What Services Are Provided by ALFs?

Might want to advise clients to check the admissions contract to see if the ALF will pick up a resident if they fall.  According to an article in the Washington Post,  not all facilities will do so.  Senior homes refuse to pick up fallen residents, dial 911. ‘Why are they calling us?’ "Lift-assist 911 calls from assisted living and other senior homes have spiked by 30 percent nationwide in recent years to nearly 42,000 calls a year, an analysis of fire department emergency call data by The Washington Post has found. That’s nearly three times faster than the increase in overall 911 call volume during the same 2019-2022 period, the data shows."  The article notes this is prevalent in Illinois.  Why is this happening? To avoid liability and cost the article offers. Further, facilities may have a policy against lifting a resident, so examine the contract for a "no lift" clause. 

"The dispute over lift assists comes as improvements in fire safety and the nation’s aging population have changed the nature of a firefighter’s job. Today, fire and EMS agencies are more likely to deal with an older adult fall victim than a fire victim... and [l]ift assists are now the seventh most common type of 911 call...."