Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Alternative Response Unit topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Division Chief Paige Bowie reports early results from San Leandro Alternative Response Unit pilot
Summary
Division Chief Paige Bowie updated the committee on an 18-month San Leandro pilot in which an unarmed team of a firefighter, nurse practitioner and community health workers respond to behavioral-health calls; Bowie reported initial metrics—around 3,591 calls answered in three months, 90 follow-ups, roughly 50 on-view contacts, average response time 10 minutes and average time on scene about 30 minutes.
Division Chief Paige Bowie presented an update on Alameda County Fire’s Alternative Response Unit (ARU) pilot, a San Leandro-based mental-health first-response pilot that launched in November with a public rollout Jan. 15 and is scheduled to run 18 months.
Bowie described the ARU model as an unarmed team (one Alameda County firefighter, one nurse practitioner and two community health workers) designed to de-escalate behavioral-health crises, provide mediation, make referrals and reduce unnecessary law-enforcement and emergency-department responses. The unit operates Monday–Thursday on a 40-hour-week schedule out of Alameda County Fire Station 10 in San Leandro.
Bowie outlined the dispatch workflow: initial 911 triage at the primary PSAP in San Leandro, screening for safety and forward to a secondary PSAP (ACRAC) that dispatches the ARU. Eligible call types include people in severe emotional distress, suspected psychosis, suspected substance-use-related behavior and nonviolent welfare checks; exclusionary criteria include obvious medical emergencies, weapons on scene, current self-harm or known history of significant physical violence.
On metrics, Bowie reported that in the first three months the ARU answered about 3,591 calls, initiated 90 follow-up visits and logged roughly 50 "on-view" contacts (where the unit located someone while driving in the field). Bowie said average ARU response time in San Leandro was about 10 minutes and average time on scene approximately 30 minutes; the team averaged eight to nine calls per day and increasingly responded with police when safety considerations required co-response.
A key element of the pilot is access to two medically supported shelter beds at Eddie’s Place (operated by partner Cardea Health); Bowie said 13 clients were transported to shelter in the first quarter, 10 of whom were clients and three were live-in caregivers, and that five of those clients subsequently connected to longer-term care or treatment.
Bowie said the department and Cardea Health track referrals and outcomes (Cardea tracks clients sent to Eddie’s Place) and that the department produces quarterly reports to the City of San Leandro on metrics (the first quarterly report was being finalized). Bowie also described community outreach (social media, San Leandro Improvement Association, referral partners) and regional coordination with neighboring cities and technical assistance from Harvard’s Government Performance Lab.
Bowie said the main constraints to expansion are funding and bed capacity; the department is monitoring call-volume patterns to assess whether altered staffing or schedule changes would better match demand.
The committee recorded no public speakers on the ARU update; Bowie said long-term funding discussions with San Leandro are anticipated as the pilot continues.
