Privacy Policy

Healing Hearts Home Care ("we", "us") is an owner-led non-medical home care agency based in Brockton, Massachusetts. This policy explains what information we collect through this website and our enquiry process, why we collect it, and what we do with it.

Information we collect

We only collect what we need in order to respond to you and arrange care.

• Contact details — your name, phone number, and email address when you complete our estimate tool, apply for a job, book an assessment, call, or email us.
• Location — the town or ZIP code where care would be provided, so we can confirm whether we serve your area.
• Care information — the type of care needed, the schedule you're considering, and who the care is for. This may include details about a person's health, mobility, or memory.
• Employment information — if you apply for a caregiver role, your certifications, availability, and anything else you choose to tell us.

We do not ask for Social Security numbers, financial account details, or medical records through this website.

How information reaches us

Our estimate tool and job application do not transmit your information automatically. They prepare a message that you choose to send from your own phone or email account. Nothing is submitted unless you send it.

If you book an assessment, that booking is made through Google Calendar's appointment scheduling, and the information you enter there is handled under Google's own privacy terms.

How we use it

• To respond to your enquiry and answer your questions
• To prepare an estimate and, if you proceed, a written care plan
• To schedule and staff care, and to assign an appropriate caregiver
• To consider job applications
• To meet our record-keeping obligations as an employer and service provider

We do not sell your information. We do not share it with advertisers, lead brokers, or marketing companies. Home care enquiries are bought and sold aggressively in this industry. We don't participate in that.

Who we share it with

We share information only where it is necessary to provide the service:

• With the caregiver assigned to you, limited to what they need to provide care safely
• With service providers we use to run the business, such as scheduling and email systems
• With other parties you ask us to involve, such as a family member, a physician, or a discharge planner
• Where we are required to do so by law, or where there is a serious concern about someone's safety

Health information and HIPAA

Healing Hearts Home Care is a HIPAA covered entity. Information about a person's health, diagnosis, care needs, or treatment is protected health information ("PHI"), and we handle it in accordance with the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act and applicable Massachusetts law.

This means, among other things:

• We use and disclose PHI only for treatment, payment, and health care operations, or where you have authorised it in writing, or where the law requires it
• We limit access to the minimum necessary for each person's role
• Our caregivers and staff are trained on confidentiality and sign confidentiality agreements
• We maintain written agreements with service providers who may handle PHI on our behalf
• We maintain safeguards to protect PHI and procedures for responding to any breach

You have specific rights over your health information, including the right to inspect and obtain a copy of your records, to request corrections, to request restrictions on certain uses and disclosures, to receive an accounting of disclosures, and to request confidential communications. These rights are described in full in our Notice of Privacy Practices, which we provide at the start of service and which is available on request.

If you believe your privacy rights have been violated, you may contact us at 540-522-1251 or care.team@healingheartsma.com, and you may also file a complaint with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office for Civil Rights. We will not retaliate against you for filing a complaint.

How long we keep it

If you enquire and don't proceed, we keep your details only as long as needed to follow up, and no longer than is reasonable for that purpose. If you become a client, we retain records for as long as required by Massachusetts law and our insurers. Job applications are retained in line with employment record-keeping requirements.

Your choices

• You can ask us what information we hold about you
• You can ask us to correct anything that's wrong
• You can ask us to delete your information, unless we're legally required to keep it
• You can ask us to stop contacting you at any time

Email care.team@healingheartsma.com or call 540-522-1251 and we'll handle it.

Website analytics and cookies

This website does not use advertising cookies or tracking pixels. If we add analytics to understand how the site is used, we will use a privacy-respecting tool and update this policy before doing so.

Text messages

If you text us, we'll reply by text. Message and data rates from your carrier may apply. Reply STOP at any time and we'll stop texting you. We do not send marketing text messages.

Children

This website is not directed at children under 13 and we do not knowingly collect information from them.

Security

We take reasonable steps to protect the information we hold. No method of transmission or storage is completely secure, and we can't guarantee absolute security — which is why we ask you not to send sensitive medical or financial information by unsecured email.

Changes

If we change this policy we'll update the date at the top of this page.

Terms of Service

These terms cover your use of this website and the general basis on which we provide care. The specific terms of your care are set out in the written service agreement and care plan you receive before care begins. Where the two differ, your signed service agreement governs.

