Terms of Use

Terms of Use
Social Media and Blog Commenting

This page explains the rights and requirements of visitors and users of Children’s National* websites, affiliated websites, blogs, story-sharing forums, chat rooms and social media sites, including Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, online, and mobile services (collectively referred to as “Children’s Websites and Online Services”).

It is important you understand that your visit to our website and your review of any publication or other material comprising Children’s Website and Online Services does not create a hospital-patient, doctor-patient or any other healthcare provider-patient relationship between you and Children’s National or any of its employees, contractors or agents and that nothing on the Children’s Websites and Online Services is intended to provide medical advice. These and other terms of use are stated below.

This policy covers all content, users and uses of Children’s Websites and Online Services. The definition of content includes all text and visuals (e.g., photographs, graphics, and videos).

Where noted on Children’s Websites and Online Services, additional conditions, restrictions, and privacy policies may be required to access accounts, content, or services.

Accepting the Terms of Use

By using or participating in any section of Children’s Websites and Online Services, you are agreeing to the Terms of Use. You are responsible for monitoring this page for changes and updates.

Any updates to the Terms of Use are effective immediately upon posting. By continuing to use Children’s Websites and Online Services, you are agreeing to the Terms of Use as they appear at the time you accessed the site.

Your continued use of this website indicates your agreement and acceptance of the following terms and conditions.

Terms and Conditons

Disclaimers

The materials on Children’s Websites and Online Services and your use of this website are for general informational purposes only. They do not create a healthcare provider-patient relationship. They do not replace medical advice or treatment from a health professional and nothing contained herein is intended to be medical advice. By using Children’s Websites and Online Services, you also acknowledge and agree to the following:

You use Children’s Websites and Online Services at your own risk and assume all responsibility for doing so.
The inclusion of content does not necessarily mean or warrant any particular service, treatment or product is safe, appropriate or effective for you or your child. For your information and convenience our website may provide links to third-party websites. These links are provided for informational and convenience purposes only and does not constitute sponsorship, endorsement, approval, or responsibility for any third party site. We make no representation or warranty, express or implied, with respect to any website, the information provided on the website or the sponsor of the website. We make no representation or warranty as to accuracy, timeliness or completeness of the information on any of these websites, just as you should not act based upon information on this website.
Children’s National does not guarantee or warrant against errors in the accuracy, timelines, and completeness of any online content.

You understand and agree that Children’s Websites and Online Services, content or information contained on or provided by Children’s Websites is provided for informational purposes only. Children’s National does not make any express or implied warranties, representations or endorsements whatsoever (including without limitation warranties of title or noninfringement, or the implied warranties of merchantability or fitness for a particular purpose) with regard to the service or any merchandise, information or service provided through the services. Children’s National does not guarantee that use of Children’s Websites and Online Services will be free from technological difficulties including, but not limited to, unavailability of information, downtime, service disruptions, viruses or worms and you understand that you are responsible for implementing sufficient procedures and checkpoints to satisfy your particular requirements for accuracy of data input and output.

Interactive Platforms

We encourage families to participate in Children’s National's interactive platforms, including social media and blogs, as a way to connect with Children’s National's communities. By posting content, commenting or otherwise participating in any of Children’s National's interactive platforms, you acknowledge and agree to the following:

You may not impersonate another person including, but not limited to, a spouse, child or sibling.
You may not allow another person to use your credentials for posting or viewing content.
Children’s National has the irrevocable right to:
- Reproduce, distribute, publish, display, edit, modify, create creative derivative works or otherwise use your content for any purpose, in any form, and on any media.
- Remove any content (posts, comments, or visuals) that is obscene, defamatory, threatening, harassing, abusive, slanderous, hateful, embarrassing or otherwise deemed inappropriate.
- Remove any content that infringes on the rights of any third party, including intellectual property, privacy or publicity rights, or any other content deemed unlawful.
- Remove advertisements or solicitations for business, misleading and fraudulent content, and any repetitive content that is deemed “spam. To further promote a respectful, supportive and educational environment, please review our Commenting Rules of Engagement.

Limitations of Liability

The use of the site is entirely at your own risk, and in no event shall Children’s National be liable for any direct, indirect, incidental, consequential, special, exemplary, punitive, or any other monetary or other damages, fees, fines, penalties, or liabilities arising out of or relating in any way to this service, or sites accessed through Children’s Websites and Online Services. Your sole and exclusive remedy for dissatisfaction with the service is to stop using the service.

