Behavioral Health
EMS providers are often called to respond to patients experiencing behavioral health emergencies and mental health concerns. In the Behavioral Health topic, find expert analysis into managing acutely agitated patients, responding to excited delirium patients, legal concerns and grant funding for mental health responses.
Managing high-risk/difficult refusals with the FEARS mnemonic
EMS World panelists shared their expertise in working with exceptional patients and discussed strategies and procedures that aid in creating a successful interaction for all involved
First responders recovering from a violent attack are best served by counselors with specific training and certification
Virginia plans to end Medicaid reimbursement for community stabilization and cut mobile crisis response coverage from eight hours to four
Naperville’s full-time Mobile Crisis Intervention Team pairs specially trained officers with clinicians to manage mental health emergencies
Santa Fe’s Alternative Response Unit has fallen from 13 employees to five and lost its dedicated paramedics
Bernalillo County’s co-responder unit pairs clinicians, paramedics and detectives on behavioral health calls and now allows paramedics to administer an antipsychotic medication in the field
The city is using opioid settlement funds to build a 24/7 response system that sends behavioral health and community support teams to calls that don’t require traditional emergency responders
The new SPROUT program will send civilian clinicians to respond to eligible mental health and other nonviolent crisis calls
Scott County’s program targets people with serious mental illness who repeatedly rely on ambulances, emergency departments and the criminal justice system
The Southern Nevada Health District is expanding its street medicine program, bringing primary care and medications directly to people experiencing homelessness
A MetroHealth social worker will respond with Parma and Parma Heights police and firefighters to mental health, substance use, homelessness and other crisis calls
A sharp decline in dispatches, staffing shortages and the loss of police dispatch technology have hampered Chicago’s non-police mental health crisis response program
A nearly $500,000 state grant will help Watauga County launch a Mobile Integrated Health program, connecting high-need residents with care before emergencies happen
Worcester and three mental health advocacy organizations made progress toward resolving a lawsuit that challenges the practice of dispatching police to mental health emergencies
Cabarrus County EMS is among 39 agencies receiving funding to strengthen mobile integrated health, behavioral health care and substance use disorder response
First responders negotiated with the man in Lake Quinsigamond before taking him into custody
Santa Fe’s proposed restructuring would replace paramedics with EMTs and ARU technicians as city officials debate the future of the behavioral health response program
The resignation of Santa Fe’s Alternative Response Unit manager leaves the program with five employees as concerns grow over staffing cuts, reduced call volume and the removal of EMS captains
Tulsa’s partnership between the 911 center and mental health clinicians diverted thousands of crisis calls, saving time and reducing unnecessary emergency calls
The state approved expanding the Riverside Fire Authority program countywide, allowing transport of eligible patients directly to Cascade Community Healthcare’s 18-bed Crisis Stabilization Unit instead of a hospital
A vote on the information request is postponed as Worcester officials call for broader discussion, amid lawsuit alleging the city’s 911 system improperly sends armed officers to behavioral health emergencies
In Worcester, a lawsuit and council review are raising questions about police-led responses to mental health emergencies
The San Antonio Fire Department earned the certification following policy changes focused on how personnel interact with the public and with one another
NYC Mayor Mamdani’s new Office of Community Safety will oversee mental health response, violence prevention and victim services as part of a broader strategy to reduce non-criminal demands on NYPD
Advocates say Worcester’s dispatch model sends armed officers instead of clinicians, raising safety concerns and questions about EMS system design
Programs that send mental health clinicians instead of police to crisis calls are expanding nationwide, but inconsistent funding and limited Medicaid reimbursement threaten their long-term stability
A weeklong Crisis Intervention Team course in Elkhart County trained 26 first responders in de-escalation, suicide prevention and responding to behavioral health emergencies
Santa Fe Fire Department officials say the change will improve resource allocation, but community health partners warn it reduces field medical capacity for behavioral health and homeless calls
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