Lincoln fire chief, council discuss new state law allowing charges for nonemergency ‘lift assists’ at nursing homes
Get AI-powered insights, summaries, and transcripts
Subscribe
Summary
Chief Johnson said a Jan. 1 state law lets municipalities charge nursing homes for repeated nonemergency lift-assist responses; council members raised fairness and data concerns and counsel noted the statute permits charging after six lift assists in a calendar year; the council referred the proposed ordinance to the regular agenda.
Chief Johnson, Lincoln’s fire chief, told the Committee of the Whole on Feb. 10 that a change in state law effective Jan. 1 allows municipalities to charge nursing homes and assisted living facilities for nonemergency "lift assist" responses.
Johnson said the fire department runs more than 3,000 calls a year and that repeated nonemergency lift assists — for which some facilities have policies preventing staff from performing lifts — have strained department staffing and taxpayer resources. "You have private businesses using the fire department for their manpower, which cost taxpayers money," Johnson said, describing his rationale for presenting a draft ordinance.
Councillors debated the scope and fairness of a fee-based approach. Mister Downs and others questioned whether the ordinance should account for facility size (for example, 100-bed facilities versus small group homes) and asked whether the ordinance could be adjusted to reflect differing call volumes. Counsel Mister Hovlett said the statute was written to allow municipal imposition of fees based on service utilization rather than facility size and noted the statute permits charging after six lift assists in a calendar year.
Mister Becky asked about potential liability or workers’ compensation effects; council members were told billing nonemergency lift assists would not apply to emergency calls (for example when a fall requires ER transport) and, according to the discussion, would likely reduce comp exposure for the city. Council members also expressed concern about potential abuse, data availability and how charges would be structured; Chief Johnson said dispatch procedures and better coordination with county ambulance services have reduced nonemergency calls but the charge would be a preventive tool.
The mayor asked whether the council wished to place the ordinance on the regular agenda for further consideration; the council agreed to place the item on next week’s regular agenda.