Starting Monday, the Dallas Police Department will dispatch a three-person team, which includes a behavioral health specialist from Parkland Memorial Hospital, a specially trained police officer and a specially trained paramedic to respond to mental health-related 911 calls, according to a Dallas Observer report.
The dispatch team will evaluate the 911 caller before deciding whether the caller requires an immediate emergency response or a referral to a different provider. The program, called Rapid Integrated Group Healthcare Team Care, aims to ensure the city's resources are used to help the most people, according to its organizers.
Dallas has over 6,000 residents with mental illness who the Fire-Rescue Department has identified as "super-utilizers" of emergency services. Under the city's current procedures, a behavioral health call can take two to five hours if police officers or EMS personnel have to take these patients to jail or the emergency room.
"We believe the RIGHT Care program will enhance EMS service delivery overall as ambulance units will be more available to respond to other high-priority EMS calls in a timely fashion," said Marshal Isaacs, MD, the program's medical director.
RIGHT Care will roll out across the city this year and continue through 2020. The program is funded by a $3 million grant from the W.W. Caruth, Jr. Foundation.