The care establishments in El Cajon which call 911 to ensure that the assistance raises a fallen customer, but which is not injured, will face costs of $ 565 under a new rule that the municipal council is pursuing.
The fees will not affect households that call if someone has fallen, but only care establishments that call if a patient or a resident has fallen and does not need medical care.
A staff report on the costs offered before the municipal council said on Tuesday that there were 382 lifting assistance calls in 2024, and 12%, or around 46, came from healthcare establishments.
Municipal director Graham Mitchell said only a few care establishments were responsible for calls.
Although the number of calls for elevator assistants in care institutions is not important, it diverts managers from the fire services for other tasks, and each call takes about 18 minutes, according to a staff report.
The new costs can lead to another expenses tackle what is considered to be a greater problem involving 911 calls for healthcare establishments.
The municipal council first discussed costs for calls at 911 last September following a city staff report which revealed that 44% of the 20 approved care establishments in the city were intended for non -urgent incidents.
The 2,753 calls made from installations represented more than 15% of all calls from the fire service in one year, and the fire service responded to an average of 7.5 calls per day to installations.
At the time, the Council discussed the implementation of costs of $ 487 for non -urgent calls after an installation exceeded what was considered a reasonable amount.
El Cajon could be the first city of the State or even the nation to impose costs for non -urgent calls for care establishments, but Mitchell said that the costs offered of the city specifically for elevator assistes had been tested and followed similar costs in the city of California of Rocklin and Decatur, Ill. And Tacoma, Wash.
“It’s the low-square baby-stage,” said Mitchell.
In an email after Tuesday’s meeting, Mitchell said that the city was at the early stages of exploration of expenses for excessive calls at 911.
“I will meet operators in the coming months to explore this concept or other ideas they may have to reduce the burden of system 911,” he wrote.
The member of the Council Phil Ortiz said that fees on lifting assists were a good first step towards the fight against what some consider as an abuse of the 911 system.
“I do not think that El Cajon citizens should subsidize and pay to help these qualified nursing handles or bring together care establishments to exploit their business,” he said. “I think they owe the staff and not take advantage of the taxpayer.”
Management analyst Barbara Watkins presented the report on the council on Tuesday and declared that the accusation would only be applied for repeated non -urgent calls for elevator assistants.
“The staff have and will continue to be proactive with the communication and education of these affected facilities, and all this with an objective for a fluid and collaborative deployment,” she said. “This proposal concerns the responsible management of resources and the guarantee that our fire service remains focused on potentially fatal emergencies and encourages gathering care providers to improve their internal processes.”
After the unanimous vote by the Council on Tuesday, city staff will return with a draft prescription on April 22 and again for a second reading on May 13. If it is approved, the costs will come into force 30 days later on June 12.
Originally published:
California Daily Newspapers
