The fire department is regularly dispatched to licensed care facilities in the City for the purpose of lifting non-injured residents. The fire department has responded to 410 calls for service at licensed care facilities in the first three quarters of 2021; 37% of those calls are for falls or lift assists, resulting in the City's fire personnel being unavailable for emergency response during those times.
Despite ongoing effort by the fire department, some licensed care facilities continue to utilize the 911 system for non-emergency lift assist requests. The fire department has collaborated with staff of local licensed care facilities to reduce their reliance on the 911 system for non-emergency lift assistance of facility residents.
Due to the continued misuse of fire department resources for non-emergency lift assists, the fire department is proposing a fee be implemented via City Ordinance whenever a lift assist is performed in these facilities for non-injured residents. The fee charge will only be applied to non-injury lift assists in licensed care facilities, registered family homes, skilled nursing facilities, and assisted living facilities, as identified by the California Code of Regulations Title 22, Division 6, Chapter 8, which requires facilities to provide adequate staffing to meet the needs of their residents.
The fire department will continue to provide lift assistance at no cost to residents and businesses not considered a licensed care facility. The proposed fee for non-emergency lift assistance at licensed care facilities is $223 per incident. A draft resolution establishing the fee for non-emergency lift assistance is attached for reference (only); it will be brought back for adoption with the Ordinance at a future City Council meeting. Staff recommends March 1, 2022 as the effective date for the new fee.