ST. CHARLES COUNTY, Mo. (First Alert 4) -The number of 911 calls related to mental health crises continues to rise nationwide, including in the St. Louis region.
The St. Charles County Ambulance District responded to nearly 3,000 calls in 2025 that involved a behavioral health component, a number that exceeds the number of calls related to respiratory complaints.
“It’s a good number of calls, at least six or seven a day,” said John Romeo, who oversees SCCAD’s Mobile Integrated Health program. The program, created in 2016, includes nearly a dozen paramedics specifically trained in behavioral health, allowing them to offer increased resources to patients.
“We’re happy to transport them to the hospital, but a lot of the times they weren’t necessarily being admitted,” he said. “They would be discharged with follow-up are and then a lot of times that didn’t happen.”
The mobile program helps to bridge that gap, Romeo said, by ensuring patients receive prompt follow-up care, often the next day.
“They really help people navigate the healthcare system,” he said. “They also offer telehealth options for people, to make sure they’re being connected with any other services they may need.”
Anytime an ambulance is dispatched to a behavioral health call, a member of the Mobile Integrated Health program will also respond, assisting on-scene paramedics or police departments, if they request it.
“Just by getting people the right help they need, we’re not dealing with the same people over and over again,” said Det. Sgt. Matt Bargen of St. Peters Police Department. “So we know we’re getting them help and we know the program works.”
Det. Sgt. Bargen said St. Peters is the first agency to partner with the ambulance district to utilize its mobile team.
“The patrol officers have really spoken highly of how helpful this is to them,” he said. “To have someone there that can walk someone through their specific options is not only good for that person, but it frees up our officers to respond to the next call.”
St. Peters Police recently outfitted several of its patrol cars with 988 decals on the back window. A 24/7 crisis lifeline, Det. Sgt. Bargen hopes the subtle reminder can help someone in need.
“You never know who is going to be in crisis or what they’re looking up for,” he said. “If they’re behind a police car at a red light and they see that, that might be the answer they need that day.”
In addition to emergency rooms, the ambulance district’s mobile team can also transport patients to two Crisis Access Points in St. Charles County, both Compass Health facilities. The facility in Wentzville serves adults and another facility in St. Peters works with children ages 5 to 17.
“The Crisis Access Points offer specialized behavioral health healthcare that can really ensure someone is getting the resources they need,” said Romeo.
The St. Charles County Ambulance District said when a person is helped by its mobile team, it sees a roughly 50 percent drop in 911 calls from that individual over the course of the year, as compared to the year prior to its intervention.
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