The Committee welcomed Mr. Randy Carew, Manager of Inspection Services, to discuss a matter that has been the topic of discussion with the Committee for a number of months.The Committee is of the opinion that there should be a mandatory requirement for facilities housing seniors and the vulnerable members of society when there is a power loss.
The Committee reviewed the information note which outlined the Chief Municipal Planner's position with respect to this topic.
•The National Building Code of Canada for personal care homes generally does not require a generator, but they can be required in some circumstances.
•The requirement for a generator in a personal care home depends on the height and size of the building.
•High-rise buildings used as personal care homes do require a back-up generator.
•Some developers of personal care homes are installing generators for peace of mind (which can help with sales), even if one is not required by the Building Code.
•Generally, the City does not require the installation of a generator in an existing personal care home unless a specific issue arises.
It was noted that that Sharron Callahan and Neil Hamilton, have researched documentation for staff attending the meeting to substantiate the Committee's position that generators ought to be installed in buildings containing multiple units.
It was also noted that the City imposes regulations in line with the National Building Code and while it has little jurisdiction over Provincial Buildings, it does ensure private institutions are in compliance with the Code. If an application is received by the City it is incumbent on the applicant to know the type of care it provides so that the requirement for a generator can be clearly defined. The biggest problem is with respect to old facilities and institutions where upgraded equipment is appropriate.
Discussion continued with agreement that City Staff review a comprehensive list of institutions and apartment and other building which house seniors. Lorraine Best will seek information from Seniors Nl.
Following the last meeting of the SAC, Neil Hamilton and Sharron Callahan obtained the listing of all the seniors' residential facilities for St. John's and Area. In total, there are 19 Personal Care Homes with a total bed capacity of 895 (1 home not advised), 8 Nursing (Long Term Care) with bed capacity of 1135, 3 retirement living facilities (bed capacity not listed), with 1 additional retirement living facility to open soon (bed capacity to be 200).
Of these facilities and the number of residents, 895 of them would be Level I and II care along with some enhanced care, including respite, while the long term care facilities would be Levels III and IV.
It was their intention to contact each of these homes to determine if they had an alternate source of heat and light in the event of a power outage; unfortunately due to reasons beyond their control they have not been able to start this piece of the research to advise how serious the impact of a power outage could be on seniors in residential care.
Sharron did however report that on January 28, through the work of the Seniors' Coalition which Sharron chairs, a meeting was held with Dr. John Haggie, Minister of Health and Community Services, who has responsibility for these facilities. Also present was Dr. Haggie's Assistant Deputy Minister and the Manager of Community Health Planning who is the Lead on the implementation of the recommendations of the Deloitte Report (2016) on Personal Care Home Services. The issue of "alternate heat and sustained light" was raised.
Below is a quote from the Minutes of that meeting.
• We ask that you undertake a conversation with the appropriate Minister (Minister of Government Services) to consider amendments to the Building Code that would require residential homes that provide service to seniors and other vulnerable persons to provide alternate sources of heat during power disruptions, i.e. generator." Dr. Haggie will bring the matter forward to Service NL that has responsibility for the Building Code and Health. The Coalition will write a letter to both Ministers.
This request has apparently generated discussions behind the scene within Government, as another meeting to which I was invited but could not attend (4 seniors groups that are consulted by Government: Coalition, SeniorsNL, 50+, and PACSA) also spoke to it. The Coalition has yet to put its letter on record to Ministers Haggie and Gambin-Walsh.
Currently the Provincial Government's Standards for Care in Personal Care Homes are being re-written and are expected to be released during 2020. The Coalition asked to review these redrafted Standards and provide feedback. That is currently a work in progress and there will be a strong recommendation going forward that all seniors' care facilities MUST have an alternate heat and light source in the event of a power outage. Deadline to submit feedback is March 2, 2020 and a team of reviewers is currently combing through this 344 page Manual.
Given the foregoing, the following motion was put forward.