Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Community Health And Public Safety topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
SFFD updates commission on EMS 6 outreach and new Street Crisis Response Team pilot
Summary
Chiefs and EMS leads outlined the EMS 6 program and a new Street Crisis Response Team pilot launched Nov. 30; early deployment accepted 18 of 36 dispatches and achieved 22% non-ED transports in first seven days. The team plans phased expansion subject to staffing and budget constraints.
The Fire Commission heard a progress report on EMS 6 and the newly launched Street Crisis Response Team (SCRT) during Item 7. Chief Simon Pang and field captains described the pilot's objectives, initial operations and short-term expansion plan.
Simon Pang said EMS 6's core mission is to connect frequent 911 users to appropriate resources; the SCRT applies a behavioral-clinician and peer-support model to on-street behavioral crises to keep people out of emergency rooms and reduce law-enforcement responses. The pilot began Nov. 30 with one SCRT unit and limited hours; staffing constraints at the community partner HealthRight360 delayed full clinician coverage.
Presenters described a three-phase rollout: Phase 1 (Nov. 30–March) will operate one or two units focused on the Tenderloin police district; Phase 2 (April–October) aims for six 12-hour teams citywide; Phase 3 (Nov. 2021 onward) will reassess scope and safety. Early operational data from the first seven days showed 36 dispatches reviewed, 18 accepted by SCRT, and 22% of accepted calls resulted in non-ED transports to alternative resources—figures the department described as promising for a pilot phase.
Commissioners and staff discussed a high-utilizer case who had 107 EMS 6 contacts and 68 ambulance ER transports in the prior 12 months. Captains said voluntary engagement and limited inpatient psychiatric bed capacity remain major barriers; conservatorship paths are constrained by system capacity and civil-liberties considerations. Chief Janine Nicholson noted the department will ramp units in January and March if clinician and budgetary resources permit, but that back-end resources such as mental-health and rehab beds are essential for program success.
Commissioners praised the program as a needed, evidence-informed response to behavioral-health calls and requested continued reporting on outcomes and resource needs as the pilot expands.
