Last updated: July 29, 2025

Terms of Service

1) About us and what these Terms cover

These Terms of Service (the “Terms”) set the rules for accessing and using the websites, web pages, and online services that Sierra Meadows Behavioral Health owns or operates, together with our affiliates and program brands — including Ascend Behavioral Health, Oasis Eating Disorder Recovery, Shine Mental Health, and Touchstone Recovery Center (referred to collectively as the “SMBH Network,” “we,” “our,” or “us”). Wherever one of our online properties links to these Terms, the Terms apply to it — along with any related subdomains and redirected web addresses (together, the “Sites”).

The domains covered include:

• https://sierrameadowsbehavioralhealth.com
• https://ascendbh.com
• https://oasiseatingrecovery.com
• https://shinemh.com
• https://touchstonerecoverycenter.com
• https://aspenviewmh.com/

When you access or use any of the Sites, you accept these Terms and our Privacy Policy. If these Terms are not acceptable to you, please do not use the Sites.

Please read this healthcare notice first:

• Everything on the Sites is general education and information only.
• Nothing here is medical advice, a diagnosis, or treatment, and using the Sites does not create a clinician–patient relationship.
• The Sites are not for emergencies. If you are in crisis or thinking about harming yourself or someone else, call 911, head to your nearest emergency room, or reach the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline by dialing 988.

2) Who can use the Sites, and where

You must be 13 or older to use the Sites. Anyone under 18 may use them only with the involvement of a parent or legal guardian. The Sites are meant for people located in the United States. If you visit from another country, complying with your local laws is your responsibility.

3) The Sites are not medical advice, and no clinician–patient relationship is formed

The material on the Sites — such as articles, blog posts, FAQs, screening tools, or messages — discusses behavioral health subjects only in a general way. None of it replaces professional clinical judgment, and you should talk with a qualified clinician about your own circumstances. Browsing the Sites, reaching out through a general form or email, or asking for an appointment online does not, on its own, create a clinician–patient relationship. That relationship begins only once you have been accepted as a patient and have finished the relevant intake and consent steps.

4) Please don’t send Protected Health Information (PHI) through general forms or email

Avoid sending sensitive or confidential health details over general contact forms, chat widgets, text messages, social media, or email, since those channels may not be secure. Established patients should use our patient portal (currently KIPU) for any clinical messages or PHI, or simply call us at (970) 717-2487.

Substance Use Disorder programs: Some SMBH Network services fall under 42 C.F.R. Part 2, which adds further privacy protections. Those additional safeguards are described in our Notice of Privacy Practices (NPP) and in the consent documents specific to each program.

5) Accounts, patient portal, and keeping things secure

When you set up an account or use a patient portal, you agree to give accurate information, keep your login details private, and let us know right away if you notice any unauthorized use. Everything done through your account is your responsibility. Portal access may also carry its own additional terms and consent requirements.

6) Scheduling and payments (where offered)

Where a Site lets you request or manage appointments, buy services, or submit payments, you agree to follow the steps shown during those processes. Any insurance information on the Sites is general and does not guarantee coverage — confirming your coverage and covering any amounts not paid by insurance are up to you. We may publish separate scheduling/cancellation and financial policies; once posted, those apply alongside these Terms and can differ from one program brand to another.

7) Communications and SMS program terms (appointment reminders)

By sharing your email address or mobile number, you agree to receive operational, non-marketing messages — like appointment reminders and confirmations — by email, text, or phone. Standard message and data rates may apply, and how often you receive messages can vary.

Opting in and out, plus support:

• To stop SMS messages at any time, reply STOP. To get assistance, reply HELP.
• Even after you opt out of texts, we may still send other, non-SMS communications where the law allows (for example, important administrative emails).
• Because text and email aren’t secure ways to share PHI, please rely on the patient portal whenever you can.
• Wireless carriers bear no responsibility for messages that arrive late or not at all.

8) Acceptable use

You agree that you will not:

• Break any law or infringe anyone else’s rights;
• Share or send content that is illegal, threatening, harassing, defamatory, obscene, or otherwise inappropriate;
• Try to disrupt the security or functioning of the Sites;
• Scrape, crawl, or otherwise use automated tools to access the Sites, apart from ordinary search-engine indexing;
• Introduce viruses or harmful code;
• Misrepresent who you are or who you’re affiliated with.

We reserve the right to limit or end access to the Sites if these Terms are violated.

