carefully before providing any personal or financial information online. If you desire to remain anonymous when you write to us or send us submissions you should not tell us your name, the names of other users, or of your friends. To fully protect your privacy, you should try to exclude any information that you think may identify you or others.

Remember that we cannot protect your privacy once you leave PHI Site, such as by hyperlink. We do not control the privacy policies of other websites. So when you visit other websites, check each site’s privacy policy, and be careful about the information you submit or share. In addition, you should only forward our email messages or other website information (such as our job postings) to others through the buttons or links provided within the email or PHI Site. When you use your email system’s forwarding capabilities, others may be able to take actions in your name and/or access your personal information.

How We Collect and Use Your Information
  1. Personal Information We Collect From You Directly

There are certain actions and areas of PHI Site that require you to provide personal information, which may include: (a) requesting educational materials; (b) joining PHI Site or creating a user account; (c) submitting a comment; and (d) applying for a job at PHI.

The personal information we collect may consist or include, but is not limited to, your name, address, phone number, mobile phone number, email address, username, and birth date. By submitting personal information to us, you understand that we may use the information in accordance with this Privacy Statement. If you do submit information to us, we will use that information for the purposes for which it was submitted and other purposes consistent with this Privacy Statement and the context of your interaction with us. For instance, if you join PHI Site and ask to be placed on our email list, we will use your email address to send you alerts and other messages about topics and developments we think may be of interest to you. Likewise, for any web-based projects, we may collect and use your information in connection with such efforts. In order for us to convey information to you, we may require a user to provide a name, address, phone number, mobile phone number, email address, username, and birth date. Information collected may be used for the promotion of our activities.

We may also use your information in other ways, such as to contact you about other activities or as otherwise disclosed to you at the point of collection, and we may share or transfer your information with our affiliates and any other organizations or entities for similar purposes. Additionally, to the extent required by applicable federal or state law, we will provide this information to others. We may share your information with third parties that help manage PHI Site and databases, as well as with our affiliates or other third parties.

For example:

If you post a comment on PHI Site, we will post the screen name under which the submission was made. Certainly, any information you include in a posting will be viewable by any visitor to PHI Site.

If in connection with certain aspects of PHI Site you provide us with your name, address, phone number, mobile phone number, email address, or username, we may use this information to contact you about issues that we believe may be of interest to you. We may also share or transfer this information to other organizations.

By submitting this information to us, you give us permission to receive it, review it, edit it, store it, post it on PHI Site, and use it in appropriate settings designed to advance the mission of PHI.

You should be aware that we use third-party vendors to provide services on PHI Site and in our offline business operations. The information that you submit on PHI Site may be provided to those vendors so that those vendors can provide services (such as maintaining our databases, sending email messages to our visitors, or otherwise facilitating our activities) on our behalf.

We also reserve the right to share personal information you provide with legal authorities or other third parties if it is, in our sole opinion, necessary to investigate, prevent, or otherwise take action regarding suspected fraud, situations involving threats or potential harm, or if otherwise required by law (such as by a subpoena, court order, or other legal means). In the event that we reasonably believe that you have violated the Terms of Use governing your use of PHI Site, we reserve the right to use any information we have collected about you in connection with any efforts we make or made by any of our agents on our behalf.

User Comments

Please be aware that any personal information you provide in connection with comments you contribute to PHI Site or any other interactive features we may offer will be visible to other users and visitors to those websites.

Polls, Surveys, Sweepstakes, Giveaways, Contests, and Promotions

PHI may request information from you via online polls, surveys, sweepstakes, giveaways, or contests. Participation in polls, surveys, sweepstakes, giveaways, or contests is voluntary; you have a choice whether or not to disclose information required to enter. Information requested may include personal contact information such as your name, address, phone number, mobile phone number, email address, username, birth date, and/or similar information. We may share this information with our affiliates, vendors, and other organizations or entities. Contact information will be used to notify winners and award prizes. Contact information may also be used to contact you with further information about PHI, as well as the information about third parties whose activities relate to the mission of PHI. Survey information, and related information you provide to PHI, may be used for the purposes of monitoring or improving use of and satisfaction with PHI Site.

Text Messages and Other Points of Contact

If you sign up to receive text messages from us, PHI may collect, store, and use your mobile phone number to send you such messages. We may also collect and store other information, such as your name, address, phone number, mobile phone number, email address, username, and/or similar information you may opt to provide to us. If you provide us with your email address, we may use it to send you email newsletters and updates from PHI. In addition, as noted above, we may share this information with our affiliates, vendors, and other organizations or entities.

Email Newsletters and Updates

If you sign up to receive email newsletters and updates from PHI and its affiliates and/or organizations that aid or share PHI’s  non-profit mission, we may collect, store, and use your email address to send you information from PHI. We may also collect and store other personal information you give PHI, including but not limited to your name, address, phone number, mobile phone number, email address, username, birth date, and/or similar information you may opt to provide us. If you provide us with your mobile phone number, PHI may use it to send you text messages. In addition, as noted above, we may share this information with our affiliates, vendors, and other organizations or entities to advance PHI’s mission.

Employment Opportunities

You may choose to apply for employment with PHI through online application forms we may provide, or by sending us, by email or otherwise, a resume and letter. Any information you provide to us in this regard may be viewed by PHI and any third parties who assist PHI in recruiting, selection, and similar services for the purpose of evaluating your application and/or responding to your employment-related inquiry. PHI may share any or all of the materials you submit related to job opportunities with its affiliates, other organizations, and third party service providers.

