Carina Julig
The Santa Fe New Mexican
SANTA FE, N.M. — Santa Fe’s Alternative Response Unit is being rebranded as the Crisis Assistance Response and Engagement Unit as part of an overhaul of the unit, which responds to low-threat 911 calls with clinicians trained in crisis intervention techniques.
“We are not changing our commitment to public health; we are expanding how we deliver it,” Mayor Michael Garcia said at a Wednesday afternoon news conference announcing the rebrand.
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The unit has been a topic of conversation throughout the year after interim Santa Fe Fire Chief Scott Ouderkirk removed paramedics from the unit in January, a change some community partners said significantly curtailed the unit’s ability to operate independently.
The overhauled program will have a career ladder with a new position for case managers who are also certified as emergency medical technicians, Ouderkirk said Wednesday. Some of the unit’s current case managers are in process of becoming certified as EMTs.
While he and other city officials described the rebrand as an expansion, the unit will continue to have fewer employees than it did at its peak in 2022. Its budget and operating hours will also remain the same.
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