The private nursing homes abuse the fire departments to get "free" aid. They are supposed to have their own lifting equipment, and their own trained staff to perform the task.
But they are for-profit companies, and look for ways to cut corners, such as underpaying staff, understaffing the places to begin with, and calling the fire department for shit they should be doing themselves.
Some fire departments have gotten so fed up with this bullshit, they now charge an exorbitant fee to any nursing home that calls for a lift. And, surprise! Those nursing homes stopped calling those FDs.
I’m curious about this. I’d expect the nursing home just to pass the charge onto the patient or family. I brought up my frustration with getting calls to nursing homes to start an IV. Using taxpayer resources to provide services to a for profit company irked me. Turns out we do charge them, very minimally, and the Chief fully expects that charge gets passed onto the patient.
Nursing homes charge an all-inclusive rent per month for residents for all services. Fire/rescue BS calls - like lifts, IVs, etc- if they are not taken to hospital, are charged to the business, because that is supposed to be their job; they are in the legal care of the patients/customers. Transport to a hospital is different. Convince your chief to charge $500 per bullshit call, and see if anything changes. Suggest it just as a test, to see what happens.
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u/Vprbite I Lift Assist What You Fear Jun 22 '25
I don't know. I just came on. This isn't even my patient