New York Mayor Eric Adams has unveiled plans to strip emergency medical technicians (EMTs) from New York City's mental health response program. The decision comes ahead of the inauguration of his successor, Zohran Mamdani, who has pledged to expand B-HEARD, a non-police response pilot launched in 2021.
Under current arrangements, B-HEARED teams consist of EMTs employed by the FDNY and social workers from NYC Health and Hospitals. However, Adams' new model will remove the FDNY component, allowing EMTs to focus on other emergency calls and reduce response times. The revamped program will feature a nurse, an ambulance driver, and a social worker – all employed by NYC Health and Hospitals.
The decision comes as hiring EMTs has become increasingly challenging, limiting B-HEARD's expansion efforts. However, city officials claim that staffing shortages are no longer the primary barrier to growth. The changes aim to facilitate B-HEARD's expansion while maintaining its core mission of providing non-police responses to mental health crises.
Mamdani, who will take office soon, has vowed to expand B-HEARED and introduce trained peers with lived experience of mental health issues into the teams. While Adams' plan differs from Mamdani's proposal, Katz, president of NYC Health Hospitals, remains open to incorporating peers into the program.
B-HEARD has responded to nearly 35,000 mental health calls since its launch in 2021 but still missed a significant share of eligible calls due to capacity constraints. The program currently operates for 16 hours a day in 31 police precincts across several neighborhoods.
The city's comptroller office conducted an audit earlier this year and found that B-HEARED was only able to respond to about half of the mental health calls it received.
Under current arrangements, B-HEARED teams consist of EMTs employed by the FDNY and social workers from NYC Health and Hospitals. However, Adams' new model will remove the FDNY component, allowing EMTs to focus on other emergency calls and reduce response times. The revamped program will feature a nurse, an ambulance driver, and a social worker – all employed by NYC Health and Hospitals.
The decision comes as hiring EMTs has become increasingly challenging, limiting B-HEARD's expansion efforts. However, city officials claim that staffing shortages are no longer the primary barrier to growth. The changes aim to facilitate B-HEARD's expansion while maintaining its core mission of providing non-police responses to mental health crises.
Mamdani, who will take office soon, has vowed to expand B-HEARED and introduce trained peers with lived experience of mental health issues into the teams. While Adams' plan differs from Mamdani's proposal, Katz, president of NYC Health Hospitals, remains open to incorporating peers into the program.
B-HEARD has responded to nearly 35,000 mental health calls since its launch in 2021 but still missed a significant share of eligible calls due to capacity constraints. The program currently operates for 16 hours a day in 31 police precincts across several neighborhoods.
The city's comptroller office conducted an audit earlier this year and found that B-HEARED was only able to respond to about half of the mental health calls it received.
, I loved the idea of having EMTs involved in the mental health response program 
but i guess they're gonna be taken away now? 
still hoping that Zohran Mamdani's new plan with trained peers will work out though 
and maybe we'll see more responses to those 35k+ calls 
16 hrs a day ain't enough tho, think we need more hours or teams on the ground 
I think its gonna be super cool if Zohran Mamdani expands B-HEARD with trained peers who've gone thru mental health struggles themselves! That'll add an extra layer of compassion & understanding to these response teams 
. I also hope the new model works out as planned, lets see how it affects those emergency calls 
, i mean i get why eric adams wants to make changes but stripping eMTs from b-heard? that's like taking away the firefighters from the fight against fires 
what's next? removing police from police stations? anywayz, i think zohran mamdani's plan sounds more promising 
having trained peers with lived experience in the teams could bring a whole new level of understanding and empathy to the mental health crisis response. we should be supporting people in need not cutting back on services 
. On one hand, I get why Adams wants to streamline the program by removing EMTs from the mix - staffing shortages can be a real challenge 
. And reducing response times is definitely a good goal 
.
. Those guys are trained to handle high-pressure situations and can make a real difference in someone's life 
. I think that's a great idea, but it's gotta be done carefully and thoughtfully - we don't want to create more complexity than we already have 
. Maybe this is an opportunity for us to rethink our approach and find a better balance between efficiency and effectiveness? 
But I guess I can see why they'd wanna make changes since hiring EMTs has been super hard lately. 
It makes sense to focus them on other emergency calls and reduce response times, but at the same time, what about all those mental health crises that B-HEARD's already missing out on? 
. It'll totally enhance their skills and make them even more effective in responding to mental health crises. And can we talk about how Katz, president of NYC Health Hospitals, is just so down-to-earth and cool? 
I love how she's open to incorporating peers into the program too.
! Let's get those EMTs and mental health teams working together in perfect harmony 
. And what about the fact that NYC Health Hospitals is already employing nurses, ambulance drivers, and social workers... isn't that enough? It just seems like Adams is prioritizing response times over actual people's lives 
. Can't wait to see how Mamdani handles this, though - I'm all about expanding B-HEARED and getting more trained peers on the ground 
peeps who've been through mental health struggles are so qualified to help others! 
Maybe NYC Health Hospitals could work out a better partnership with the FDNY or something? 
on the other hand, i can see how having all NYC Health Hospitals employees working together would streamline things and make the program more efficient 
. zohran mamdani's plan sounds like a good direction too, introducing trained peers with lived experience could bring a whole new level of understanding to the teams 
and now its just gonna be nurses & social workers instead of emts? whats the point of that?? 
.