For all Washington state residents, Charitable Solicitations Act, RCW 19.09.100 applies.

Users release Children's National, its affiliates, officers, directors, employees and representatives from any and all liabilities, including but not limited to attorneys fees and costs and indirect, consequential, exemplary, special and punitive damages, arising from user's use of this translation tool and Children’s Websites and Online Services. You agree that you will indemnify and hold harmless Children's National against any damages, losses, injuries, liabilities, judgments, costs or expenses (including reasonable attorneys' fees and costs) arising out of a claim by a third party relating to any material that you have posted or other actions taken by you on Children’s Websites and Online Services.

Children’s National does not assume liability, endorse or necessarily recommend the comments posted by individuals on interactive platforms.

Choice of Law and Venue

You agree that these Terms of Use will be construed and enforced in accordance with the laws of the District of Columbia, without regard to any conflicts of law principles that would result in application of laws of any other jurisdiction. In any claim or action by you directly or indirectly arising under these Terms of Use or related to this web site, you irrevocably agree to submit to the exclusive personal jurisdiction of the state or federal courts located in or serving the District of Columbia. You waive any jurisdictional, venue or inconvenient forum objections to such court.

If any provision of these Terms of Use is found to be invalid by any court having jurisdiction, then the invalidity of such provision shall not affect the validity of the remaining provisions of these Terms of Use, which shall remain in full force and effect.

Termination of Use

Children’s National reserve the right to change, suspend or discontinue all or any aspects of Children’s Websites and Online Services at any time without prior notice unless noted otherwise.

Contact information

If you have any questions about the Terms of Use for Children’s Websites and Online Services, please contact us.

Mobile Terms and Conditions

There is no fee from Children’s National to receive text messages. Message and data rates may apply - you should check with your mobile service provider. Charges are billed and payable to your mobile service provider or deducted from your prepaid account. Consent is not a requirement for purchase.
Data obtained from you in connection with this SMS service may include your mobile phone number, your carrier’s name and the date, time and content of your messages. We may use this information to contact you and provide the services you request from us. Alerts sent via SMS may not be delivered if the mobile phone is not in range of a transmission site, or if sufficient network capacity is not available at a particular time. Even within a coverage area, factors beyond the control of the wireless operator may interfere with message delivery, including the customer’s equipment, terrain, proximity to buildings, foliage and weather. Children’s National and Wireless operators do not guarantee message delivery and will not be held liable for delayed or undelivered messages.
For information on data collection and us, please read our full corporate Privacy Policy.
We will not be liable for any delays in the receipt of any SMS message as delivery is subject to effective transmission from your network operator.
By subscribing to Children’s National mobile alerts, you consent to receive automated text messages to receive updates and donate to help provide exceptional care for children. Recurring messages, and message and data rates may apply. You should check with your mobile service provider.
If you have any questions, text HELP to the number you received a text message from or contact us. To stop receiving messages reply STOP.

Website Privacy Policy

Children's National is committed to maintaining the privacy of visitors and users of Children’s Websites and Online Services.

This policy explains the collection and use of your personal information when you visit and use Children’s Websites and Online Services. Online services include, but are not limited to, Children's Doc2Doc Messaging System, live web chats, Request an Appointment, Ask a Doctor, and all existing forms submitted through the websites. The policy is available in Spanish.

Any updates to this privacy statement, including new features or services, or changes in privacy practices, will always appear on our websites.

Privacy of Children

Children's National does not offer or sell products or services for purchase to children. If you are under 18 years of age, you may not purchase products or services from Children's National, and you should not provide information to Children's National without the involvement of a parent or guardian.

We are committed to protecting the privacy of children. Our website is intended for adults and young adults age 13 and over. It is not intended for or designed to attract persons under the age of 13. We do not permit registration by, nor do we collect personally identifiable information from, any person we actually know to be under the age of 13.

Information We Collect

General Use

To monitor site usage and improve its quality, we gather general information about the use of Children’s Websites and Online Services. We use web server logs and industry-standard website statistics software, including Google Analytics, to count the number of users who visit our websites, go to each page, and to collect other general statistics. We do not track individual user's visits to our websites.

Children's National may share these anonymous aggregate statistics with other parties to provide general information about our services or arrange business relationships.

We do not share any information about individual users.

Information to Process Transactions

When you use our website to make appointments, register for events, purchase products or services, or join groups, we only collect information necessary to process the transaction. This may include your name, address, telephone, and fax numbers, e-mail address, and credit card number or other payment information.

