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Terms of Use

Last Updated and Effective: June 19, 2024

1. Your Acceptance

Welcome to the website of the Healthcare Industry Resilience Collaborative (referred to in these Terms of Use as “HIRC,” “We,” or “Our”). These Terms of Use (“TOU”) apply to Your visits to the https://hircstrong.com/ website, the https://hirc.link/vault/ information exchange, and our members only forum located at https://hircmembers.com/, and your access to any associated Content including email feeds, feeds through apps, communications systems, or Content provided by HIRC or other users (collectively the “Service”), but do not apply to other websites which are linked to/from the Service. 

By using and/or visiting the Service, the person or entity using the Service (“You”) signify (a) that You have read and understood these TOU, (b) that You consent to the HIRC Privacy Policy; and (c) that these TOU have the same force and effect as a signed agreement. The Service is provided by the Healthcare Industry Resilience Collaborative, a trade association as described in Section 501(c)(6) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 with offices at 4446 Arcon Lane NW, Rochester, MN 55901.

You affirm that You are either more than 18 years of age, or an emancipated minor, or possess legal parental or guardian consent, and are fully able and competent to enter into the terms, conditions, obligations, affirmations, representations, warranties, and indemnification set forth in these TOU, and to abide by and comply with these TOU. In addition, You affirm that You have not been previously suspended or removed from the Service.

ATTENTION:  PLEASE READ THESE TOU, OUR CONFIDENTIALITY POLICY, OUR PRIVACY POLICY, AND OUR COMMUNITY GUIDELINES, AND OUR DATA SHARING POLICY, CAREFULLY BEFORE USING THE SERVICE. ACCESSING ANY PART OF THE SERVICE INDICATES THAT YOU ACCEPT AND AGREE TO BE BOUND BY THESE TOU AND RELATED POLICIES IN FULL. IF YOU DO NOT ACCEPT THE TOU AND RELATED POLICIES, DO NOT USE, ACCESS, OR DOWNLOAD MATERIALS FROM THE SERVICE AND LEAVE THE SERVICE IMMEDIATELY. 

We reserve the right to modify or discontinue the Service (or any portion of the Service), temporarily or permanently, with or without notice to You, and are not obligated to support or update the Service. YOU AGREE THAT HIRC SHALL NOT BE LIABLE TO YOU OR TO ANY THIRD PARTY IN THE EVENT THAT WE EXERCISE OUR RIGHT TO MODIFY OR DISCONTINUE THE SERVICE (OR ANY PORTION OF THE SERVICE). Unless explicitly stated otherwise, any new features that augment or enhance the current Service shall be subject to these TOU.

BY USING THE SERVICE, YOU AGREE TO BE BOUND BY THE MOST RECENT VERSION OF THE TOU. We may change these TOU at any time. Please review the TOU each time You visit the Service. If We have Your email address, We will notify You of material changes to the TOU via email. If We do not have Your email address, We will update this page to reflect any changes to the TOU.

2. Confidentiality Policy

Our Confidentiality Policy outlines how You and others use the Service.  It also describes how to handle and protect confidential information. This set of rules is important because it can: Build trust, Promote confidence, Prevent misuse, Protect reputation, and Ensure compliance with the law.  Please click here to review Our Confidentiality Policy.

3. Privacy Policy

Our Privacy Policy describes the information HIRC collects when You and others use the Service. It also describes how HIRC uses and shares any personal information You share with it. By agreeing to these TOU, You are also consenting to Our collection, use, and sharing of Your personal information in accordance with Our Privacy Policy. Please click here to review Our Privacy Policy. 

4. Community Guidelines

Our community guidelines play an important role in maintaining a positive experience for our users. Please follow these rules, in addition to all applicable laws. Please click here to review Our Community Guidelines.

5. Data Sharing Policy

Our Data Sharing Policy outlines how You and others use the Service.  It also describes rules for how information shared on https://hirc.link/vault/ information exchange (“HIRC Vault”).  Please click here to review Our Data Sharing Policy.

6. User Submissions

You may submit feedback, notes, messages, ideas, concepts, know-how, techniques, or other communications You transmit, upload, or post to the Service (“User Submissions”) on the Service. By submitting any such materials to the Service, You represent and warrant that You will not submit or post material that is copyrighted, protected by trade secret, or otherwise subject to third-party proprietary rights, including privacy and publicity rights, unless You are the owner of such rights or have permission from their rightful owner to submit or post the material and to grant HIRC all of the license rights granted herein. In addition, You agree to pay for all royalties, fees, and other payments owed to any party by reason of Your posting or submitting User Submissions. HIRC EXPRESSLY DISCLAIMS ANY AND ALL LIABILITY IN CONNECTION WITH USER SUBMISSIONS. 

