Mayor Adams rolls out plan to take EMTs out of city's mental health response program

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Mayor Adams Unveils Plan to Strip EMTs from City's Mental Health Response Program

In a move that may put him at odds with his incoming successor, Mayor Eric Adams has announced plans to overhaul B-HEARD, the city's pilot program that provides non-police response to some 911 mental health calls. The changes would see social workers and nurses replace emergency medical technicians (EMTs) currently employed by the FDNY in these teams.

Under the new model set to launch in spring 2026, B-HEARD teams will consist of a nurse, an ambulance driver, and a social worker, all employed by NYC Health and Hospitals. This shift is intended to free up EMTs to focus on other types of emergency calls, with the aim of improving ambulance response times.

The move comes as Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani prepares to take office, having campaigned on an expansion of B-HEARD with a new staffing model that involves trained peers with lived experiences of mental health issues. While Adams' plan does not preclude this, it may pose a challenge for the incoming administration's efforts to revamp the program.

The decision has been met with mixed reactions from mental health advocates. Dr. Mitchell Katz, president and CEO of NYC Health Hospitals, acknowledged that hiring EMTs had become challenging and limited the city's ability to expand B-HEARD. However, he expressed openness to incorporating peers into the teams, potentially serving as drivers.

A May audit found that B-HEARD still missed a significant share of eligible calls due to its capacity constraints. The program has responded to nearly 35,000 mental health calls since its launch in 2021 and currently operates 16 hours a day in 31 police precincts across the city's four boroughs.

The move is part of Adams' broader effort to reduce police involvement in mental health responses and improve emergency response times. However, the staffing changes he announced may put him at odds with his successor's plans for B-HEARD.
 
This new plan from Mayor Adams has me wondering... 🤔 I mean, it seems like a good idea on paper - EMTs should be focusing on life-or-death situations not mental health crises, right? 🚑 But at the same time, isn't this just gonna put more pressure on NYC Health and Hospitals to staff these teams adequately? 💼 And what about the peer model that Mamdani is pushing for? Doesn't that have some legit potential to make a real difference in crisis response? 🤝 I'm not sure if I buy into all the bureaucratic red tape, but one thing's for sure - this whole situation is gonna be super interesting to watch unfold... 💥
 
🤷‍♀️ Like, can't say I'm surprised by this move... Mayor Adams has always been a bit of a wild card 🎩. All these changes are gonna cause some major headaches for the incoming administration, and honestly, it feels like he's just trying to leave his mark before handing over the reins 😒. The fact that B-HEARD still missed so many calls due to capacity issues is pretty laughable, considering the whole point of this program was to reduce police involvement in mental health responses 🤯. I mean, I guess it's good that they're trying to improve response times, but can't we just find a way to make B-HEARD work with its current staff instead of making them redundant? 🤷‍♀️
 
I'm low-key confused about this plan... like, I get that we need more resources for mental health calls, but swapping out EMTs for nurses and social workers just seems like it's gonna slow things down a bit? 🤔 I've had friends who've used B-HEARD and they love the fact that you get actual people with experience helping you in an emergency situation. This new model sounds like it's still just sending someone to listen, but maybe not always being able to take action right away... idk, what do u guys think about this?
 
idk man, i think this is a pretty big deal 🤔... mayor adams is basically taking away from the people who are actually trying to help with mental health crisis, you know? the emts in b-heard teams have been doing great work and now they're gonna be replaced by nurses and social workers... it's not even like they're bad at their jobs, it's just that adams wants to free them up for other things 🚑

but on the flip side, i get what adams is trying to do - reduce police involvement in mental health crisis and improve response times. and maybe this new model will work better? idk... i'm worried about how it'll affect the people who are already struggling and don't have access to resources 🤷‍♂️

anyway, it's gonna be interesting to see how this all plays out. will adams' plan clash with mamdani's expansion of b-heard? only time will tell 🕰️
 
I gotta say, I'm kinda worried about this new plan 🤔. I know we need to make room for trained peers to help with mental health calls and all that jazz, but stripping EMTs from the program feels like a major step back 🚑. Those guys are heroes, just trying to save lives on the go 🌟. If they can't handle it now, how's the new staffing model gonna do any better? 🤷‍♂️ I'm all for change and innovation, but this one feels like a knee-jerk reaction to me 😕. We should be working together to build up B-HEARD, not tearing down the teams that made it happen in the first place 💔.
 