What we provide

Healing Hearts Home Care provides non-medical in-home care: companionship and emotional support, personal care and help with activities of daily living, respite for family caregivers, dementia and complex care support, and overnight or around-the-clock care. Transportation to appointments and errands is included as part of these services.

What we do not provide

We are not a home health agency and we do not provide skilled nursing or medical treatment. Our caregivers cannot:

• Administer medication, including injections — they may provide reminders and hand over a labelled container
• Perform wound care, manage catheters, or operate medical devices
• Provide physical, occupational or speech therapy
• Give medical advice, diagnose a condition, or make clinical decisions

If your family needs any of the above, we'll tell you and help you find an appropriate provider. We frequently work alongside visiting nurse agencies.

Nothing on this website is medical advice

The information on this site, including our frequently asked questions, is general information about home care. It is not medical, legal, or financial advice and should not be relied on as a substitute for advice from a qualified professional who knows your situation.

Estimates and rates

The rates published on this website are our standard rates and are shown in good faith. The estimate tool produces an approximation only — it is not a quote, an offer, or a bill.

• Your actual rate is confirmed in writing after a free in-home assessment
• Our minimum visit is three hours
• Holidays are billed at 1.5 times the standard rate
• Mileage is reimbursed at the current IRS standard rate when a caregiver uses their own vehicle for client transportation
• Rates may change; we'll give existing clients reasonable written notice before any change takes effect

Assessments and booking

The initial in-home assessment is free and carries no obligation. Booking a time through this website requests an appointment; we'll confirm it with you directly.

Scheduling, changes and cancellation

• There is no long-term contract and no cancellation penalty
• We ask for reasonable notice to change or cancel a scheduled visit so the caregiver isn't left without work. Notice requirements are set out in your service agreement
• We will make every effort to provide a consistent caregiver, and a named backup when your regular caregiver is unavailable
• If a caregiver isn't the right fit, tell us and we'll arrange a replacement at no charge

Payment

Care is billed in accordance with your service agreement. Healing Hearts Home Care accepts private pay clients only. We do not bill Medicare, MassHealth, or insurance carriers. Medicare does not generally cover non-medical home care.

Our caregivers

Caregivers are our employees, not independent contractors. Every caregiver is background-checked before their first shift, and the agency is insured and bonded. Caregivers may not accept gifts, loans, or money from clients, or be named in a client's will or estate documents.

No private hiring or solicitation

Our caregivers are recruited, screened, trained, insured, and scheduled by us. Arrangements made privately around the agency leave the client without insurance coverage, without backup when the caregiver is unavailable, and without our oversight.

Accordingly, during the period we provide care and for twelve months afterwards:

• Caregivers may not solicit or accept private work from a client, a client's family, or anyone introduced to them through Healing Hearts Home Care
• Clients agree not to directly employ or engage a caregiver introduced by us, outside of our agency
• If a private arrangement is made, a placement fee of $5,000, or two months' average billing for that client, whichever is greater, becomes payable to Healing Hearts Home Care
• This fee is not a penalty. It is a reasonable advance estimate of what it costs us to recruit, screen, train, insure, supervise and place a caregiver, and to replace the care arrangement we lose

This is not about restricting anyone's ability to work. It's about making sure care that continues in your home continues with insurance, supervision, and cover behind it.

If you ever want to bring a caregiver on directly, talk to us first. We would much rather discuss it openly and find something that works than discover it afterwards.

When we may decline or end service

We may decline or discontinue service where we cannot staff a case safely, where a client's needs exceed what non-medical home care can provide, where there is a risk to a caregiver's safety, or where fees remain unpaid. We will give reasonable notice and help arrange alternative care wherever we can.

Limitation of liability

To the fullest extent permitted by Massachusetts law, our liability arising from the services is limited to the amount paid for the services in question. Nothing in these terms limits liability that cannot lawfully be limited, including liability for gross negligence or wilful misconduct.

Governing law

These terms are governed by the laws of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, and any dispute will be handled in the courts of Massachusetts.

Questions about any of this?

Ask us. We'd rather explain it than have you guess.

Healing Hearts Home Care
Amalia Semedo, Owner
531 Pleasant Street, Suite 1
Brockton, MA 02301
540-522-1251
care.team@healingheartsma.com