PEW May 25, 2022
Texas public safety expert discusses how to create better responses to behavioral health emergencies.
B.J. Wagner, the senior vice president of health and public safety at Meadows Mental Health Policy Institute, has been a key player in spearheading a new way to respond to behavioral health emergencies in her home state of Texas. With decades of health and public safety experience under her belt, she specializes in the intersection of behavioral health and justice systems, with a specific focus on emergency response models.
One of the models Wagner helped create is Multi-Disciplinary Response Teams, which first piloted in Dallas in 2018. This community paramedicine model takes a health-first approach to emergencies involving people with mental health or substance use disorders—with...