Terms and Conditions of AHCA/NCAL Web Site Use
Updated: May 2017
Effective: June 2017
By accessing and or using any of the American Health Care Association (“AHCA,” “we” or “us”) internet properties including, without limitation www.ahca.org; www.ahcabookstore.com; www.ahcabookstore.org; www.ahcaconvention.com; www.ahcaconvention.org; www.ahca-dev.org; www.ahcainsurancesolutions.com; www.ahcancal.org; www.ahcapublications.com; www.ahcapublications.org; www.ahcaweb.com; www.ahcaweb.net; www.ahcaweb.org; www.carenotcuts.org; www.ahcatech.org; www.caringforourcaregivers.com; www.caringforourcaregivers.net; www.caringforourcaregivers.org; www.connect.ahcancal.org; www.educate.ahcancal.org; www.faceofltc.com; www.faceofltc.net; www.faceofltc.org; www.families4care.org; www.future-aging.org; www.foundationltc.com; www.foundationltc.net; www.foundationltc.org; www.geroprep.org; www.longtermcareleader.com; www.longtermcareleader.org; www.longtermcareliving.com; www.longtermcareliving.net; www.longtermcareliving.org; www.lstreetgang.com; www.ltcfound.com; www.ltcfound.net; www.ltcfound.org; www.ltccareercenter.com; www.ltctrendtracker.com; www.ltctrendtracker.net; www.ltccareercenter.org; www.mrddliving.com; www.mrddliving.net; www.mrddliving.org; www.nalw.com; www.nalw.net; www.nalw.org; www.ncal.org; www.ncal.org; www.ncalconvention.com; www.ncalconvention.org; www.ncalpublicaions.com; www.ncalpublications.org; www.ncalpso.org; www.nnhw.org; www.providermagazine.com; www.providernation.com; www.qualityfirstnursinghomes.org; www.qualityfirstnursinghomes.net; www.qualityfirstnursinghomes.org; www.qualitynursinghomes.com; www.qualitynursinghomes.net; www.qualitynursinghomes.org; and (collectively referred to as the “Websites” and any others released by the AHCA from time to time) and AHCA Services (as defined below), you agree to comply with and be bound by the terms and conditions set forth below (the “Agreement”). Please read this Agreement carefully as well as our Privacy Policy, which is also incorporated herein by reference. If you do not agree to any part of this Agreement, you are not permitted to access or use the Websites or any AHCA Services, as defined in Section 3 below.
1. Acceptance. You agree to the terms and conditions outlined in this Agreement with respect to your use of the Websites. This Agreement constitutes the entire and only agreement between you and AHCA with respect to your use of the Websites, and supersedes all prior or contemporaneous agreements, representations, warranties and/or understandings with respect to the Websites. We may amend this Agreement from time-to-time, in our sole discretion, without specific notice to you. The latest Agreement will be posted on the Websites, and you should review this Agreement prior to using the Websites. By your continued use of the any of the Websites, you hereby agree to all the terms and conditions contained within the Agreement effective at that time. Therefore, you should regularly check this page for updates and/or changes.
2. Requirements. The Websites are available only to individuals that can enter into legally binding contracts under applicable law.
3. Description of Services. The Websites serve the community of assisted living, nursing facility, developmentally-disabled and subacute care providers and consumers. The Websites are accessible to both visitors to the Websites and AHCA members (“Members”); however certain features and services may be available only to Members. For the purposes of this Agreement, the features and services available on the Websites shall be referred to as “AHCA Services.”
Unless explicitly stated otherwise, any future offer(s) made available to you on the Websites that augments or otherwise enhances the current features of the Websites shall be subject to this Agreement. You understand and agree that AHCA is not responsible or liable in any manner whatsoever for your inability to use AHCA Services or any associated functionality. You understand and agree that AHCA shall not be liable to you or any third party for any modification, suspension or discontinuation of the AHCA Services.
4. Registration and Account. Certain features and areas of our Websites are available only with registration, login and a paid subscription. Where you are required to register and select a unique login and password (collectively, your “Login”) you must keep your Login confidential. Your Login is personal to you and you may not allow any third party to use your Login under any circumstances. You agree that you are fully responsible for any activities that occur on the Websites under your Login, whether performed by you or a third party. We are not liable for any harm caused by or related to the theft or misappropriation of your Login, disclosure of your Login, or your authorization of anyone else to use your Login. You agree to immediately notify us if you become aware of or believe there is or may have been any unauthorized use of (or activity using) your Login or any other need to deactivate your Login due to security concerns.
