Original: May 01, 2021
Updated: April 08, 2022
Our Purpose
Help Now Healthcare is committed to an inclusive culture for all candidates, clients, and employees. We support fairness and equality at all times. Help Now Healthcare is committed to meeting the requirements of the Accessibility for Ontarians Act, 2005 (AODA) with the goal of an accessible Ontario by 2025. As part of our commitment, we have developed a policy and an annual accessibility plan in accordance with the AODA. It identifies barriers to access, assigns responsibility and timelines for removing these barriers. It applies to all people with disabilities (staff and patients/ families) and is founded in our organization values of respect, honesty, trust, integrity, teamwork and diversity. This 2022-2026 accessibility plan outlines the policies and actions that Help Now Healthcare will put in place to improve opportunities for all individuals with disabilities. This plan is updated every 5 years.
Policy Statement
We provide services utilizing methods that maximizes the potential of all people through participation and equal opportunity. Help Now Healthcare believes in an inclusive environment of integration and equal opportunity.
Our Clients
Help Now Healthcare is committed to giving our clients with disabilities the same opportunity to access our services as those without disabilities.
We provide necessary and reasonable accommodations to prevent and minimize barriers to clients with disabilities so they can access, communicate, and receive our services to the same extent as individuals without disabilities.
Our Team
Help Now Healthcare is committed to giving our staff with disabilities the same opportunities as those without disabilities. We provide necessary and reasonable accommodations to prevent and minimize barriers.
We provide staff necessary and reasonable accommodations to prevent and minimize barriers and assure they participate in our hiring, orientation, and training methods as our hires without disabilities do. We utilize text-hear-speech-to-text technology during training methods.
Training
Training is provided to all employees who deal with the public and those involved in customer service policies and procedures. This includes the AODA and the Ontario Human Rights Code, how to communicate with people with disabilities, and interact and support those with assistive service devices, support people, and service animals. We also inform our entire team as to what to do when someone is having difficulty accessing services. Training will be provided in a way that best suits the duties of employees and other staff members.
Communication
When communicating with a person with a disability, our team ensures we communicate in a respectful way taking their disability into account and offering reasonable and practical communication alternatives to support them. These include but are not limited to writing boards, tablets, text-hear-speech-to-text technology. Any resources required by employees and clients in alternative formats to accommodate disabilities are available upon request.
Feedback
We accept and respond to feedback and complaints from staff and the public regarding our services by telephone, email, and in-person. Your feedback is IMPORTANT to us!
Assistive Devices
Our entire team supports the use of assistive devices for staff and clients in our offices and during our services.
Service Animals
Help Now Healthcare supports those with service animals to all our public premises.
Support Persons
Help Now Healthcare welcomes people with disabilities whom are accompanied by support persons to our public premises.
Accessibility Plan
Action: Develop, Implement, and Review Accessibility Policy; Publish Policy in accessible Formats
Compliance: May 01, 2021
Status: Completed and Ongoing
Multi-Year Accessibility Plan
Action: Develop, Implement, and Review Accessibility Plan that emphasizes and maximizes equal opportunity for candidates, employees, and clients. Make plan available to Public in various accessible formats. Provide training to employees on AODA and Integrated Accessibility Standards Regulation and Ontario Human Rights Code.
Compliance: May 01, 2021
Status: Completed and Ongoing
Communication Standards
Action: Ensure all communication processes are accessible and supports individuals with disabilities. Text-hear-speech-to-text formats available. Work with persons with disabilities to determine adaptability of accessible format or communication. Request feedback.
Compliance: May 01, 2021
Status: Completed and Ongoing
Employment Standards
Action: Help Now Healthcare is committed to fair and accessible employment practices. All employee orientation, policies, and procedures, emergency procedures, plans or public safety information that is publicly available, shall be provided in an accessible format or with appropriate communication supports upon request in a timely manner.
Compliance: Completed and Ongoing
Status: May 01, 2021
Staff Recruitment & Development
Action: Training on AODA customer service to be given to every employee of Help Now Healthcare. All websites and web content published must conform to WCAG 2.0 Level A initially and increasing to WCAG 2.0 Level AA by December 31st, 2021 to the extent practicable other than criteria 1.2.4 (captions) and 1.2.5 (pre-recorded audio descriptions).
Compliance: May 01, 2021
Status: Completed and Ongoing
Staff Support
Action: Inform new hires and current employees upon hire and annually of policies supporting employees with disabilities. All team members must be up-to-date and informed regarding any changes on policies/procedures. Suitable accessible formats for communication supports must be accommodated when requested by employees with disabilities.
Compliance: May 01, 2021
Status: Completed and Ongoing
Emergency Response & Accommodations
Action: Individualized workplace emergency response processes and procedures are developed and available for individuals with disabilities.
Compliance: May 01, 2021
Status: Completed and Ongoing
Public Space Standard
Action: Help Now Healthcare will establish plans to meet the Accessibility Standards for the access and design of Public Spaces when applicable to office locations. This include outdoor paths such as sidewalks, ramps, stairs, and curb ramps, accessible off street parking. Service related areas such as counters, fixed queuing lines and waiting areas. In the event of a service disruption alternatives will be available.
Compliance: April 01, 2022
Status: Completed and Ongoing
For more information on this accessibility plan please contact:
1-888-507-6236
Accessible formats of this document are available free upon request at the above contact information.