You further represent and warrant that You have the permission of any individuals depicted in photographs, videos, or recordings that You submit to the Service to use their likeness and/or voice, as well as all other legal rights necessary to grant the license below to HIRC.

If You submit any User Submissions to the Service, You hereby grant a non-exclusive, royalty-free, worldwide, transferable, perpetual right and license to HIRC, its affiliates, and its successors and assigns to use, reproduce, distribute, display, transmit, publish, modify, edit, and/or create derivative works from the User Submissions in any format, including, without limitation, coding or watermarking such User Submissions, provided in any medium, forum, or format, for any purpose of HIRC or its affiliates in their sole discretion.

You also agree that immediately upon the creation by or on behalf of HIRC, its affiliates, successors, or assigns, of any derivative works from, modifications, edits, or other changes to the User Submissions (the “Modified Content”), the Modified Content will become the sole and exclusive property of HIRC, and that We will own the entire right, title, and interest in and to the Modified Content, including the right to secure copyright registration for the Modified Content and to otherwise use the Modified Content for any purpose as determined by HIRC in its sole discretion. You hereby grant, assign, transfer, and convey any and all right, title, or interest You have or may be deemed to have in and to the Modified Content to HIRC.

HIRC welcomes Your comments and suggestions. However, except for any personal information We may collect from You pursuant to Our Privacy Policy, User Submissions will be considered non-confidential and non-proprietary. You understand that whether or not such User Submissions are published or posted, HIRC (1) does not guarantee any confidentiality with respect to any User Submissions (except as described in Our Privacy Policy), (2) does not pay any compensation for User Submissions, and (3) is under no obligation to respond to or post any User Submissions. 

YOU AGREE TO WAIVE, AND HEREBY DO WAIVE, ANY LEGAL OR EQUITABLE RIGHTS OR REMEDIES YOU HAVE OR MAY HAVE AGAINST HIRC, ITS AFFILIATES, AND THEIR RESPECTIVE OFFICERS, DIRECTORS, EMPLOYEES, AGENTS, SHAREHOLDERS, LICENSORS, LICENSEES, AND SUPPLIERS (COLLECTIVELY “THE HIRC PARTIES”) WITH RESPECT TO USER SUBMISSIONS, AND AGREE TO INDEMNIFY AND HOLD THE HIRC PARTIES HARMLESS TO THE FULLEST EXTENT ALLOWED BY LAW REGARDING ALL MATTERS RELATED TO YOUR USE OF THE SERVICE.

7. Errors, Inaccuracies and Omissions

Occasionally there may be information on the Service that contains typographical errors, inaccuracies or omissions. We reserve the right to correct any errors, inaccuracies or omissions, and to change or update information if any information in the Service or on any related website is inaccurate at any time without prior notice (including after You have submitted Your membership application).

WE UNDERTAKE NO OBLIGATION TO UPDATE, AMEND OR CLARIFY INFORMATION ON THE SERVICE OR ON ANY RELATED WEBSITE, INCLUDING WITHOUT LIMITATION, PRICING INFORMATION, EXCEPT AS REQUIRED BY LAW. No specified update or refresh date applied in the Service or on any related website, should be taken to indicate that all information in the Service or on any related website has been modified or updated.

8. Refund Policy

Before becoming a member of the Service carefully review the Membership Agreement and other policies and document. We will not issue refunds of membership fees. You agree that You will not dispute or otherwise seek a “chargeback” from the company whose credit card You used to pay membership fees or other payments on the Service, except in the case of fraud. Should You do so, HIRC may, in its sole discretion, refuse to honor pending and future membership applications, transactions, or entries made from all credit card accounts or online accounts on which such chargebacks have been made and may prohibit all persons or businesses in whose name the credit card accounts exist and any person or business who accesses any associated online account or credit card or who otherwise breaches this provision from using the Service. 

9. Users Who Violate Terms of Use or Community Guidelines

HIRC may, at its sole discretion, disable access or partially disable access to the Service for any users who violate these TOU or the Community Guidelines, including, but not limited to, the accounts of (1) users who submit User Submissions that infringe copyrights, trademarks, rights of publicity, or other intellectual property rights, especially if they do so repeatedly, (2) users who provide false or inaccurate information; (3) users who breach these TOU including any warranties; and (5) users who misuse or challenge HIRC’s rights in the Content.

10. Restrictions on Use of Service

In Your use of the Service, You will not:

If you are an intellectual property owner or an agent thereof and believe that either (1) any Content or User Submissions on the Service or (2) any material or activity contained on an online location to which HIRC has referred or linked users, infringes upon your intellectual property rights, You may submit a notification pursuant to the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (“DMCA”) by providing Our Copyright Agent with the following information in writing (see 17 U.S.C. 512(c)(3) and 512(d) for further detail):

  1. violate these TOU or the HIRC Community Guidelines [make “Community Guidelines” a link to the guidelines];
  2. use the Service for any purpose other than for using the features We intentionally make available to You; 
  3. upload, email, or otherwise transmit any unsolicited or unauthorized advertising, promotional materials, junk mail, spam, chain letters, pyramid schemes, or other form of solicitation; 
  4. post any information that HIRC, in its sole discretion, determines is confidential (including social security or alternate national identity numbers, sensitive personal information, non-public phone numbers, or non-public email addresses), false, misleading, unlawful, infringing, threatening, abusive, harassing, libelous, defamatory, discriminatory, obscene, offensive, inflammatory, scandalous, pornographic, or profane material, or any material that could constitute or encourage conduct that would be considered a criminal offense, give rise to civil liability, or otherwise violate the law; 
  5. upload, download, post, email, or otherwise transmit any material that may infringe copyright, patent, trademark, trade secret, or other intellectual property or proprietary rights of any party;
  6. copy, download, or distribute any part of the Service in any form or medium without the prior written authorization of HIRC;
  7. alter, modify, or make derivative works from any part of the Service without the prior written authorization of HIRC; 
  8. resell or attempt to license, sublicense, sell, resell, transfer, assign, distribute, or otherwise commercially exploit or make available to any third party, all or any part of the rights granted to You under these TOU, the Service or any Content, in whole or in part;
  9. modify, copy, distribute, download, scrape or transmit in any form or by any means any Content from the Service;
  10. provide false personal information or personal information belonging to anyone other than You without permission; 
  11. use web crawlers, web robots, web scutters, ants, automatic indexers, bots, worms, and other such devices in connection with the Service; provided, however, that general purpose Internet search engines and non-commercial public archives that use tools to gather information for the sole purpose of displaying hyperlinks to the Service are granted a limited exception from the foregoing exclusion, provided that they do so from a stable IP address or range of IP addresses using an easily-identifiable agent; 
  12. use the Service in any manner that could damage, disable, overburden, or impair the Service or interfere with any other party’s use of the Service; 
  13. obtain or attempt to obtain any content through any means not intentionally made available or provided for through the Service; 
  14. impersonate or misrepresent any person or entity or Your affiliation with someone else; 
  15. remove, modify, disable, block, obscure, or otherwise impair any advertising in connection with the Service; or
  16. post or transmit any worms, viruses, Trojans, or other harmful, disruptive, or destructive files, code, or programs to the Service.

HIRC will fully cooperate with any law enforcement authorities or court order requesting or directing HIRC to disclose the identity of anyone violating these TOU.

HIRC may cancel Your account, terminate Your access to the Service, delete all of Your information and User Content at any time, without notice, for any reason or no reason including, without limitation, Your violation of these TOU.

HIRC believes in children’s online safety and does not wish to receive information regarding children under 18 years old. Therefore, You may not submit any personally-identifiable information of a child under 18 years old or information sufficient to locate such a child on or through the Service. If You are under 18 years of age, then please do not attempt to submit any information to or use the Service.

11. Intellectual Property

Everything You see, hear, or otherwise experience on the Service, including, but not limited to, the graphics, videos, audio recordings, text, software, photographs, scripts, software screens, design elements, artwork, templates, layout designs, interactive features and the like, the concepts and ideas underlying the Service, and all statistical, analytical, and other data captured by or through the Service (collectively, “Content”), and the trademarks, service marks, and logos contained therein (“Marks”), are owned by or licensed to HIRC, subject to copyright and other intellectual property rights under United States and international laws and conventions. HIRC owns the copyright in the selection, coordination, arrangement, and enhancement of the Content. Any unauthorized use of any materials on the Service or use of the Marks may violate copyright, trademark, and other laws. HIRC andthe HIRC logo are trademarks of HIRC. 

For Your personal use, You may view, copy, and print pages from the Service. Otherwise, the Service may not be copied, downloaded, modified, reproduced, distributed, published, performed, streamed, transmitted, broadcasted, displayed, sold, licensed, or otherwise exploited for any other purposes whatsoever without the prior written consent of the respective owners. HIRC reserves all rights not expressly granted in and to the Service, the Content, and the Marks. You agree not to use, copy, download, or distribute any of the Content other than as expressly permitted herein. You may not incorporate the Content into or stream or transmit the Content via any hardware or software application, or make it available via frames or in-line links, unless expressly permitted by HIRC in writing. You may not create, recreate, advertise, or distribute an index of a significant portion of the Content unless authorized in writing by us. You may not build a business using the Content, whether or not for profit. If You copy or print pages of the Content for personal use, You must retain all copyright and other proprietary notices contained therein. You agree not to circumvent, disable, or otherwise interfere with security-related features of the Service or features that prevent or restrict use or copying of any Content or enforce limitations on use of the Service or the Content therein, nor may You scrape or use any extraction methods to obtain any Content or data from the Service.

You shall not, and shall not permit others to, license, sublicense, sell, resell, transfer, assign, distribute, or otherwise commercially exploit or make available to any third party all or any part of the rights granted to You under these TOU, the Service, or any content or materials accessible through the Service, in whole or part.

12. Advertisement/Sponsor Release

HIRC takes no responsibility for advertisements, sponsor information, or any third-party material posted on or transmitted through the Service, nor does it take any responsibility for the products or services provided by other service providers with Content on the Service such as advertisers and sponsors (“Advertisers”). Any dealings You have with Advertisers found while using the Service are between You and the Advertiser, and You agree that HIRC is not liable for any loss or claim that You may have against an Advertiser.

BECAUSE HIRC DOES NOT SUPERVISE OR CONTROL INTERACTIONS AMONG OR BETWEEN ADVERTISERS AND OTHER PERSONS OR COMPANIES, YOU AGREE THAT YOU BEAR ALL RISK AND YOU AGREE TO RELEASE THE HIRC PARTIES FROM CLAIMS, DEMANDS, AND DAMAGES (ACTUAL AND CONSEQUENTIAL) OF EVERY KIND AND NATURE, KNOWN AND UNKNOWN, SUSPECTED AND UNSUSPECTED, DISCLOSED AND UNDISCLOSED, NOW AND IN THE FUTURE, ARISING OUT OF OR IN ANY WAY CONNECTED WITH YOUR USE OF THE SERVICE AND YOUR TRANSACTIONS WITH ADVERTISERS, OR OTHER THIRD PARTIES. YOU FURTHER WAIVE ANY AND ALL RIGHTS AND BENEFITS OTHERWISE CONFERRED BY ANY STATUTORY OR NON-STATUTORY LAW OF ANY JURISDICTION THAT WOULD PURPORT TO LIMIT THE SCOPE OF A RELEASE OR WAIVER. YOU WAIVE AND RELINQUISH ALL RIGHTS AND BENEFITS WHICH YOU HAVE OR MAY HAVE UNDER SECTION 1542 OF THE CIVIL CODE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA OR ANY SIMILAR PROVISION OF THE STATUTORY OR NON-STATUTORY LAW OF ANY OTHER JURISDICTION (INCLUDING WITHOUT LIMITATION THE STATES OF MISSOURI, DELAWARE AND PENNSYLVANIA) TO THE FULL EXTENT THAT YOU MAY LAWFULLY WAIVE ALL SUCH RIGHTS AND BENEFITS. 

13. Notice and Procedure for Making Claims of Intellectual Property Infringement

If you are an intellectual property owner or an agent thereof and believe that either (1) any Content or User Submissions on the Service or (2) any material or activity contained on an online location to which HIRC has referred or linked users, infringes upon your intellectual property rights, You may submit a notification pursuant to the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (“DMCA”) by providing Our Copyright Agent with the following information in writing (see 17 U.S.C. 512(c)(3) and 512(d) for further detail):

  1. a physical or electronic signature of a person authorized to act on behalf of the owner of an exclusive right that is allegedly infringed; 
  2. identification of the copyrighted work claimed to have been infringed, or, if multiple copyrighted works on the Service are covered by a single notification, a representative list of such works on the Service; 
  3. identification of the material that is claimed to be infringing or to be the subject of infringing activity and that is to be removed or access to which is to be disabled, and information reasonably sufficient to permit Us to locate the material (or in the case of referrals or links that are claimed to lead to infringing material or activity, identification of the reference or link that is to be removed or access to which is to be disabled, and information reasonably sufficient to permit Us to locate that reference or link); 
  4. information reasonably sufficient to permit Us to contact you, such as an address, telephone number, and, if available, an email address; 
  5. a statement that you have a good faith belief that use of the material in the manner complained of is not authorized by the copyright owner, its agent, or the law; and 
  6. a statement that the information in the notification is accurate, and under penalty of perjury, that you are authorized to act on behalf of the owner of an exclusive right that is allegedly infringed.

Notification pursuant to the DMCA should be submitted to:

Copyright Compliance Department
Healthcare Industry Resilience Collaborative
4446 Arcon Lane NW
Rochester, MN 55901 USA
Phone:  (215) 687-4472
Email:  [email protected] 

You acknowledge that if you fail to comply with all of the requirements of this section, your DMCA notice may not be valid. Emails or notices sent to HIRC without a proper subject line, or for purposes other than communication about intellectual property claims, may not be acknowledged or responded to. 

14. Trademarks and Celebrity Material

  1. IRC responds to complaints that Content infringes trademarks or celebrity material. Trademarks include logos, brand names, and trade dress, which is the distinctive visual appearance of a product or its packaging. 
  2. Please be aware that celebrities, and sometimes others, may have a “right of publicity,” which means that they may have a right to control commercial uses of their name, image, likeness, and other aspects of their identity. Although you may be a fan, you risk infringing celebrity rights if you use a celebrity name or likeness on the Service and you do not have the celebrity’s permission. 
  3. If you are a trademark owner or a celebrity and you believe your rights have been infringed on the Service, please submit a notification of infringement to Our agent listed in Section 9 above.
  4. To submit a notification, you must be the trademark owner or celebrity or an authorized agent of the trademark owner or celebrity. 
  5. When submitting a notification of trademark or trade dress infringement, provide a copy of the relevant trademark or trade dress registration(s) from the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. Please also provide the location on the Service where you believe the infringement is occurring. 

15. Links to and From the Service

The Service may contain links to third-party websites and online services (such as social media sites) that are not owned or controlled by HIRC. HIRC has no control over, and assumes no responsibility for, the content, privacy policies, or practices of any third-party websites or online services, and You access and use these websites or online services solely at Your own risk. These links are provided for Your reference and convenience only, and do not necessarily imply any endorsement, sponsorship, or recommendation of the material on these third-party websites or online services or any association with their operators. In addition, HIRC will not and cannot control or edit the content of any third-party website or online service. BY USING THE SERVICE, YOU EXPRESSLY RELEASE THE HIRC PARTIES FROM ANY AND ALL LIABILITY ARISING FROM YOUR USE OF ANY THIRD-PARTY WEBSITE, GOODS, OR SERVICES AND FROM ANY LOSS OR DAMAGE OF ANY SORT YOU MAY INCUR FROM DEALING WITH ANY THIRD PARTY. Accordingly, We encourage You to be aware when You leave the Service and to read the terms and conditions of use for each other website or online service that You visit.

Except as You have otherwise agreed with HIRC in writing, You may link to the Service from Your website, subject to the following:  (1) You may not frame the Service or any portion of the Service; (2) You will not override or hinder the functionality of an end-user’s web browser’s “back” function; (3) the link must be identified using a plain text rendering of the HIRC name and not any HIRC logo; (4) You may not use any HIRC logo in any way; (5) You may not use the link in any way that suggests that HIRC is associated with or endorses You or Your website; (6) the link may not appear on any website that a reasonable person may consider obscene, defamatory, harassing, offensive, or malicious, and may not be presented in any way that disparages HIRC or damages its rights, reputation, or goodwill; and (7) We may terminate Your right to link to the Service at any time for any reason or no reason. 

16. Effect of Termination, Cancellation or Expiration

Upon termination or cancellation of the TOU or the Service, You shall immediately discontinue all access to and use of the Service. HIRC SHALL NOT BE LIABLE FOR ANY DAMAGES, OR LOSS OF DATA, AS A RESULT OF THE TERMINATION OR CANCELLATION OF THESE TOU OR THE SERVICE. 

17. Warranties

You warrant and represent to HIRC as set out below: 

  1. The information You provide in any registration screen, profile, email, telephone call, or through other means, including all personal details, contact details, and all other data provided, is true in all respects, up-to-date, and not misleading. 
  2. You will keep the information referred to in paragraph (a) up to date. 
  3. You will not access the Service under false identity or pretext and will not use it to falsify Your or any other person’s identity. 
  4. You will use the Service lawfully and in good faith.