5. License Grant. “Content” refers to all elements of the Websites, AHCA Services, all content, Marks, as defined by Section 6 below, audio, video, audio-visual, text, graphics, messages, newsletters, artwork, illustrations, images, photographs, data and data collection tools and applications, information, databases, designs and all other proprietary information and materials, whether or not copyrightable or otherwise legally protectable, tangible or intangible, including the selection, sequence, look and feel and arrangement of items. As a user of the Websites, you are granted a non-exclusive, non-transferable, revocable and limited license to access and use the Websites and Content, features, tools and applications in accordance with this Agreement. AHCA may terminate this license at any time for any reason without prior notice to you. You agree that you may use the Websites only for your own personal use, and that you will not use the Websites for any commercial purposes. Unless otherwise expressly stated herein or on one of the Websites, no part of the Websites or any content contained thereon may be reproduced in any form. You may not use, copy, emulate, clone, rent, lease, sell, modify, decompile, disassemble, reverse engineer or transfer the Websites, Content or any portion thereof. AHCA reserves any rights not explicitly granted in this Agreement. You may not use any device, software or routine to interfere or attempt to interfere with the proper working of the Websites. You may not take any action that imposes an unreasonable or disproportionately large load on AHCA infrastructure. Your right to use the Websites and AHCA Services is not transferable.
6. Proprietary Rights. Content is either our property or owned by our licensors, operational service providers, advertisers, promotional partners or other third parties and is protected under U.S. Federal and State, as well as any foreign laws, regulations and international treaties that apply. You agree not to reproduce, transmit, distribute, disseminate, sell, publish, broadcast or circulate any Content to any other person or entity without the prior express written consent of AHCA. “Marks” refers to trademarks, service marks, logos, brands and brand names, trade dress and trade names and all other distinctive identification. You may not alter, delete, obscure or conceal any copyright or other notices applicable to Content, impair or attempt to neither circumvent or alter any digital rights management or other technology, nor use Content or the AHCA Services in violation of this Agreement or any laws or regulations. You may not use, store or do anything with Content, unless expressly permitted under this Agreement. You may not use any computerized or automatic mechanism, to access, scrape, extract or download any Content without our prior written consent or use AHCA Services in an illegal or harmful manner.
7. Uploading Data to the Research Tool. Certain registered users will have the opportunity to upload data to specific areas of the Websites via AHCA-provided data collection and reporting tools (“User Uploaded Data”). User Uploaded Data must strictly follow the instructions and guidelines made available to you by AHCA. These guidelines shall include, without limitation, restrictions and requirements which the User Uploaded Data must satisfy.
User Uploaded Data shall be the most current and accurate available to you. You represent and warrant that, under no circumstances will you submit User Uploaded Data which you know or have reason to believe is inaccurate, misleading, obtained in an unauthorized manner or is a violation of applicable law. As set forth elsewhere herein, please retain copies of all User Uploaded Data that you submit, as AHCA is not required to retain copies or backups thereof, if such data becomes lost or destroyed for any reason.
You may be required to classify User Uploaded Data as either User Uploaded Data that is accessible to all users or User Uploaded Data that should only be accessible to a permitted group of users. If you are prompted to classify the nature of the User Uploaded Data and you fail to do so, AHCA does not reserve the right to make available the User Uploaded Data on a generally available basis, for which AHCA shall have no liability, nor shall you have any recourse against the AHCA.
8. Posting to our Message Boards and Blogs. Parts of our Websites may have message boards and/or blogs containing Content, forum, messaging and communication capabilities that provide you and other users with an opportunity to Post and share Posts. We generally do not allow users to Post without providing a true and correct name and/or email address. We use the term “Post”, “Posted” or “Posting” to refer to each and every time you submit, transmit or communicate any information, correspondence, comments, ideas, images, audio-visual material, opinions, files and messages on our message boards, blogs and/or fora.
With respect to each and every one of your Postings, you agree that you are making your Posting available to the general public without reservation of any rights or further control over its use and you specifically authorize us, at our option, to use your Posting in whole or in part, throughout the universe, in perpetuity in or on any and all media, now known or hereafter devised, discovered or developed, whether alone or together, in compilations or combinations, as part of other Content, information, and/or material of any kind or nature and/or in any other manner of represent and warrant that we will not be required to pay or incur fees, charges or royalties as a result of our use or exploitation of your Posting and that if your Posting incorporates a name, logo, brand, service or trademark, voice, likeness or image of any person, firm or enterprise, you specifically represent and warrant you have the right to place that Posting in the public domain and grant us the right to use such Posting as described above.
All Posts must comply with the Community Requirements set forth in section 9 below. We reserve the right to delete your Posting in any manner we determine at any time.
