Online privacy practices
Wisconsin Poison Center is strongly committed to protecting the privacy of its online users. We do not collect personally identifiable information about individuals, except when it is knowingly provided by such individuals. We do not share voluntarily provided, personally identifiable information for any purpose other than the use described at the point of collection. The only exception is described under "Donations and Fundraising Events" (below).
We continuously try to improve the security of our information systems. While we have many security measures to protect electronically transmitted information and frequently review and try to improve the security of our site, in today's computing environment, no organization can completely guarantee that a third party won't gain (illegal or inappropriate) access to information provided via this website. This privacy statement, updated October 2014, describes the information we collect and how we use it.
Log file data
We collect some basic log file data about site visitors. This information includes domain names, website traffic patterns and server usage statistics. This information is used for site management and administration and to improve the content and overall performance of our site.
Cookies
We use transient (temporary) “cookies” during a site visit but do not gather information from a user’s computer. The “cookie,” which is a small text file stored in temporary memory, is used to measure the effectiveness of the website, and to comply with subscription preferences that our visitors have given us. No personally identifying data is collected and the “cookie” is erased when the visit ends.
The site also uses persistent “cookies” on a limited basis as part of our web advertising, to capture demographic and other behavioral information; no personally identifying information is captured. Users may opt out of Google Analytics for Display Advertising through their browser settings or by adding an Opt-Out Browser Add-On (
https://tools.google.com/dlpage/gaoptout/). You can turn off or erase cookies in your browser preferences at any time without affecting site performance, if you wish to do so.
Online forms
Wisconsin Poison Center provides a number of forms, some of which request personal information. These online forms are secure (see Data Security below). We adhere to the requirements outlined by the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA) legislation, which ensures security and privacy of an individual's medical records. Please note that Wisconsin Poison Center will not intentionally share the contents of any email feedback or comment form with any third party. However, due to the nature of electronic communications, we cannot and do not provide any assurances that the contents of your email will not become known or accessible to third parties.
How we use the information
Wisconsin Poison Center uses the information you provide to fulfill your online request, facilitate customer service and inform you of our programs and events.
We do not rent or sell visitors' personal information to third parties, such as marketers.
We inform the companies that help Wisconsin Poison Center with donations made by credit card that they may not share or use personally identifiable information for any other purpose.
We do not share any third-party or personally identifiable information you provide with gifts in honor or memory of a loved one.
We do not share any personally identifiable information we may collect in surveys, although we may share aggregated survey results with analysts to help improve the website. The aggregate data cannot be used to identify individuals and participation in any survey is voluntary.
It is possible that we could be required to disclose personally identifiable user information in response to a search warrant, subpoena, court order or pursuant to applicable law; that can happen to any organization keeping records. We may also disclose personally identifiable user information to protect our legal rights and the security or integrity of our website, or to avoid liability. Those kinds of disclosures are highly unlikely, but possible.
Data security
Wisconsin Poison Center makes reasonable efforts to ensure that all of the transactions that occur on our website are secure. We store personally identifiable data with Secure Socket Layer (SSL) encryption to protect information you may submit on our site. SSL is the industry standard protocol.
Other sites
This site has links to other sites we think may be of interest to our visitors. Their purpose is to provide visitors with convenient access to other sites that might interest them. A link to another site does not imply an endorsement of the site's content or services. We are not responsible for the content or for the privacy practices of sites not owned by Wisconsin Poison Center. We encourage you to be aware of that when you leave our site and to read privacy statements at any sites that collect personally identifiable data.
Enewsletters and related services
If you subscribe to a newsletter, publication or press release published by Wisconsin Poison Center and distributed via email, we will keep your email address in a private distribution list. Messages sent electronically do not reveal recipients' email addresses or any other personal information. Wisconsin Poison Center will only send messages to individuals who have opted to subscribe and who have provided their email address to us directly. We only add individuals at their request. At any time, you may opt out by using the unsubscribe link provided in the publication email, which will remove your information from the distribution list for that publication. Or you can send an email to
webmaster@childrenswi.org and notify us of your desire to be removed from our email distribution lists.
Donations and fundraising events
When you donate to Wisconsin Poison Center or register for a fundraising event, we ask you to voluntarily provide your name, address, telephone number, email address and possibly credit card number so we can process your donation or event registration, send you a receipt or confirmation, and communicate with you if necessary. If you'd like, you can provide that information another way (by phone or regular mail). When you make a gift on our site, your information goes into a database maintained by the Children's Hospital Foundation, the philanthropic arm of Children's Hospital of Wisconsin. The Foundation may then send you email or mailings about other opportunities to support the hospital or Wisconsin Poison Center. You will always have the opportunity to opt out using any of the opt-out methods, included in any fundraising solicitation by the Foundation.
Passwords
If you have signed up for MyChart, you are responsible for taking all reasonable steps to ensure that no unauthorized person shall have access to your passwords or accounts. It is your sole responsibility to (1) control the dissemination and use of activation codes and passwords; (2) authorize, monitor, and control access to and use of your account and password; (3) promptly inform us of any need to deactivate a password.
Deletion and removal of information
Non-identifiable information in our aggregate database will not be deleted. Like all responsible website publishers, we maintain backup files as a protection against natural disasters, equipment failures or other disruptions. Backup files protect you and us because they lower the risk of losing valuable data. Removing a record from our main files does not remove that record from any backup systems. It may take up to six months before all information in a backup record is completely erased through the normal recycling of backup files. In the meantime, as long as backup records exist, they receive the same privacy and security protections as our other records.
Changes to our privacy and security policies
Wisconsin Poison Center necessarily reserves the right to change this policy from time to time, without advance notice. We will promptly post any changes to our privacy policy on all sites owned by Wisconsin Poison Center.
Contact information
If you have any questions about these privacy policies or the practices of this site, please send an email to
webmaster@childrenswi.org.
Reviewed Jan. 2015