Clients Rights

As a client of New Dawn Homecare, we are committed to upholding the following rights to you:

• To be treated with courtesy, dignity and respect.
• The right to be informed and consulted about available services and to choose from available alternatives.
• The right to be part of decisions made about your care.
• The right to pursue any complaint about service provision.
• The right to involve an advocate of your choice.
• The right to privacy and confidentiality, and access to all personal information about you in New Dawn’s files.
• The right to the highest and safest quality of care.

If at any time you feel your rights as a client of New Dawn Homecare have been violated, please phone (902) 562-2444 to speak with the Client Care Manager of New Dawn Homecare. We promise to promptly follow-up on all client-raised issues, concerns and complaints about our service provision.

Please never hesitate to contact the office with any questions or concerns, we are here to support you and need you to contact us immediately so we can work swiftly to resolve any issues you may have.

Policies

Privacy Policy

This Privacy Policy applies to all personal information within New Dawn Homecare’s possession and control. Protecting the privacy and confidentiality of personal information is fundamental to New Dawn Homecare’s daily operations. We collect, use, protect, disclose (when requested by client or required by law), and destroy private and confidential information in a way that conforms to all applicable federal and provincial laws and regulations, and in an appropriate, responsible, and ethical manner.

All New Dawn Homecare staff, from the Director of New Dawn Healthcare to our frontline housekeeping staff, abide by our procedures and practices when handling personal information.

New Dawn Homecare’s Privacy Management Program is governed by the information handling practices of the Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act (PIPEDA).

Under no circumstances will New Dawn Homecare sell, distribute, or otherwise disclose personal information or contact lists to third parties.

Consent/Implied Consent

Occurs and is obtained when an individual signs an application or other form containing personal information, thereby authorizing New Dawn Homecare to collect, use, and disclose the individual’s personal information for the purposes stated on the form or in the Appropriate Use section of this policy.

This consent then allows New Dawn Homecare to obtain or verify information from third parties (such as banks, credit bureaus, lenders, or insurance companies) in the process of assessing the eligibility of an individual, customer, client, job applicant, or business partner.

New Dawn Homecare will obtain individual consent if personal information is to be used for any other. New Dawn Homecare will not use that information without the consent of the individual.

Appropriate Use

New Dawn Homecare limits the amount and type of personal information it collects to that which is necessary for the business of the service provider and as permitted by law. Personal Information will be collected using procedures that are fair, transparent and lawful. New Dawn Homecare hereby asserts that personal information will only be used for the following purposes:

• To verify the client’s/customer’s identity;
• To determine the client’s/customer’s eligibility for service;
• To provide the client with care and to bill the client for that service;
• To assist us in updating the client’s creditworthiness and the collection of accounts;
• For pre-authorized payments for services;
• To respond to the client’s inquiries about appropriate levels of care;
• To prevent fraud with respect to both the client and our company; and
• To meet legal, regulatory and settlement requirements.

Information Retention

New Dawn Homecare will retain personal information only for the duration it is needed for conducting business. Once personal information is no longer required (i.e. 3 years after the last day of service), it will be destroyed in a safe and secure manner. However, certain laws may require that certain personal information be kept for a specified amount of time. Where this is the case, the law will supersede this policy.

Situations for Using Information without Consent

New Dawn Homecare may use personal information without the individual’s consent under particular circumstances. These situations include, but are not limited to:

• New Dawn Homecare is under obligation by law to disclose personal information in order to adhere to the requirements of an investigation of the contravention of a regional or federal, under the purview of the appropriate authorities.
• An emergency exists that threatens an individual’s life, health, or personal security.
• The personal information is for in-house statistical study or research.
• The personal information is already publicly available.
• Disclosure is required to investigate a breach of contract.

Staff Roles

The Director, or their designate, is also responsible for the training and monitoring of employee privacy practices as it applies to clients, employees and proprietary information. Every New Dawn Homecare employee must understand their responsibilities for confidentiality and privacy and comply with New Dawn Homecare’s standards as a condition of hire and ongoing employment. The Director of Healthcare, or their designate, is responsible for reviewing this policy with all New Dawn Homecare employees at the time of hire and for witnessing and retaining in the employee file:

• For front-line staff: Privacy, Confidentiality and Non-Disclosure Agreement
• For administrative staff: Acknowledgement and Agreement of New Dawn Homecare Privacy Policy

Third Parties

New Dawn Homecare assumes full accountability for the personal information within its possession and control, including any personal information that has been transferred to a third party for regulatory, legal or processing purposes. 

New Dawn Homecare will require a comparable level of protection of this information from its third-party relations. This organization has appointed Janine Hussey, Director of Healthcare, as custodian of all privacy matters and legal compliance with privacy laws.

Protections

New Dawn Homecare vows to protect personal information with the appropriate security measures, physical safeguards, and electronic precautions. New Dawn Homecare maintains personal information through a combination of paper and electronic files.

Information Accuracy

New Dawn Homecare shall take all reasonable steps to ensure that all personal information will be kept accurate, complete and up to date. Individuals may challenge the accuracy and completeness of personal information about them and have it amended, as appropriate.

Publication of Policies

New Dawn Homecare will make its policies and practices relating to the protection of personal information available to its clients. New Dawn Homecare will keep its clients informed of these policies and practices and clients shall be provided access to all related policies and procedures via our web page and bill inserts. The information will be available in a format that is easy to understand.

Individual Access

In most instances, New Dawn Homecare will grant individuals access to their personal information upon presentation of a written request and satisfactory identification. Should New Dawn Homecare deny an individual’s request for access to his/her personal information, New Dawn Homecare will advise in writing of the reason for such a refusal. The individual may then challenge the decision.

Challenging Compliance

Any client of New Dawn Homecare may challenge New Dawn Homecare’s compliance with this Privacy Policy by contacting New Dawn Homecare directly. New Dawn Homecare has policies and procedures to receive, investigate and respond to individuals’ complaints and questions. New Dawn Homecare will investigate and respond to concerns about any aspect of the handling of personal information. This organization will address concerns to the best of its abilities.