Juneau’s sleep off program could have new management and a new name.<\/p>\n
City and Borough of Juneau’s Committee of the Whole Monday evening authorized the city manager to pursue possibly moving the program from Bartlett Regional Hospital to Capital City Fire\/Rescue under the new name Community Assistance Response and Emergency Services (CARES).<\/p>\n
That decision came by a split 6-3 vote and raised a flurry of questions about staffing, program costs and impact the change would have on the hospital.<\/p>\n
Mayor Beth Weldon and Assembly members Maria Gladziszewski, Michelle Bonnet Hale, Carole Triem, Mary Becker and Alicia Hughes-Skandijs voted for exploring the idea and preparing budget documents related to CARES. Assembly members Loren Jones, Rob Edwardson and Wade Bryson voted against it.<\/p>\n
“These are really important questions to ask,” said CCFR Chief Rich Etheridge during a short recess during the meeting.<\/p>\n
The matter will be further investigated, and it will have to come back before the Committee of the Whole.<\/p>\n
Etheridge outlined what the program could look like during a presentation to the committee.<\/p>\n
It would change sleep off hours from 24\/7 to 8 p.m-.8 a.m., people in need of shelter would be taken to space leased from St. Vincent de Paul instead of Rainforest Recovery, it would be staffed by six full-time employees who would be new to CCFR.<\/p>\n
“We’re not asking existing firefighters to go do the sleep off program,” Etheridge said.<\/p>\n