Privacy Policy

01Who We Are

The Engine Room Financial Group (“ERFG,” “we,” “us,” or “our”) is an outsourced financial and administrative operations company located at 456A Central Ave Suite 115, Cedarhurst, NY 11516.

Among the services we provide, ERFG operates text message appointment reminder programs on behalf of the healthcare facilities we contract with. When you receive an appointment reminder text message from one of those programs, the message is sent by ERFG on behalf of the facility named in the message. That facility remains responsible for your care; ERFG administers the messaging program on its behalf under a written services agreement.

This policy governs those programs. An individual facility may publish its own program notice describing facility-specific details; where any such notice conflicts with this policy, this policy governs.

02Information We Collect

For the appointment reminder programs, we collect and process only what is needed to send and support reminder messages:

• Your name
• Your mobile phone number
• The date, time, and location of your scheduled appointment, and the name of the facility
• The content of your replies to our messages, including confirmation replies (such as YES or NO) and program commands (such as STOP or HELP)
• Message delivery records, such as whether a message was delivered and when

We do not collect payment card information, Social Security numbers, or clinical records through these messaging programs.

03Where This Information Comes From

Your mobile phone number is provided by you, in writing, on a signed consent form presented to you at the facility. Appointment details come from the facility’s own scheduling system, and only for patients who have signed that consent form.

Enrollment is voluntary. Consent to receive text messages is never a condition of receiving care, scheduling an appointment, being admitted, or completing any purchase or transaction.

04How We Use It

We use this information solely to:

• Send you reminders about your scheduled appointments
• Notify you when an appointment is rescheduled or cancelled
• Process your confirmation replies and pass them to the facility
• Respond to HELP requests and honor STOP requests
• Maintain records of consent and opt-out as required by law

We do not use your information for marketing, promotional, or advertising purposes, and we do not send marketing or promotional messages through these programs.

05Mobile Information Sharing

We do not sell your personal information or your mobile phone number. We do not rent, trade, or otherwise disclose your mobile information to data brokers, advertisers, or affiliates for their own use.

06Service Providers

We use Twilio Inc. as our messaging provider to transmit text messages to your wireless carrier. Twilio processes your mobile phone number and message content only to deliver messages on our behalf, is bound by contract to maintain confidentiality, and is not permitted to use your information for its own purposes.

We share information with the facility that scheduled your appointment, because that facility is the originator of the communication and your provider of care. We do not share your information with any other third party except where required by law.

07HIPAA and Protected Health Information

Appointment information relating to your treatment is protected health information under the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA). In operating these programs, ERFG acts as a business associate of each facility under HIPAA, pursuant to an executed Business Associate Agreement, and our messaging infrastructure is configured for HIPAA-eligible use.

We use and disclose protected health information only as permitted by that agreement and by HIPAA — here, to send treatment-related appointment reminders. Your rights with respect to your protected health information, including the right to access and amend it, are described in the Notice of Privacy Practices provided to you by your facility.

Please note that standard SMS text messaging is not an encrypted channel. Reminder messages are kept deliberately minimal for this reason, and contain no diagnosis or clinical detail. You may decline enrollment or opt out at any time.

08How Long We Keep It

We retain your mobile phone number for as long as you remain enrolled in the program. When you opt out or ask to be removed, your mobile number is removed from the active reminder system within one business day.

We retain a minimal record of your consent and of your opt-out — the fact of it and its date — for as long as required to demonstrate compliance with telecommunications and healthcare recordkeeping obligations.

09Your Choices

Stop receiving messages

Reply STOP to any message from the program. You will receive one confirmation message and then no further messages. Opting out will not affect your care, your appointments, or your standing with your facility in any way.

Get help

Reply HELP to any message, or contact your facility directly. For Perkins Country Manor outpatient therapy, call (606) 756-2156.

Access, correct, or delete your information

Contact your facility, or contact us at getintouch@TheERFG.com. If your request concerns protected health information, we will coordinate with your facility, which is the covered entity responsible for responding.

10Security

We maintain administrative, technical, and physical safeguards designed to protect the information described in this policy against unauthorized access, use, or disclosure. Access is limited to personnel who need it to operate the program.

11Children

These programs are not directed to children under 13, and we do not knowingly enroll a child under 13. Where a patient is a minor, enrollment is completed by the parent or legal guardian, whose mobile number receives the reminders.

12Changes to This Policy

If we change this policy, we will update the effective date shown above and post the revised policy at this address. Material changes affecting the messaging programs will be communicated through the facilities we serve.

13Contact Us

Questions about this policy, or about a text message you received, can be directed to us at getintouch@TheERFG.com or (516) 878-0015. The terms governing the messaging program itself are available at theerfg.com/terms.