Other Communications

You may decide to contact PHI, by email or otherwise, with other inquiries or to provide feedback. Any personal information you provide in connection with such inquiries or feedback may be collected and used by PHI for the purpose of processing and responding to your inquiries or feedback.

  1. Automatic Data Collection Technologies

PHI gathers certain broad information about the use of PHI Site, including the number of unique visitors, the frequency with which they visit, and the programs and services preferred. We look at the data in summary form, rather than on an individual basis. We gather this information so we can learn how many people visit PHI Site, see which pages are the most and least viewed, identify which websites are referring visitors to PHI Site, and related information. The data helps us determine the extent to which visitors use certain parts of PHI Site. Thus, we use this information to help us in restructuring PHI Site to better meet the needs of our users, to understand better how visitors use PHI Site, research our visitors’ demographics, interests, and behavior, provide visitors with customized services and information, improve our promotional and outreach efforts, and for other similar purposes.

In connection with these activities we may use some of the below mentioned tools.

Cookies

We use cookies to track usage and to enhance the efficiency of user interaction with PHI Site, gain insight into and customize your use of PHI Site, and help maintain PHI Site’s proper operation. Cookies are small files placed on the hard drive of your computer; each website can send its own cookie to your browser if your browser preferences allow it. You can configure your browser to accept all cookies, reject all cookies, or notify you when a cookie is set. (Each browser is different, so check the “Help” menu of your browser to learn how to change your cookie preferences.) You are always free to decline our cookies if your browser permits, although that may prevent you from using certain features on PHI Site. Please note that several companies offer utilities designed to help you visit websites anonymously.

PHI may allow third parties to place cookies on PHI Site, such as the below-referenced Google Analytics, in order to improve services PHI provides to advance our mission. PHI is not responsible for any other websites accessible from or linked to this website, including their privacy policies or information collection practices.

Online Advertisements

PHI may run online advertisements on third-party websites to attract visitors to PHI Site or to alert the public to opportunities related to our mission. Our advertising vendors may use cookies and clear GIFs on PHI Site and on the third-party sites on which our ads appear, which allow the advertising vendor to track certain information about user behavior, such as “click-stream data.” Any use of information by an advertising vendor is governed by their terms of use and privacy policy, so you should familiarize yourself with these policies prior to responding to online advertisements.

Google Analytics

PHI uses Google Analytics, a service that uses cookies and tracking code to analyze how visitors use PHI Site. The information collected (including your browser and operating system, IP address, pages visited on our website, and time spent here) is transmitted to and stored by Google. Google uses this information to evaluate visitors’ use of PHI Site in an aggregate manner. Google compiles reports on website activity and provides other related services. Google may transfer this information to third parties that process information on its behalf or as required by law.

Institute’s Use of Google Analytics May Include:

Google’s Display Advertising (e.g., Remarketing, Google Display Network Impression Reporting, the DoubleClick Campaign Manager integration, or Google Analytics Demographics and Interest Reporting). Using the Google Ads Settings, you can opt-out of Google Analytics for Display Advertising and customize Google Display Network ads.

Remarketing with Google Analytics to advertise online, which means third-party vendors, including Google, may show PHI ads on sites across the internet. PHI and third-party vendors, including Google, use first-party cookies (such as the Google Analytics cookie) and third-party cookies (such as the DoubleClick cookie) together to inform, optimize, and serve ads based on someone’s past visits to PHI Site.

Google Display Network Impression Reporting or the DoubleClick Campaign Manager integration, which means PHI and third-party vendors, including Google, use first-party cookies (such as the Google Analytics cookies) and third-party cookies (such as the DoubleClick cookie) together to report how PHI ad impressions, other uses of ad services, and interactions with these ad impressions and ad services are related to visits to PHI Site.

Google Analytics Demographics and Interest Reporting, which means that PHI may use, to the extent permitted by applicable law, data from Google’s interest-based advertising or third-party audience data (such as age, gender, and interests) through Google Analytics.

IP Addresses

We collect and analyze traffic on PHI Site by keeping track of the IP addresses of our visitors. An IP address is the unique numeric identifier assigned to each computer browser accessing the internet.

Information for Users from Outside of the United States

Our Site is intended for residents of the United States.  If you use the Site or provide us your information from outside the United States, your information will be transferred to, stored and processed in the United States. By using the Site or providing us with your information, you understand that your information will be collected from and processed in the United States.

Your Choices

If you do not want to receive any email from us in the future, click the “unsubscribe” reference in any email we send you. Otherwise, you may email us at [email protected], the subject line reading “UNSUBSCRIBE” to complete the opt-out process, or send a letter to the below address requesting that we unsubscribe you from our contact lists. You may use this email for any other information requests you may have, which we will aim to respond to in our discretion.

Modifications to this Privacy Statement

We may amend or change this Privacy Statement at any time. In the event of any material change, PHI will post a clear notice of such a revision to this Policy on PHI Site or email you such notice at an email address you have provided to PHI.

Complaints or Questions

If you have any questions or concerns about how we have used information we have collected about you, please contact us by email at [email protected] or by mail at:

Paragon Health Institute
c/o Website Queries
4201 Wilson Boulevard
Suite 0805
Arlington, VA 22203
Phone: (703) 527-2734