🤔 This plan by Mayor Adams is a bit confusing to me... I mean, on one hand, it makes sense that EMTs would be freed up to focus on other types of emergency calls, which should improve response times overall. But at the same time, it feels like they're taking away a crucial piece of a program that's already proven to work (B-HEARD). I worry about how this will affect mental health call volumes and wait times... 🚑💊 Maybe with some tweaks, we can make it work?
 
I'm concerned about this plan 🤔. It sounds like Mayor Adams wants to strip away a crucial resource (EMTs) from the city's mental health response program, which has already been successful despite some capacity constraints 🚑. I think it's a shame that he's not listening to the feedback from mental health advocates and is instead pushing his own agenda 💔. The idea of incorporating peers with lived experiences into the teams sounds like a great way to improve the service 🌟, but by replacing EMTs, Adams is essentially taking away an essential part of the program 🚫. I hope Mayor-elect Mamdani can work with this change and find a way to make it work for everyone 🤞.
 
I'm not sure if I'd want EMTs taken out of the mental health response program... they do have that hands-on, real-life experience that some people might find valuable 😕. Don't get me wrong, it's great that there are going to be more social workers and nurses involved, but what happens when things escalate? You gotta think about the officers who rely on EMTs for support during those tricky situations... 🤝
 
I just heard about this new plan from my sister who works as an EMT 🤕, she's super upset about it... I mean, I get why Mayor Adams wants to improve response times and all that, but can't they just find a way to keep the EMTs in the program? My friend's cousin has a sibling with mental health issues and they love how B-HEARD is able to provide them with help when they need it. It's not like it's been working perfectly from day one, I know there were some audit findings about capacity constraints... but what if they just find another way to make it work? 🤔

I think it's kinda cool that Dr. Katz is open to incorporating peers into the teams as drivers though... that could be a game changer! But at the same time, it feels like Mayor Adams is kind of trying to sabotage his own successor's plans 😒. What do you guys think about this whole thing?
 
🤔 This plan by Mayor Adams seems like a good idea on paper, but I'm not sure how it'll actually play out in practice... 🚑💊 I mean, I get that the EMTs are getting a bit overwhelmed with all these mental health calls, but swapping them out for nurses and social workers might not be the best solution. What if they're not equipped to handle the more urgent situations? 🚨👮‍♀️ And what about the training? It sounds like we're just shifting the problem around... 🤯

I do love that there's a push for more peers with lived experience in mental health roles, though! That could be super valuable. But at the same time, it's not like this plan is going to address the root issue of police involvement in mental health responses or anything... 😔 Still, I'm curious to see how this all shakes out in 2026. Will B-HEARD actually become more effective? 🤞
 
🤔 This move by Mayor Adams seems like a bit of a misstep to me... I mean, they're basically taking away the one team that's already been on the ground, making it work, and now they're shaking things up. I get that staffing is a challenge, but social workers and nurses are not EMTs, you know? They don't have the same training or expertise in emergency response situations.

And what about the fact that NYC Health Hospitals wants to incorporate peers into the teams as part of their plan for B-HEARD? It sounds like they're trying to do a similar thing here, but Adams' plan does it in a completely different way. I'm worried that this is just going to cause more problems down the line.

Plus, have we really thought through the implications of stripping EMTs from these teams? They've been doing some pretty cool work with B-HEARD already... do we just throw away all that experience and expertise? 🤷‍♀️ I don't think so.
 
I dont think this is a good idea at all 🤕 Mayor Adams wants to strip EMTs from the city's mental health response program? Thats gonna mess up the whole thing, you know? Like, what about all those calls that need like actual medical help? Who's gonna show up then? Social workers and nurses are cool and all, but they're not trained EMTs 🚑💉

I mean, I get it, the goal is to free up EMTs for other types of emergencies, but what about mental health crises? You gotta prioritize that too, you know? The program has been doing a good job so far, and now Mayor Adams just wanna change everything? It's like, dont fix what ain't broke, right? 😒

And what about the fact that Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani wanted to expand B-HEARD with a new staffing model? Now it looks like that might be all for naught 🤦‍♂️. I just hope this doesn't lead to more mental health crises being left unaddressed... thats just not what we need in this city 💔
 
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