Privacy Policy

This policy explains how MERICARE Home Services Inc. ("MERICARE", "we", "us") handles personal information, including personal health information, when you visit our website, contact us, receive care from us, or work with us as a caregiver. We handle personal information in accordance with applicable Canadian privacy legislation, including the Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act (PIPEDA) and, where it applies, Ontario's Personal Health Information Protection Act (PHIPA).

Who this policy covers

This policy applies to:

• Website visitors — anyone who browses mericarehome.com or sends us a message through our forms.
• Customers and their families — the seniors we care for, and the family members or substitute decision-makers who arrange and coordinate that care.
• Caregivers and applicants — the independent contractors who deliver our services, and people who apply to join our team.

Information we collect

When you contact us

When you call, email or use a form on our website, we collect the details you give us: your first and last name, email address, phone number, the service you are interested in, and your message. Our forms also record which page the message was sent from.

When we plan and deliver care

To build a care plan and deliver services safely, we collect information about the person receiving care, such as their name, address, contact details, language preferences, routines and preferences, dietary needs, mobility and health-related information, medication schedules, emergency contacts, and the name and contact details of the family member or substitute decision-maker coordinating care. Some of this is personal health information, and we treat it with the highest level of protection.

Caregivers keep complete, accurate and timely documentation of the services they provide, including visit notes and, where services are hourly, time-keeping logs.

When you pay for services

We collect the billing details needed to invoice you and process payment, as set out in your Service Agreement.

Caregivers and applicants

From caregivers and applicants we collect the information needed to engage and pay them, such as contact details, résumés and cover letters, proof of authorization to work in Canada, certificates of insurance where requested, banking details for payment, and, for sole proprietors, a Social Insurance Number so that we can issue a T4A statement of earnings.

Automatically collected information

Like most websites, our hosting provider records standard server logs (such as IP address, browser type, pages visited and the time of the visit) to keep the site secure and reliable. See Website, cookies and third-party services below.

How we use personal information

We use personal information to:

• respond to your enquiries and arrange a consultation;
• assess needs, build and update a personalized care plan, and match a caregiver — including matching on language, so we can meet customers' language and communication needs;
• deliver, schedule, supervise and improve our services, and keep families informed about the care their loved one receives;
• invoice for services and process payments;
• keep customers and caregivers safe, and respond to incidents or concerns;
• engage, pay and manage caregivers, and meet our tax and legal obligations;
• operate, secure and improve our website.

We do not sell personal information, and we do not use customers' personal health information for marketing.

Consent

We collect, use and share personal information with your knowledge and consent, except where the law allows or requires otherwise. When we begin care, we make sure the customer — or, where the customer is unable to decide for themselves, their legal substitute decision-maker — is informed of their right to consent to the sharing of necessary information with the individuals and organizations directly involved in their care.

You may withdraw your consent at any time, subject to legal or contractual restrictions and reasonable notice. Withdrawing consent may limit the services we are able to provide.

When we share information

We share personal information only when needed to deliver our services or when the law requires it:

• Caregivers. The independent contractors who deliver care receive the information they need to provide the services in their assignment, on a need-to-know basis. They are bound by written confidentiality obligations (see Our caregivers and confidentiality).
• People involved in your care. With consent, we share necessary information with family members, substitute decision-makers, and health-care providers directly involved in a customer's care.
• Service providers. We use trusted providers to host our website, deliver form submissions to our inbox by email, and process payments. They may only use the information to provide those services to us.
• Legal requirements. We may disclose information where required by law, or where we reasonably believe serious harm is imminent.

Our caregivers and confidentiality

Every MERICARE caregiver signs an agreement that includes our Code of Conduct and Code of Ethics. Under those commitments, caregivers must:

• maintain the confidentiality of customers' personal information and personal health information, and use it only to perform their assigned services;
• never disclose customer information to third parties, and never share customer information on social media;
• protect customers' privacy and dignity in the home where care is provided;
• seek consent from the appropriate decision-maker when a customer is unable to consent;
• maintain professional boundaries, declare conflicts of interest, accept no gifts, and never act as a customer's power of attorney or substitute decision-maker;
• keep complete and accurate documentation and report any error or concern that affects a customer's safety.

How we protect information

We protect personal information with safeguards appropriate to its sensitivity, including confidentiality agreements with everyone who handles it, need-to-know access, secure storage of records, and reasonable technical measures on our website and email systems. We apply at least the same degree of care to customers' information as we apply to our own confidential information, and no less than reasonable care.

No method of transmission or storage is completely secure. If we become aware of a breach that creates a real risk of significant harm, we will notify affected individuals and the appropriate authorities as required by law.

Retention

We keep personal information only as long as necessary to fulfil the purposes it was collected for, to deliver services under a Service Agreement, and to meet our legal, tax and professional obligations. Care records and financial records are kept for the periods required by law and then securely destroyed or anonymized.

Your rights and choices

Subject to applicable law, you have the right to:

• access the personal information we hold about you, or about a person you are legally entitled to act for;
• ask us to correct information that is inaccurate or incomplete;
• withdraw consent to our collection, use or disclosure of your information;
• ask questions or make a complaint about how we handle personal information.

To exercise these rights, contact us using the details below. We will respond within the time required by law and may need to verify your identity first. If you are not satisfied with our response, you may contact the Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada or, for personal health information in Ontario, the Information and Privacy Commissioner of Ontario.

Website, cookies and third-party services

Our website uses only the local storage needed for it to work and does not set advertising cookies. It loads some resources from third parties, each with its own privacy policy:

• Google Fonts and Google Maps — for typography and the map of our office location.
• Unsplash and Pexels — for photography and the video on our home page.
• Resend — delivers the messages you send through our forms to our inbox.
• Vercel — hosts the website and records standard server logs.

If we add analytics to the website in future, we will update this policy and, where required, ask for your consent.

Children

Our services are for seniors and their families, and our website is not directed to children under 16. We do not knowingly collect personal information from children.

Changes to this policy

We may update this policy from time to time. The "last updated" date at the top of this page shows when it was last revised. Significant changes will be posted on this page, and we may notify current customers directly.

Contact us

Questions, access requests and complaints about privacy can be sent to: