Effective October 22, 2026 · You may ask for a paper copy at any time.

THIS NOTICE DESCRIBES HOW MEDICAL INFORMATION ABOUT YOU MAY BE USED AND DISCLOSED AND HOW YOU CAN GET ACCESS TO THIS INFORMATION. PLEASE REVIEW IT CAREFULLY.

The Hope Center for Healing and Health is a private counseling practice. Pamela Wiggins, MA, LMHC, is our Privacy Official. This notice explains how we protect your health information, when we may share it, and your rights. In this notice, “health information” means information that identifies you and relates to your mental or physical health, your care, or payment for your care.

Our duties

• We are required by law to keep your health information private and to give you this notice of our legal duties and privacy practices.
• We will follow the terms of the notice currently in effect.
• We will tell you promptly if a breach occurs that may have compromised the privacy or security of your information.
• We will not use or share your information other than as described here unless you give us written permission. You may take back that permission at any time, in writing, except for actions we already took in reliance on it.

Florida law gives you extra protection

Under Florida law (s. 491.0147, F.S.), what you share with a licensed mental health counselor is confidential. Where Florida law is stricter than federal law, we follow Florida law. In practice, this means we ask for your written permission before sharing your information with other providers, family members or anyone else, except in the situations listed under “Sharing required or allowed by law.”

How we use your information

• To provide your care. Your counselor uses your information to assess, plan and provide counseling. With your written permission, we may coordinate with your doctor, psychiatrist or other providers.
• To receive payment. We are a private-pay practice. We use your name and payment details to process payments through our card processor. We do not bill insurance. If you ask, we can give you a receipt or statement to submit yourself.
• To run our practice. We use information to schedule appointments, send reminders, keep records, meet legal and licensing requirements, and improve our services. Vendors who help us (for example our answering service, secure email and storage, and telehealth platform) sign agreements to protect your information.

Sharing required or allowed by law

We may share information without your written permission only when the law requires or allows it, including:

• Serious threat of harm. If you make a specific threat to seriously injure or kill an identified person and your counselor believes you are likely to act on it soon, Florida law allows us to warn the person and requires us to notify law enforcement (s. 491.0147, F.S.). We may also act to prevent a serious and imminent threat to your own safety.
• Abuse or neglect. We must report suspected abuse, neglect or exploitation of a child or a vulnerable adult to the Florida Abuse Hotline (ss. 39.201 and 415.1034, F.S.).
• Court orders and legal proceedings. We may share information when ordered by a court. A subpoena alone does not allow us to share your records without your permission or a court order, as Florida law allows.
• Licensing and oversight. We may share information with agencies that oversee health care, such as the Florida Department of Health, for investigations and audits.
• Complaints and lawsuits. If you bring a complaint or legal action against your counselor, information related to that action may be used in response.
• Other situations required by law. These include public health reporting, a medical emergency, workers’ compensation as allowed by law, coroners and medical examiners, and limited government functions such as national security. We share only what the law requires.

Psychotherapy notes

If your counselor keeps separate psychotherapy notes, they are not part of your general record. We will not share them without your written authorization, except in limited cases the law allows, such as to prevent serious harm or to defend a legal action you bring.

Substance use disorder records

If we receive records from a substance use disorder treatment program protected by federal law (42 CFR Part 2), those records have extra protection:

• We need your written consent to use or share them for treatment, payment or practice operations. You may give one consent for all future uses of this kind.
• They will not be used or shared in any civil, criminal, administrative or legislative proceeding against you unless you give specific written consent or a court issues an order that meets Part 2 requirements.
• Anyone who receives them under your consent may share them further only as federal law allows.
• We do not use these records, or any of your information, for fundraising.

Things we will never do without your written permission

• Sell your information
• Use your information for marketing
• Share your information for fundraising (we do not fundraise)

Your rights

• See or get a copy of your record. Ask in writing for a paper or electronic copy. We will respond within 30 days and may charge a reasonable, cost-based fee. In rare cases we may deny part of a request, and we will explain why in writing.
• Ask us to correct your record. If you think information is wrong or incomplete, ask in writing. We will respond within 60 days. If we say no, we will tell you why.
• Ask for confidential communication. You can ask us to contact you in a certain way (for example, only on your cell phone) or at a different address. We will agree to reasonable requests.
• Ask us to limit what we share. You can ask us not to use or share certain information. We do not have to agree, except that if you pay in full yourself, you may ask us not to share that information with your health plan, and we will agree unless the law requires otherwise.
• Get a list of who we shared with. You can ask for a list of times we shared your information in the past six years, other than for care, payment, practice operations, or disclosures you approved. One list a year is free.
• Get a paper copy of this notice. You may ask at any time, even if you received it electronically.
• Choose someone to act for you. A legal guardian or someone with your medical power of attorney may exercise your rights. For clients under 18, parents or legal guardians usually act for the minor, as Florida law allows.
• File a complaint. If you believe your privacy rights were violated, you may contact us or the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. We will not retaliate against you for filing a complaint.

Changes to this notice

We may change this notice, and the changes will apply to all information we hold. The current notice is posted in our office and on our website, and you may ask for a copy at any time.

Contact us

Privacy Official: Pamela Wiggins, MA, LMHC

Address: 9365 US Hwy 19 North, Suite A-1, Pinellas Park, FL 33782

Phone: 727-575-7060

Email: pamelawiggins@pinellascountycounselor.com

Federal complaints: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Office for Civil Rights, 200 Independence Avenue SW, Washington, DC 20201 · 1-800-368-1019 · www.hhs.gov/ocr/complaints