Public Health, Safety, Justice and Equity Committee

The ordinance specifically targets licensed care facilities that are paid to provide medical services but instead rely on fire department personnel for basic patient mobility tasks. Fire Chief Huitt emphasized this applies only to facilities with medically trained staff, not private residences or businesses. Captain Larson detailed the scope of the problem, noting the fire department's community paramedic program has struggled for over a decade with high utilizers in care facilities. He described scenarios where facilities call 911 to move patients from chairs to beds or assist with non-traumatic falls where no medical emergency exists. The department has tried educational approaches through their "Make the Right Call" program, providing brochures and decision-making flowchar…

**Fire Chief Bill Huitt:** Strongly supports ordinance as targeted solution for licensed facilities only. Emphasized department's mission of helping people daily remains unchanged for private residences and true emergencies. **Captain Steve Larson:** Detailed the operational impact, noting 230 annual calls averaging 30-43 minutes each ties up resources needed for actual emergencies. Supports education-first approach with penalties as backup incentive…

**Fire Chief Bill Huitt, on ordinance scope:** "This ordinance is about only about licensed care facilities. These are places that are being paid to provide medical services to their residents. This is more about for facilities or getting paid to provide that help and then using the fire department as the muscle to do the job that they're paid to do." **Captain Steve Larson, on operational impact:** "We went on 24,000 over 24,000 calls with 231 of those being lift assist which doesn't sound l…

**Policy Framework:** Bellingham now has enforcement mechanism for inappropriate 911 use by care facilities, moving beyond purely educational approach that proved insufficient over past decade. **Financial Consequences:** Licensed care facilities face potential $1,000 penalties per incident for non-emergency lift assistance calls, creating economic incentive for proper staff…

### Meeting Overview The Bellingham City Council's Public Health, Safety, Justice and Equity Committee met on April 27, 2026, chaired by Council Member Hamill with members Huffman and Williams. The committee considered a single ordinance that would establish financial penalties for licensed care facilities that misuse the 911 system for non-emergency lift assistance. ### Key Terms and Concepts **Non-Emergency Lift Assist:** When fire department personnel are called to help move or lift a person who has not suffered a medical emergency or trauma, such as helping someone move from a chair to a bed. **Licensed Care Facilities:** Facilities paid to provide medical services including assisted living facilities, skilled nursing facilities, and adult family homes that employ medically trained staff. **Community Paramedic Program:** A fire department program that identifies frequent users of 911 services and provides education to reduce inappropriate emergency calls. **Hoyer Lift:** A mechanical device used in care facilities to safely lift and move patients who cannot support their own weight. **Make the Right Call Program:** The fire department's educational outreach program that provides decision-making tools to help care facilities determine when to call 911. **Surge Capacity:** The fire department's ability to respond to multiple emergency calls simultaneously without compromising response times. **Cost of Transport:** The average $3,000 cost the fire department charges Medicare and Medicaid for ambulance services. ### Key People at This Meeting | Name | Role / Affiliation | |---|---| | Dan Hamill | Council Member, Committee Chair | | Hannah Stone | Council President (participating) | | Council Member Huffman | Committee Member | | Council Member Williams | Committee Member | | Council Member Cotton | Non-committee me…