9. Community Requirements. We do not endorse Postings or any User Uploaded Data, nor do they reflect our views. We have no obligation to review, monitor, edit or screen Postings or User Uploaded Data, although we reserve the right to do so and even if we do, we have no obligation to continue to do so and we may do so randomly, continuously or not at all and in some, any, all or no portions of the AHCA Services. We have absolutely no liability for or in connection with any Posting or User Uploaded Data, even if it violates this Agreement or any other obligation. If we determine or reasonably believe any Posting or User Uploaded Data violates this Agreement or any law or regulation or we believe you are behaving inappropriately, we reserve the right, at any time and without limiting any and all other rights we may have, to (a) refuse to allow you to Post or User Uploaded Data, (b) remove and delete any Post or User Uploaded Data, (c) revoke, suspend and/or terminate your use, membership and/or access to all or any part of the AHCA Services and/or (d) use any means available to us to enforce your compliance.
In general, you represent and warrant that you will not engage in any activity that could or does:
- constitute criminal or tortious activity or otherwise violates the law or the rights of another, including, without limitation, child pornography, fraud, trafficking in obscene material, drug dealing, gambling, stalking or spamming;
-
interfere with or disrupt the AHCA Services or anything connected with the AHCA Services, including any digital rights management, intellectual property, advertisements, promotions or security;
-
involve any commercial or business purpose;
-
copy, distribute, transmit, share, download, upload or transfer Content or Personal Information of others in any way without prior written permission or authorization;
-
use any robot, spider, site search or retrieval application, macro, script or any manual or automated means to retrieve, index, “data mine”, “scrape”, reproduce or circumvent navigational structure, the presentation, operation or intended use of the AHCA Services in an illegal or harmful manner;
- Post, e-mail or transmit any software virus, program or code, file or material designed interrupt, disrupt, destroy or limit any features, functions or operations our or anyone else’s equipment, programs, communication or other resources or facilities;
- use meta tags, code or other means to direct any person or browser to another site, page, location or service;
- impersonate any person or entity or deceive or pretend to be anyone or anything else but you; or
-
cover or obscure banner or other advertisements on any Website page via HTML/CSS or any other means.
In addition, and specifically with respect to Postings and User Uploaded Data, you represent and warrant that you will not submit any Posting or User Uploaded Data, or engage in any activity that in our sole discretion:
-
is defamatory, inaccurate, abusive, obscene, profane, offensive, sexually oriented or explicit, threatening, harassing, or illegal or that infringes or violates another's rights (e.g., intellectual property rights; rights of privacy or publicity);
-
is clearly offensive to us or, in our sole discretion, to the online community (e.g., if it promotes racism, violence, bigotry, sexism, harassment, hatred or harm of any kind);
-
involves transmission of “junk mail”, “SPAM”, “chain letters” or unsolicited mass mailing;
-
is false, deceptive, misleading or promotes illegal activities or conduct that is abusive, threatening, obscene, defamatory or libelous;
-
promotes illegal or unauthorized copying of someone else’s work or circumvents copy-protection devices (e.g., pirated computer programs, video or audio);
- exploits or could be used to exploit minors in a sexual, violent, illegal or otherwise prohibited or harmful manner or causes or encourages others to do so;
- involves any commercial activity, advertising or sales, even if no money is exchanged;
- solicits, induces or encourages others to provide personal information, passwords or any identifying information improperly, illegally, without authorization or under false pretenses, or causes or encourages others to do so;
- contains any personal information or information that is not yours or which should not be shared publicly or without the owner’s or rights holder’s consent; or
- disparages, tarnishes or otherwise could adversely affect us or any of the AHCA Services, tools, applications or Websites.
10. Disclaimer. The Websites, Content and AHCA Services are provided on an “as is” and “as available” basis. All warranties, whether express or implied, statutory or otherwise, are disclaimed to the fullest extent permissible pursuant to applicable law (including, but not limited to, the disclaimer of any warranties of merchantability, title, non-infringement of intellectual property and/or fitness for a particular purpose).
WE HEREBY DISCLAIM ANY LIABILITY OR RESPONSIBILITY, WHETHER ARISING UNDER CONTRACT, IN TORT (INCLUDING NEGLIGENCE AND STRICT LIABILITY), OR OTHERWISE ARISING OUT OF OR IN CONNECTION WITH THE WEBSITES, CONTENT, OR AHCA SERVICES.
