Flagstaff鈥檚 Community Alliance Response and Engagement (CARE) Unit, the 鈥渁lternative response鈥� program that assists individuals experiencing substance use or mental health crises without involving police, hired three new emergency medical technicians (EMTs) in May. The unit is run by Terros Health, which specializes in crisis services.
The unit鈥檚 approach differs from traditional emergency medical response. Rather than defaulting to taking a patient to the hospital, CARE鈥檚 EMTs and behavioral health specialists focus on 鈥渕eeting people where they鈥檙e at鈥� and stabilizing them as much as possible unless hospital care is absolutely necessary, Terros Health regional manager Thea Sherman said.
The new EMTs are Marshelle Yazzie, Sonia Olson, and Adam Reed. 鈥淚 think they鈥檙e all really excited to get started,鈥� Sherman said, noting that all three were enthusiastic about the nontraditional approach the unit brings to mental health intervention. Though already trained in emergency medicine, the new staff members have been undergoing additional training specific to mental and behavioral health.聽
Originally, the CARE Unit was staffed by Terros behavioral health specialists and Flagstaff Fire Department EMTs. Now, the newly-hired EMTs are 鈥渟hadowing鈥� their fire department predecessors, and will step up to replace them within the week.聽The hands-on, practical experience is a major component of the training process for the new hires. 鈥淎 lot of this training happens on the job,鈥� Sherman said. 鈥淵ou kind of figure out what works best鈥� as you continue to run calls, over and over.鈥�
Ahead of their transition, Yazzie and Olson received a traditional Navajo blessing from Dorothy Denetsosie Gishie 鈥� former chairperson of the Coconino County Intertribal Council, and community development director at Native Americans for Community Action 鈥� at the Flagstaff Fire Department's Station 6 on Friday, June 6.
Since the CARE Unit first launched in the spring of 2022, there have been discussions about expanding its capacities. Right now, the unit operates from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. every day and responds to between 150 and 200 calls per month. The program employs two full-time EMTs and one on-call EMT, along with two full-time behavioral health specialists and two on-call.
At this point, Sherman said, there鈥檚 no plan to add a night shift or additional full-time staff -- though Terros does plan to hire up to two more on-call EMTs to ensure shift coverage. 鈥淲e want to look at data first, to see if it would be feasible and if data supports us going to a 24-hour staffing model,鈥� she said. But Terros will be presenting to the Flagstaff City Council next month, and that discussion could influence the program鈥檚 future direction.
鈥淲e want to continue with the good work we鈥檙e already doing,鈥� Sherman said.