CINCINNATI — Cincinnati City Council is considering charging nursing homes and long-term care facilities up to $1,000 each time they call the fire department for non-emergency lift assistance, a move that could save taxpayers millions while encouraging better care practices.
The Cincinnati Fire Department responds to approximately 1,600 "lift assist" calls annually from institutional facilities, according to the city motion. These calls typically involve firefighters helping residents who have fallen or need assistance getting up from chairs or beds, with no medical treatment required.
Council member Mark Jeffreys, who is proposing the fee structure, said the practice unfairly shifts costs to taxpayers.
"These are not health emergencies. In other words, somebody might have fallen on the ground, and rather than the institution lifting them up themselves, they call the fire department and have the fire department do it," Jeffreys said. "The purpose behind it is, you know, principle, it's just not right for folks to push costs on taxpayers."
Council member Jeff Cramerding is backing the proposal, viewing it as both a revenue opportunity and a way to identify facilities that may not be providing adequate care.
"This is a big source of revenue. We're always trying to talk about providing more city services on tight budgets, common sense ways to provide more city resources," Cramerding said.
WATCH: Council members say these routine "lift calls" cost taxpayers at least $1 million per year
The motion estimates Cincinnati could recover between $1.28 million and $1.6 million annually through the "lift assistance" fees. Cramerding said he believes these projections are realistic based on successful programs in other cities.
"I think that this is going to be a very practical solution," Cramerding said.
Beyond revenue generation, Cramerding sees the fee structure as a tool for oversight.
"Obviously, this is a big red flag, so it's my hope that when you're identifying organizations that are, you know, using this or have been using this, that we can focus additional attention on these, because something's not right," Cramerding said.
The proposed fee structure is modeled after similar programs in Youngstown, Ohio, Springfield, Missouri, and Mesa, Arizona, as well as some communities in Wisconsin and California. Jeffreys said these cities have seen facilities implement better safety measures once fees were introduced.
"Maybe there are bed guardrails or other measures, you know, because, 'Oh, wait, I need to pay for it.' And if they have to pay for it, then they'll put it in place, which is the right thing to do anyway," Jeffreys said.
Jeffreys argues that healthcare facilities should handle routine lift situations with properly trained staff rather than relying on emergency services.
"If you're a health care facility or some other facility, it is your responsibility to, if somebody falls on the ground, to lift them up, and you have staff who presumably could be and should be trained in order to do that."
The timing comes as Cincinnati faces budget challenges in the coming years. Jeffreys said the city needs to examine services it provides that may not be appropriate municipal responsibilities.
"I think any, any time that we are bearing costs that we should not, especially in the next couple of years, right? We're going to have some deficits in the next few years, and we need to look at, you know, what kind of services that we're providing that maybe we shouldn't," Jeffreys said.
Cramerding emphasized the dual benefits for the city's budget and fire department operations.
"It's very real money. It'll help our budget. It'll help the fire department, and again, if these institutions are able to help the residents on their own, that's a great cause of concern," Cramerding said.
The current proposal is a motion directing city administration to develop specific implementation details. Jeffreys clarified that administrators will determine the exact fee structure.
"This is a motion. So we're asking the administration to assess what the right fee structure is, you know. So they'll do their homework and figure out, like, what does it cost us, you know, for each of those runs, and if it's $800 or $1,000, you know, that's where, no doubt, they'll assess," Jeffreys said.
If council approves the motion, city administration would have 90 days to develop a comprehensive implementation plan. This plan must include a fee collection process, anticipated revenue impact, recommended criteria for exemptions and a formal ordinance to implement the lift fees.
City officials say these non-emergency calls divert firefighter resources away from higher-priority emergencies and create significant operational costs in personnel time and vehicle wear.
The proposal aims to shift the financial burden of routine lift assistance from taxpayers to the facilities that regularly rely on municipal fire services for these needs, while ensuring the fire department continues to respond to genuine emergencies.
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