Jodie Harms and Halie Tenopir from AmanaCare attended the East Lincoln Business Association (ELBA) Luncheon on March 21st, where they had the opportunity to listen to a guest speaker, Lincoln Fire Chief, Dave Engler.

The luncheon took place at the Hillcrest Country Club, where fried chicken was on the menu. Chief Engler shared highlights from 2023 involving the Lincoln Fire & Rescue stations, including statistics on response times, which are well above the national average. He also provided updates and outlined new goals for 2024, focusing on increasing efficiency and the new grants obtained to facilitate these effective changes within the community.

Chief Engler addressed questions regarding how the fire and rescue team manages calls from seniors who require assistance at home or need to be in a facility but prefer to stay in their homes. In such cases, they often call the fire & rescue services since these are covered by their Medicaid. To those unfamiliar with the industry, this was an enlightening revelation. However, Jodie, who has a long history of working in geriatric care, mentioned that this practice is quite common, especially in rural areas.