Park Ridge aldermen took a tentative step toward authorizing the city Fire Department to charge residential health care institutions, including assisted living facilities and nursing homes, for service at an April 5 Committee of the Whole Meeting.
Park Ridge may be one of the first municipalities in the state to consider or pass this type of arrangement, Sorensen and city attorney Julie Tappendorf said.The City Council has been discussing the possibility of charging health care facilities like nursing homes and assisted living communities for emergency services since last year as the call rate from these types of facilities has increased.
Sorensen told council members last week that the Fire Department receives triple the regular number of calls from nursing homes and six times as many calls from the assisted living homes as it does from multifamily residences of the same size. Fire Department Executive Officer Paul Lisowski said no decision had yet been made on how those funds would be used.