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.
A framework for pediatric crisis calls starts with ruling out medical causes and keeping caregivers involved
Managing high-risk/difficult refusals with the FEARS mnemonic
Fire union leaders fear removing police from nonviolent 911 calls could endanger first responders if situations turn dangerous, as finance officials warn the $16.8 million Department of Neighborhood Safety could exhaust opioid settlement funding by 2032
Walter Gera, 34, is accused of repeatedly kicking an EMT and damaging a Schuylkill EMS ambulance during a voluntary mental health transport, with troopers executing an arrest warrant after his psychiatric discharge
A new audit found the city lacks basic oversight of its behavioral crisis response program, which has cost more than $25 million since 2021, as a council vote to keep current vendor Canopy Roots instead of a new contractor faces a mayoral veto
Santa Fe’s overhaul adds a career ladder requiring case managers to become certified EMTs, months after Fire Chief Scott Ouderkirk removed paramedics from the unit, though its budget, hours and staffing remain below 2022 peak levels
Tacoma City Manager Hyun Kim’s 2027-2028 budget proposal would eliminate both alternative response programs to help close a $40 million shortfall
The Glick Recovery Campus, which saw 25% of patients brought in by Cleveland police, is ahead of its goal of 300 monthly visits as officials await County Council approval of $12 million in opioid settlement funding to sustain it
A NIOSH investigation shows how a routine transport escalated into a stabbing and why dispatch coding, staging triggers and patient-notification practices all factored into the outcome
Sacramento Fire says 79 frequent 911 users generated more than 5,100 EMS responses, consuming emergency resources and contributing to response delays
The MH3 program allows EMS, healthcare providers and police to connect people experiencing severe mental illness or substance use crises with involuntary care when they pose a danger to themselves or others
Geauga County officials say severe hoarding can delay EMS access to patients, expose crews and ambulances to contamination and complicate responses involving older residents
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
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