This information is encrypted to assure that your private information is transmitted in a secure fashion, but please understand that no one can guarantee that unlawful or inappropriate use by third parties will not happen. Please see "Use of Information" for details of how we use some of this information for other purposes.

Payment Information

If we collect information for payment purposes, it is stored and used by us or by others we contract with to process orders for that transaction only.

Use of Information

We will sometimes use your e-mail address, address, fax number or other information to confirm a transaction, verify your identity, send you general information such as newsletters, or for similar purposes, either directly or through others we contract with. In some cases, you will be given the choice not to have your information used for some of these purposes. In those cases, you will see information on how to make that choice.

We will not disclose any information to third parties for any other purpose, and we will not sell mailing lists.

Children’s National has established a written Identity Theft Prevention Program and has taken steps to train our staff on measures to protect patient accounts.

Cookies

Some portions of our websites may use "cookies." Cookies are small data files that are sent by a website and stored on your computer. Cookies can contain information about your use of the site, but they are not used to identify or track you personally. We use cookies only when the software used with certain features of our websites or Internet services requires them in order to function properly. Most web browsers permit you to choose not to accept cookies automatically, but if you do not, some functions of our websites or services may not work properly.

Our website also uses Google Analytics Demographics and Interest Reporting, which gives us insight into visitor information relating to age, gender and interests on an anonymous and aggregate level. This helps us to understand browsing behaviors to give you a better experience while visiting our site. You can find information on Google Analytics opt-outs here.

Intellectual Property

All text, graphics, and code used on this web site are covered by the United States and international copyright laws. All Rights Reserved by Children’s National. The materials on this web site are copyrighted by Children’s National and/or by other applicable rights holders. You may download and reprint a single copy of the materials from this web site ONLY for your own personal, noncommercial use, provided you include all applicable notices and disclaimers. Any other use of the materials is strictly prohibited without the prior written permission of Children’s National and the permission of the applicable rights holder(s).

State Registration

Certain states require written disclosures for nonprofit organizations soliciting contributions. Individual state disclosures are below.

Florida: A copy of the official registration and financial information may be obtained from the division of consumer services by calling toll-free, within the state, 1-800-435-7352 (800-HELP-FLA), or visiting www.FloridaConsumerHelp.com. Registration does not imply endorsement, approval or recommendation by the state. Florida Registration #CH11866

Georgia: A full and fair description of our programs and our financial statement summary is available upon request at our office and phone number indicated above.

Maryland: For the cost of copies and postage, from the Office of the Secretary of State, State House, Annapolis, MD 21401.

Mississippi: The official registration and financial information of Children's National Hospital Foundation may be obtained from the Mississippi Secretary of State's office by calling 1-888-236-6167. Registration by the Secretary of State does not imply endorsement.

Nevada: Contributions may be tax deductible pursuant to the provisions of sec. 170(c) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, 26 U.S.C. ¤170(c).

New Jersey: Information filed with the attorney general concerning this charitable solicitation and the percentage of contributions received by the charity during the last reporting period that were dedicated to the charitable purpose may be obtained from the attorney general of the state of New Jersey by calling (973) 504-6215 and is available on the internet at www.state.nj.us/lps/ca/charfrm.htm. Registration with the attorney general does not imply endorsement.

New York: Upon request, from the Attorney General's Charities Bureau, 28 Liberty Street, New York, NY 10005, 1-212-416-8686 or www.charitiesnys.com.

North Carolina: Financial information about this organization and a copy of its license are available from the State Solicitation Licensing Branch at 1-919-814-5400. The license is not an endorsement by the state.

Pennsylvania: The official registration and financial information of Children's National Hospital Foundation may be obtained from the Pennsylvania Department of State by calling toll-free, within Pennsylvania, 1-800-732-0999.

Virginia: From the State Office of Consumer Affairs in the Department of Agriculture and Consumer Affairs, P.O. Box 1163, Richmond, VA 23218.

Washington: From the Secretary of State at 1-800-332-4483 or www.sos.wa.gov/charities

West Virginia: West Virginia residents may obtain a summary of the registration and financial documents from the Secretary of State, State Capitol, Charleston, WV 25305.

Wisconsin: A financial statement of the charitable organization disclosing assets, liabilities, fund balances, revenue and expenses for the preceding fiscal year will be provided to any person upon request.

Registration with a state agency does not constitute or imply endorsement, approval or recommendation by that state.
More information about nonprofit fundraiser disclosures and annual charity registrations.