Northwood’s Emergency Plan
Northwood is serious when it comes to safety. It’s the law and, more than that, it’s part of our commitment to all who pass through our doors including families, clients, residents, volunteers and staff.
Overview:
As licensed nursing home facilities, Northwood Halifax Long-Term Care and Northwood Bedford Long-Term Care are accountable to the Homes for Special Care Act and Department of Seniors and Long-Term Care Program Requirements. Part of our licensing requirement is to have the emergency plan exercised regularly. Northwood is inspected annually by the Department of Seniors and Long-Term Care and the office of the Fire Marshall, with all recommendations implemented.
Tenants living in Northwood’s independent apartments have a personal individual emergency plan to support them should an emergency affect their accommodations.
Our Fire Systems:
Northwood has a state of the art sprinkler system. This system, which is maintained by Northwood staff on a daily basis and serviced by an external service provider, is alarmed and monitored 24 hours a day, seven days per week. It is inspected and certified annually. All hallways and common areas have sprinkler heads and each resident room has at least one sprinkler head.
Our facilities are also divided into fire compartments. Resident living areas are divided into two fire compartments. Hallways have fire doors that release and close during a fire alarm. Evacuation routes are posted throughout the building. Northwood also has smoke detectors in the hallways, resident rooms and common areas. All alarms are fed through a monitoring system to displays strategically located throughout our facilities.
Staffing Levels:
Staffing levels comply or exceed the Department of Seniors and Long-term Care staffing guidelines and every floor is staffed 24 hours per day, seven days a week. Should a fire occur in one area, a designated emergency team would immediately respond from other areas of the facility. All staff are trained in fire emergency response. Northwood works closely with the HRM Fire Department and they respond to all fire alarms.
Testing our Emergency Plan:
Northwood works continually to improve its planning, preparation, response and recovery processes. We have regular fire drills and conduct tests of our emergency response systems. Please contact us to learn more about Northwood’s Emergency Response Plans.
Home Support Services:
As a provider of Home Support Services, all Northwood Homecare clients are assigned an emergency response code. The code directs how care is provided during an emergency. All staff complete a risk assessment and provide care when appropriate.
