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A Maine fire department has hiked its fee for giving seniors a lift by 2,200 percent as it says too many of them are falling and can’t get up.
Health care facilities and nursing homes in Bangor, around a two-hour drive northeast of Portland, have called their local fire department at least 225 times this year to help lift a patient after falling, Fire Chief Geoffrey Low said, according to the Bangor Daily News.
There were only 275 calls made in all of 2024. The calls are specifically related to instances where the patient does not need to be transported to a medical facility afterwards.
It takes first responders about 30 minutes to complete one of these calls, Low said.
“That’s a considerable amount of time just in six months where resources aren’t available and we’re filling a role that those facilities or housing complexes should be able to do,” Low said.
Care facilities formerly had to pay $25 for the first three calls of this kind and then $125 if they made more calls. Now, these facilities will have to pay $550 for every call.
Low said the facilities call the fire department out of concern staff may injure their backs when attempting to lift patients.
The Independent has reached out to nursing homes in the area for comment.
Low made clear the fire department is always willing to help seniors, even if they are not injured.
“It’s not dignified to show up and say ‘Well you’re not hurt. We’re going to leave you on the floor,” he said.
The fire chief continued: “That’s just not right and I wouldn’t expect my staff to do that. We’re going to pick them up and treat them like people, like we should.”
Falls among people 65 and older are quite common around the country.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says more than one out of four older adults fall each year, but fewer than half tell their doctor.
Falling once doubles an older person’s chances of falling again, the CDC warns. Falls can cause hip fractures and traumatic brain injuries, which could be deadly.
The CDC came out with a report this month which found death rates from unintentional falls increased by more than 70 percent for adults aged 65 to 74 years. The data was collected over 20 years from 2003 to 2023.
