2024 Nov TEACH-RS - Madison's Community Alternative Response Emergency Services (CARES)

Seminar Full Title: Madison’s Mental Health Crisis Intervention Team (CARES): Implementation Experiences and Research Partnership

DRISS Presents TEACH-Recruitment Science (TEACH-RS) | University of Wisconsin – Madison | November 2024

DRISS Presents TEACH-RS is an interactive, monthly lunchtime seminar (via Zoom) to learn about dissemination and implementation research and recruitment science

Seminar Description:
The presenters tell the story of how Madison’s innovative CARES team came into being from the perspectives of Madison Fire Department leadership and a crisis team member. They will describe some of the implementation considerations for translating a commitment to address an urgent health need in the community into a viable city program. The connection to research will also be explored.

Speakers:
Ché Stedman is recently retired from the City of Madison Fire Department where he worked for 28 years. He retired as the Chief of Medical Operations where he was central to the implementation and operation of the City's mental health crisis response team (CARES). The CARES program involves multiple municipal and non-profit agencies with the goal of providing appropriate crisis response to 911 calls in the City of Madison. Ché currently teaches part-time in the Protective Services Department at Madison College.

Paco Bonnin is a paramedic with 15+ years of experience encompassing ER, 911, critical care, and flight environments. He was deployed in Afghanistan when COVID hit. Witnessing the struggles that isolation and uncertainty caused for patients prompted him to expand his understanding of mental health. Upon returning home and learning about the initiative for a mental health response team, he knew he had to join. Paco has been serving as a CARES medic since the launch in 2021.

Rachel Odes, PhD, RN, is Assistant Professor in the UW-Madison School of Nursing. Her research focuses on mental health systems and safe delivery of care for patients and providers. Her prior research includes experiences of workplace violence in healthcare settings and the implementation of mobile crisis teams across the U.S. She is currently completing a project with the Madison CARES team exploring the workforce’s experience. Rachel is a psychiatric nurse and draws on her decade of clinical experience in the behavioral health treatment setting.