9) Intellectual property and your limited license

The Sites and everything that makes them up — their content, features, and functionality, including text, graphics, logos, icons, images, audio, video, and software — belong to the SMBH Network or our licensors and are protected under intellectual-property laws. We give you a limited, revocable, non-exclusive, and non-transferable license to use the Sites for your own personal, non-commercial purposes under these Terms. Without our prior written consent, you may not copy, distribute, build derivative works from, publicly display, or otherwise exploit any portion of the Sites, except where the law permits.

10) Content you submit; feedback

When you send us comments, reviews, feedback, or other material through a Site (“User Content”), you grant the SMBH Network a non-exclusive, worldwide, royalty-free license to use, reproduce, and display that material in the course of running and improving the Sites. Please keep PHI out of any User Content. We may take down User Content that breaks these Terms.

11) Third-party services and links

The Sites may connect to or work alongside outside sites and services — for instance, maps, video platforms, scheduling tools, payment processors, analytics, or social networks. We aren’t responsible for the content, policies, or practices of those third parties, and your use of their services falls under their own terms and privacy policies.

12) Privacy

Please take a look at our Privacy Policy and the related notices:

• Privacy Policy: https://sierrameadowsbehavioralhealth.com/privacy-policy/
• HIPAA Statement (Notice of Privacy Practices): https://sierrameadowsbehavioralhealth.com/hipaa-statement/
• Billing Policy: https://sierrameadowsbehavioralhealth.com/billing-policy/

Our Notice of Privacy Practices describes how we handle and share Protected Health Information (PHI) as a HIPAA covered entity and, where it applies, under 42 C.F.R. Part 2.

13) Accessibility

Accessibility matters to us. If you need help accessing anything on a Site, please get in touch using the details in Section 21. Some programs may list their own contact information on their individual Sites.

14) No warranties

The Sites are offered “AS IS” and “AS AVAILABLE.” To the maximum extent the law allows, the SMBH Network disclaims every warranty, whether express or implied — including implied warranties of merchantability, fitness for a particular purpose, title, and non-infringement. We don’t promise that the Sites will run without interruption, stay secure, or remain error-free, or that any problems will be fixed.

15) Limitation of liability

To the fullest extent permitted by law, neither the SMBH Network nor our affiliates, clinicians, employees, or agents will be responsible for any indirect, incidental, consequential, special, exemplary, or punitive damages — or for lost profits, lost data, or interrupted business — that arise from or relate to your use of (or inability to use) the Sites, even if we were told such damages were possible. For any claim connected to the Sites, our total liability will not exceed $100 or whatever you paid to use the Sites during the 3 months before the claim arose, whichever is larger. Because some jurisdictions don’t permit certain limitations, parts of this section may not apply to you.

16) Indemnification

You agree to defend, indemnify, and hold harmless the SMBH Network along with our affiliates, clinicians, employees, and agents against any claims, liabilities, damages, judgments, awards, losses, costs, expenses, or fees (including reasonable attorneys’ fees) that stem from your breach of these Terms or your misuse of the Sites.

17) Governing law and venue (no arbitration)

These Terms, and any dispute involving the Sites, are governed by California law, without applying its conflict-of-law principles. You agree that the state and federal courts located in Fresno County, California will have exclusive jurisdiction and serve as the venue for any action or proceeding related to the Sites or these Terms.

18) Updates to the Sites and to these Terms

From time to time we may revise the Sites and these Terms. When changes are significant, we’ll post the revised Terms and update the “Last updated” date shown at the top. Continuing to use the Sites once changes take effect means you accept the updated Terms.

19) Termination

We may pause or end your access to any Site at any point, with or without notice and for any reason, including where we think you’ve violated these Terms.

20) General provisions

Entire agreement. These Terms, together with the documents they point to, make up the complete agreement covering the Sites.

Severability. Should any provision be deemed unenforceable, the rest stays in force.

No waiver. If we don’t enforce a provision, that isn’t a waiver of it.

Assignment. You may not transfer these Terms without our consent, though we may assign them where the law permits.

Headings. Section headings are included only for convenience.

Trademarks. Program names and logos — including Sierra Meadows Behavioral Health, Ascend Behavioral Health, Oasis Eating Disorder Recovery, Shine Mental Health, and Touchstone Recovery Center — are trademarks or service marks belonging to their respective owners and may be used only with permission.

21) Contact us

Sierra Meadows Behavioral Health (on behalf of the SMBH Network)

Address: 1781 E Fir Ave, Suite 102, Fresno, CA 93720

Phone: 559-282-2039

Email: info@sierrameadowsbh.com

Primary Website: https://sierrameadowsbehavioralhealth.com

For details on specific program locations or contacts, please check the Contact/Locations page on each program’s Site.