Lawsuit Prompts Amendment To Ambulance Ordinance In Long Valley

LONG VALLEY, NJ — A newly amended version of a previous ordinance, which would have penalized emergency ambulance calls that did not require advanced life support, is being considered in Long Valley.

The initial ordinance, RO-09-22, was passed by the Washington Township Committee before being blocked by a state judge in December after Heath Village Retirement Community filed a lawsuit against Washington Township.

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

The language referring to specific criminal and monetary penalties has been removed from the new version, which will be discussed at the committee meeting on Monday, March 20.

"The Township Committee has been advised by the Long Valley First Aid Squad that it would be beneficial to have information related to nonemergency transportation contracts and the arrangements with various healthcare facilities throughout the Township," the new ordinance states.

Ordinance RO-09-22 required all healthcare facilities to have an ambulance on call 24 hours a day, seven days a week. If healthcare providers did not provide ambulance services within 60 days of the ordinance's enactment, they would have faced a $1,000 fine up front and $500 daily fines.

Heath Village Retirement Community filed a lawsuit against the township, claiming that the ordinance's restrictions targeted, discriminated against, and penalized a senior retirement community for using local first aid squad services unless "essentially, someone is dying."

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 the 911 ambulance calls, they failed to provide viable alternatives for the community.

New Jersey Superior Court Judge Stuart A. Minkowitz sided with Heath Village, blocking the ordinance and restraining the township from enacting and enforcing anything in the ordinance.

When previously 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."

Murello also told Patch that the township would ideally like Heath Village to re-establish non-emergency transportation agreements with other entities in order to relieve the strain on the Long Valley First Aid Squad volunteers.

The new ordinance requires all state-licensed nursing homes and healthcare facilities to provide the township administrator with the name, address, phone number, and times of availability for every transportation service provider with whom an agreement has been reached for nonemergency transportation services.

All impacted healthcare facilities and providers will also be required to provide this information to the township twice a year, on Jan. 1 and July 1 of each calendar year.