POLICY:

Granite Ridge Retirement Residence will endeavour to provide its care and services in a way that respects the independence and dignity of all persons and encourages integration and quality of opportunity. Granite Ridge Retirement Residence is committed to preventing, identifying and removing barriers that impede the ability of persons with disabilities to access our care and services.

The objective of this policy is to identify what the equal treatment provisions are of the Ontario Human rights Code, through the Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act (AODA), 2005 and the Regulation requirement as a minimum legal standard in care and service delivery, to persons with disabilities and addresses the following:

PROCEDURE:

The Administrator will:

1. Identify and remove barriers to access for people with disabilities;

2. Train all employees, students, volunteers, independent operators, contractors, or sub-contractors that provide goods or services on the Home’s behalf about key principles and accessibility strategies to ensure that communication with persons with disabilities is respectful and done in a manner that takes into account such persons’ disabilities;

3. Communicate with persons with disabilities in a manner that takes into account the person’s disability;

4. Provide assistive devices where reasonable and necessary;

5. Permit the use of personal assistive devices or technologies in an unrestricted manner in all areas of the building to which residents, family members, vendors, customers or employees have access, except when subject to operator or resident safety and/or business integrity;

6. Welcome persons with disabilities who are accompanied by a service animal to the home, office and building to which the public has such access to and the animal is not otherwise excluded by law or for health and safety reasons;

7. Permit support persons to accompany visitors with disabilities to all areas that are open to the public. Where there is admission fees for an event organized by the Home, persons with a disability shall be expected to pay the same fee as other attendees. No admission fee shall be charged to their support person;

8. Provide information on Service Disruptions to persons with disabilities who might be affected by the disruption and identify the reason for the disruption, its duration, and information about alternative services. Notice may be given by posting the information in a conspicuous place or by other means. Upon request, provide a copy of the information in as assessable format;

9. Welcome Feedback on the ways in which it provides its customer service to persons with disabilities. The feedback may be provided in person, by telephone, in writing or by electronic text;

10. Investigate feedback that is in contradiction to the above requirements and determining the actions to be taken. In all cases, every effort will be made to respond to the feedback in a timely and effective manner;

11. Documents that detail Granite Ridge Retirement Residence’s Accessibility policies and procedures will be made available upon request. Granite Ridge Retirement Residence will make every effort to make the information available to persons with disabilities in a format that takes into account their disability;

12. Upon request, and in consultation with the person making the request, provide or make arrangements to provide accessible formats and communication supports for persons with disabilities in a timely manner. Take into account the person’s accessibility needs and at a cost that is no more than the regular cost charged to other persons. This does not apply to products and product labels, unconvertible information or communications and information that the Home does not control directly or indirectly through a contractual relationship. If it is determined that the information or communications are unconvertible, provide the person requesting the information or communication with:

    • An explanation as to why the information or communication is unconvertible

    • A summary of the unconvertible information or communication.

    Examples of accessible formats or communication supports: Giving a customer or members of the public who have low vision information in a large print or exchanging hand-written notes to communicate with a customer or member of the public who is deaf;

13. Provide all existing public emergency procedures, plans, and public safety information upon request in an accessible format or with appropriate communication supports in a timely manner to persons with disabilities that take into account their disability;

14. Provide individualized workplace emergency response information to employees, volunteers, students, independent operators, contractors who have disabilities if aware of the need for accommodation and if the nature of the disability is such that individualized information is necessary. The individualized Workplace Emergency Response Plan form shall be utilized. With consent, share this information with anyone designated to help them in an emergency.

Employees, volunteers, students, independent operators, contractors, and sub-contractors will utilize any of the following principles as required.

1. Ask a person with a disability how to best help and communicate with them;

2. Respect the dignity of persons with disabilities;

3. Identify, remove, or report barriers to access for people with disabilities.

4. Speak directly to the customer, not the intervener or support person accompanying the person with the disability;

   • People with hearing loss: attract the customer’s attention before speaking; ensure you are in a well-lit area where customer can see your face and read your lips; reduce background noise or move to a quieter area; ask if another method of communicating would be easier (e.g. using a pen and paper)

   • People with vision loss/impairment: do not assume the individual can’t see you; identify yourself when you approach your customer; ask if they would like you to read any printed material out loud to them; offer your elbow to guide them if needed; offer to expand/enlarge print material

   • People with learning disabilities: provide information in a way that takes into account the customer’s disability; be patient

   • People with speech or language impairments: when possible ask questions that can be answered with ‘yes’ or ‘no’; don’t interrupt or finish the customer’s sentences; be patient

   • People with mental health disabilities: be calm and reassuring; ask them to tell you the best way to help

   • People with intellectual/developmental disabilities: use plain language; provide one piece of information at a time

5. When interacting with people using personal assistive devices, such as wheelchairs, walkers, hearing aids, canes or speech amplification devices, do not move the assistive devices or equipment out of the customer’s reach or handle assistive devices without permission;

6. Avoid touching or addressing service animals, as they are working animals and have to pay attention at all times. Staff unsure if the animal is a pet or service animal should ask the customer;

7. Where people with disabilities are accompanied by a support person (i.e. personal support worker, volunteer, family member or friend) take your lead from the customer or the person requiring your services.

8. Notify Manager or designate about all accessibility requests for public emergency procedures, plans, public safety information, accessible formats, and communication supports for person with disabilities in a timely manner.

9. Request individualized workplace emergency response accommodations from the Administrator or designate where required.

Granite Ridge Retirement Residence will:

1. Establish, implement and maintain a multi-year accessibility plan. The multi-year accessibility plan will describe the specific short-term and long-term actions that the Home will take to meet the obligations set out under the AODA and its regulations. The Accessibility Plan shall be reviewed and, if necessary, updated at least once every five years.

2. Ensure internet websites and web content controlled directly the Organization or through a contractual relationship that allows for modification of the product conforms with World Wide Web Consortium Web Content accessibility guidelines.

3. Comply with the Built Environment Standards when undertaking new construction and redevelopment of public spaces.

4. File an accessibility compliance report every three years. Make the report available to the public and upon request in an accessible format.

5. Ensure documents that detail the Organization’s accessibility policies and procedures will be made available upon request. The Organization will make every effort to make the information available to persons with disabilities in a format that takes into account their disability.