Judge Blocks Long Valley From Penalizing Seniors For 911 Calls

LONG VALLEY, NJ — A state judge ruled in favor of a local retirement community, preventing a newly passed ordinance in Washington Township from taking effect. The ordinance would have penalized emergency ambulance calls that did not require advanced life support.

The Heath Village Retirement Community filed a lawsuit against Washington Township in December, following the passage of the ordinance RO-09-22.

That ordinance required the township code to be amended in response to information provided to the township regarding the use of the township's emergency medical services for non-emergency issues by specific facilities.

Heath Village Retirement Community is the township's only non-profit, full-service retirement facility. Heath Village provides its residents with a variety of lifestyle options and the security of on-site comprehensive health care services.

The community has between 300 and 400 residents, with 200 of them living in independent living. The minimum age for residents is 55, and the average age for the community is 84.

The lawsuit alleged that the ordinance's restrictions targeted, discriminated against and penalized a senior retirement community for utilizing local first aid squad services unless, "essentially, someone is dying."

The ordinance required the retirement community, as well as all other healthcare facilities, to have an ambulance on call 24 hours a day, seven days a week. The ordinance also called for a $1,000 fine up front and $500 daily fines if healthcare providers did not provide ambulance services within 60 days of the ordinance's enactment, according to the suit.

When it came to contacting emergency ambulance services, the suit stated that if the situation, in the opinion of the local volunteer first aid squad, did not warrant advanced life support services, a healthcare provider could face a $1,500 to $5,000 fine or a 90-day jail sentence.

According to the lawsuit, the ordinance was enacted by the township after the Long Valley First Aid Squad complained to Heath Village in July 2022 about what the volunteers considered unnecessary ambulance calls.

Health Village refuted that claim by stating that they had prioritized Atlantic and two other private ambulance service providers and had told their staff to call 911 only in an emergency or in the absence of all other options.

According to the suit, Atlantic Healthcare System subsidiary Atlantic Ambulance Corp. had to stop offering round-the-clock ambulance services because of a staffing shortage during the pandemic, forcing Heath Village to call in the first aid squad.

Heath Village also claimed that when they met with the mayor, township administrator, and squad chief on Sept. 9, 2022, at their invitation, to discuss 911 ambulance calls, they failed to provide viable alternatives.

"The squad chief complained that Heath Village’s calls had increased to approximately 150 to date compared to 30-40 in prior years. The squad chief expressed his opinion that the squad’s emergency transportation is limited to emergencies requiring advanced life support while Heath Village disagreed," the suit states.

When asked about the lawsuit, Mayor Matt Murello said, "the Township Committee wants to ensure the safety and well-being of all Washington Township residents and prevent the overextension of our emergency services."

"The judge’s ruling was that 'pending resolution of this matters on the merits, defendants are hereby preliminarily restrained from enforcing Ordinance RO-9-22.' Ideally, Heath Village will re-establish non-emergency transportation agreements with other entities to ease the burden on the Long Valley First Aid Squad volunteers."

Last week Judge Stuart A. Minkowitz sided with Heath Village, effectively blocking the ordinance and restraining the township from enacting and enforcing anything in the ordinance.

In a statement to Patch, Heath Village's CEO and executive director, Mary E. Bove, said that she was happy with Judge Minkowitz's ruling.

"We are pleased with the court’s decision to block the enforcement of this unconscionable ordinance, which targeted our retirement community. The residents of Heath Village deserve no less than to be treated as any other town resident who has access to basic municipal emergency medical care."

This article has been updated to include a response from Washington Township Mayor Matt Murello.