In particular, but not as a limitation thereof, AHCA makes no warranty that: (A) the Websites, Content and/or AHCA services will meet your requirements or be satisfactory to you; (B) the Websites, Content and/or AHCA services, will be uninterrupted, timely, secure or error-free or that any errors or defects will be corrected; or (C) the results that may be obtained from the use of the Websites, Content and/or AHCA services will be accurate or reliable. The Websites, Content and/or AHCA services may contain bugs, errors, problems or other limitations. We will not be liable for the availability of the underlying internet connection associated with the Websites. We hereby disclaim any and all liability for harm resulting from downloading or accessing any content through the Websites including, without limitation, for harm caused by viruses, worms, trojan houses or other similar devices. No advice or information, whether oral or written, obtained by you from AHCA or through or from the Websites, Content and/or AHCA services shall create any warranty not expressly stated in this agreement.
The Websites, Content and/or AHCA services ARE strictly for informational and educational purposes only and should not be considered AND do not constitute, clinical, legal, reimbursement, business, or other professional advice. Opinions, data and other information contained on the Websites, Content and/or AHCA services are not necessarily our views and we are not responsible for information posted by users, SUCH AS POSTINGS AND USER UPLOADED DATA.
Further, The Websites, Content and/or AHCA services, including ANY goals and standards set forth therein, do not represent an industry-wide norm or industry-wide standards, but rather are intended to represent one of possibly many potential approaches. Providers should note that laws, regulations, and clinical and coverage guidelines are complex, often evolving and updated frequently, and, therefore, providers should consult with legal counsel, clinical specialists or other advisors with any questions.
In addition, if you have a medical question or a question about the type of coverage or treatment you should receive, you should seek the advice of a physician or qualified health provider or other medical professional.
We are not recommending or endorsing any medical procedures, products, insurance plans or coverage, health care provider, or any other opinions
by offering information and data on any of the Websites.
11. Limitation of Liability.
You understand and agree, to the fullest extent permissible by law, neither we nor any affiliate, successor or assignee, nor any of our or their officers, directors, trustees, employees, agents, licensors, representatives, advertisers or promotional partners shall be liable for any claim, loss or damage, direct or indirect, including, without limitation, compensatory, consequential, incidental, indirect, special, exemplary or punitive damages of any kind whatsoever in connection with, as a result of, or arising from: (i) your use or inability to use the Websites, Content and/or AHCA services, or (ii) the cost of procurement of substitute goods and services resulting from any problem(s) with the goods, content and/or services purchased or obtained from the websites, or transactions entered into, through or from the Websites, regardless of the form of action, legal theory or basis of any claim, whether or not any party has been advised of the possibility of damages. If any limitation of remedy, damages or liability is prohibited or restricted by law, we are entitled to the maximum disclaimers and limitations permitted under this agreement, at law and in equity; however, in no event shall our liability to you for damages or otherwise and your remedy will be equal to the amounts you paid, if any, even if you claim that remedy fails of its essential purpose some jurisdictions do not allow the exclusion of certain warranties or certain limitations on damages and remedies, so some of these exclusions and limitations may not apply to you.
If you have a dispute with us or are dissatisfied with our service or your agreement with us, termination of your use of the Websites and AHCA Services is your sole right and exclusive remedy, even if that right or remedy is deemed to fail of its essential purpose. You agree we have no other obligation, liability or responsibility to you or any other party. Under no circumstances do we have any obligation to refund any monies you paid us. You agree that you will only sue us as an individual. You agree that you will not file a class action, or participate in a class action. You waive any right to a trial by jury.
12. Indemnification. You agree to defend and indemnify us and any of our affiliates, as well as our and their officers, directors, trustees, employees, agents, licensors, representatives and advertisers against any and all demands, claims and actions (including, without limitation, any claim you improperly downloaded, used, encoded, decoded, compressed, copied, displayed, broadcast, adapted, accessed, exported or transmitted any Content) (“Claims”). You also agree to hold us harmless from and against all losses, damages, costs and expenses (including reasonable attorneys’ fees) resulting from or arising from or associated with: (i) your breach or violation of this Agreement; (ii) your breach or violation of any law or regulation or infringement, misappropriation or violation of the rights of any other party, (iii) your use of the Websites, including any Post, Content, User Uploaded Data, messages or any other materials on the Websites. . We reserve the right to assume the exclusive defense and control of any such Claims and all negotiations for their settlement or compromise and you agree to fully cooperate with us.
13. Third Party Websites. The Websites may provide links to other Internet websites and/or resources. Because AHCA has no control over such third-party websites and/or resources, you hereby acknowledge and agree that AHCA is not responsible for the availability of such third party websites and/or resources. If you have any concerns regarding third party websites or the content located on such sites, you should contact those third parties and/or review the terms and conditions and privacy policies of those third parties. Furthermore, AHCA does not endorse, and is not responsible or liable for, any terms and conditions, privacy policies, content, advertising, services, products and/or other materials at or available from such third party websites or resources, or for any damages and/or losses arising therefrom.
