What is the goal of the HEART Program?

• A. To match response to actual need, reduce harm, avoid unnecessary police and ER involvement, and provide compassionate care.
• B. To maximize police involvement in all mental health calls.
• C. To centralize all mental health services in a single hospital.
• D. To reduce the use of clinicians in 911 responses.

Answer: (A)

The goal of this approach is to ensure responses to crises are based on actual needs and delivered with compassion, safety, and connection to appropriate care. HEART focuses on using crisis teams that include clinicians or trained responders to assess what a person truly needs in the moment, rather than defaulting to law enforcement or hospital transports. This reduces harm by avoiding unnecessary arrests or ER visits, and it prioritizes providing appropriate mental health or social supports in the community.

In practice, this means matching the response to the situation, de-escalating when possible, and linking individuals to services such as crisis stabilization, outpatient care, or social supports instead of reflexively involving police or routing everyone to the ER. That patient-centered, health-focused approach is what makes this option the best fit.

Why the other ideas don’t fit: maximizing police involvement increases trauma and can escalate risk during crises; centralizing mental health services in one hospital ignores community access and can delay care; reducing clinicians in 911 responses undermines the ability to assess needs and provide appropriate care on scene.