Cape Breton company partners with long term care facility to dramatically improve emergency communications and response times

3/29/2016 (PRESS RELEASE JET) -- Breton SmarTek, Inc and the Cove Guest Home (Sydney, Nova Scotia) proudly share the success of an exciting new communication technology that saves precious time in an emergency.

Breton SmarTek, a Nova Scotia-based technology company, has been working with one of the largest long-term care facilities in Cape Breton to dramatically improve emergency communications and response times.

The CAREQ Enhanced Notification System is a communication system comprised of voice, text and email technologies. It will allow care facilities to communicate with staff and families via text, phone, email or all three — depending on which mode of communications is most convenient for each contact. Through CAREQ, care facilities can contact staff quickly and efficiently in an emergency situation, with the ability to reply. CAREQ can also be used to send families information about any facility-based emergencies that could affect their loved ones.

A recent test of the CAREQ system at the Cove resulted in communications that were more than 15 times more efficient. Cove staff regularly drill and practice emergency response and coordination protocols. The use of the CAREQ communication system improved staff notification and staff acknowledgement of a potential emergency by more than 1500%. With CAREQ, the Cove Guest home was able to significantly reduce the time it takes to notify staff and the time it takes for staff to respond. These reductions ensure more people are deployed more efficiently.

CAREQ was the result of a conversation, between a Nova Scotia fire marshal and the Cove CEO, Cheryl Deveaux, about how emergency communications and planning could be improved. Ms. Deveaux says, "The CAREQ system offers peace of mind that the Cove Guest Home is prepared to respond to an emergency in an expedient and efficient manner, where time can hold the balance between life and death." With CAREQ, the Cove can now address emergencies in ways that simply were never possible before.

There are few jobs as important as caring for our most vulnerable communities. Ensuring their safety in their "homes" through effective communication is vitally important. CAREQ provides administrators with tools that empower them with more time and more resources to focus on the people who rely on them...the people who need them most.

Breton SmarTek