By MES Dispatch Staff
The Briefing
- The Bernalillo County Sheriff’s Office Behavioral Health Unit, a co-responder team pairing detectives, clinicians and paramedics, responded to more than 3,000 calls last year in Albuquerque, New Mexico.
- In January, state regulators authorized the unit’s paramedics to administer the antipsychotic drug olanzapine in the field to stabilize people experiencing psychosis or mania.
- The 19-person unit is funded through a Bernalillo County gross receipts tax and has grown steadily since its 2023 launch.
- The expansion contrasts with Santa Fe’s Alternative Response Unit, which removed paramedics from its program the same month and has seen staffing and call volume decline since 2021.
- Unit officials describe the program’s goal as connecting people in crisis with services while reducing call volume for sheriff’s deputies and other first responders.
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — The Bernalillo County Sheriff’s Office Behavioral Health Unit, a co-responder program that pairs detectives, clinicians and paramedics on 911 calls involving mental health and addiction crises, has expanded its field medical capacity, with paramedics now authorized to administer an antipsychotic medication to stabilize patients on scene.
The unit, launched in summer 2023, responded to more than 3,000 calls last year, according to clinical manager Michael Lucero, who said call volume has grown since the program’s inception. The 19-member unit includes five sheriff’s detectives, five licensed clinicians, four case managers and three Bernalillo County Fire & Rescue paramedics assigned under an agreement with the sheriff’s office, and is funded through a county gross receipts tax for behavioral health services.
In January, the New Mexico Department of Health’s Emergency Medical Systems Bureau authorized the unit’s paramedics to administer olanzapine, an antipsychotic sold under the brand name Zyprexa, in the field. The drug, dissolved under the tongue, takes about 20 minutes to take effect and is used to stabilize people showing signs of mania or psychosis linked to mental illness or drug use. Lucero said patients must consent to the medication, and paramedics complete training and a written test before administering it. Case managers are required to follow up with recipients within 24 hours.
The Bernalillo unit’s expansion stands in contrast to Santa Fe’s Alternative Response Unit, a similar co-responder program launched in 2021 that has lost staff and seen declining call volume. Santa Fe removed paramedics from its program the same month Bernalillo County’s medication authorization took effect. Kate Field, director of crisis services with New Mexico Solutions, which operates a Santa Fe County crisis center, said the change means Santa Fe’s program can no longer offer the field medication option.
Sheriff’s office officials said the unit’s core mission is twofold: connecting people in crisis with treatment and housing resources, and reducing repeat 911 calls involving the same individuals. Deputies conduct an initial safety assessment at a scene before the behavioral health team takes over, and the unit does not conduct proactive street outreach or accept direct public requests, though it takes referrals from the University of New Mexico’s Psychiatric Emergency Services.