14. HIPAA Laws. The AHCA Services are intended to comply with 45 CFR 160 and 164 with respect to identifiable health information. You should not submit, in the form of a Posting or otherwise, on any of the Websites any patient-identifiable information. We may, however, use and make available to other users of the Websites data submitted by you for research and general-informational purposes.
15. Notice and procedure for Making Claims of Copyright Infringement. If you believe that a Posting or User Uploaded Data infringes on your copyrighted work, you may submit to us a copyright infringement notification pursuant to the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (“DMCA”) DO NOT USE THIS PROCEDURE FOR ANYTHING UNRELATED TO COPYRIGHT INFRINGEMENT.
Pursuant to the DMCA, all notifications of claimed copyright infringement by Content on our Service should be sent ONLY to our Designated Agent. Written notification of copyright infringement must be submitted to our Designated Agent at the following address:
ATTN: Rae Anne Davis
American Health Care Association
1201 L Street NW, Washington, DC, 20005
Facsimile Number of Designated Agent: +1 (202) 842-3860
E-mail Address of Designated Agent: rdavis@AHCA.org
Your notification of claimed infringement must include the following information: (1) your electronic or physical signature; (2) identification of the copyrighted work (or works) that you claim has (or have) been infringed; (3) a description of the material that you claim is infringing, and the location where the original or an authorized copy of the copyrighted work exists (for example, the URL of the page of the website where it is lawfully found; the name, edition and pages of a book from which an excerpt was copied, etc.); (4) a clear description of where the infringing material is located on our website, including as applicable its URL, so that we can locate the material; (5) your name, address, telephone number, and e-mail address; (6) a statement that you have a good-faith belief that use of the copyrighted work is not authorized by the copyright owner, its agent, or the law; and (7) a statement by you, made under penalty of perjury, that the information in your notice is accurate and that you are the copyright owner or authorized to act on the copyright owner's behalf.
SENDING US A COUNTER-NOTICE IF YOUR POSTING WAS REMOVED BUT YOU BELIEVE IT IS NOT INFRINGING
If you posted material that was removed in response to a notice of infringement and you believe the material was removed due to mistake or misidentification, you may request that were place the posting by sending us a counter-notice addressed to our Designated Agent as shown above.
Your counter-notice must be a written communication and must include substantially the following information: (1) your physical or electronic signature; (2) identification of the material that has been removed or to which access has been disabled and the location at which the material appeared before it was removed or access to it was disabled; (3) a statement under penalty of perjury that you have a good faith belief that the material was removed or disabled as a result of mistake or misidentification of the material to be removed or disabled; and (4) your name, address, telephone number and a statement that you consent to the jurisdiction of Federal District Court for the judicial district in which the address is located, or if your address is outside of the United States, for any judicial district in which the service provider may be found, and that you will accept service of process from the person who provided notification of copyright infringement or an agent of such person.
When we receive a counter-notice that complies with these requirements, we reserve the right, but not the obligation, to restore the material that was removed after forwarding a copy of the counter-notice to the person who sent the notice of infringement and waiting at least 10 business days for such person to respond.
16. Choice of Law. Your use of the Websites and AHCA Services and this Agreement is governed and will be enforced under the laws of the District of Columbia applicable to contracts made, executed and wholly performed in the District of Columbia. You unconditionally and irrevocably submit to the exclusive jurisdiction and venue of the State and Federal Courts situated in the District of Columbia and you will not object on the grounds of lack of personal jurisdiction, inconvenient forum or otherwise. Neither the Uniform Computer Information Transactions Act nor the United Nations Convention on Contracts for the International Sale of Goods apply and their applicability is expressly excluded. You agree printed copies of any and all agreements and/or notices in electronic form are admissible in any legal or regulatory proceedings.
17. Miscellaneous. Should any part of this Agreement be held invalid or unenforceable, such provision shall be severed from the remainder of this Agreement, and the remaining portions of the Agreement shall remain in full force and effect. AHCA’s failure to insist upon or enforce strict performance of any provision of this Agreement shall not be construed as a waiver of any provision or right. Any amendment to or waiver of any portion of this Agreement must be made in writing and signed by us. Any cause of action which you may have with respect to the Websites or the AHCA Services must be commenced within one (1) year after the claim or cause of action arises or such claim or cause of action is barred.
18. Customer Service. If you have any questions, please visit our “Contact Us” page.