By Tom Hallman Jr.
oregonlive.com
PORTLAND, Ore. — Over the past several years, firefighters at all 31 of Portland’s fire stations have answered an increasing number of drug-overdose calls, particularly in Old Town / Chinatown.
At a Thursday press conference, officials said more people in Portland died from overdosing on drugs in 2023 than in car accidents.
But help is on its way.
Starting on Feb. 5, firefighters as well as a new team of first responders will be able to provide overdose victims in Portland with immediate access to opioid-use-disorder medication and follow-up recovery services.
The opioid-use-disorder drug, called buprenorphine, helps eliminate the physical pain of withdrawal that makes addicts seek out opioids, said Rick Graves, spokesman for Portland Fire & Rescue. Eliminating the pain is the first step in getting clean, he added.
First responders who arrive on the scene of someone overdosing often treat the person with Narcan, an overdose-reversal drug that can save the person’s life. But first responders have found, time and again, that on another call the next day or days later, they have to help that same person, who’s again overdosing. Then a day or so later, they again come upon the same person suffering an overdose.
Imagine firefighters getting called to the scene of a car accident, giving aid, saving lives, only to be called back days later to the same intersection to help the same drivers. Over and over.
Portland is hoping to break that cycle with a pilot program called the Mobile Medication for Opioid Use Disorder, which was approved this week by the Portland City Council.
The project is a collaboration between Portland Fire & Rescue, the Multnomah County Health Department’s Emergency Medical Services division, the Oregon Poison Center and CareOregon, which gave the city $389,577 to fund the pilot.
After first responders arrive on scene and treat someone overdosing, they can provide opioid overdose medication and then notify the City’s Community Health Assess and Treat (CHAT) team, whose staffers receive specialized training for the job. The CHAT team can then provide follow-up services to the overdose victim.
At the same time, CHAT vehicles – staffed with social workers and emergency-medical technicians – will patrol the city, monitoring 9-1-1 calls. When they can, they’ll tell dispatchers they will take an overdose call that comes in.
“The fire department and CHAT are woven together,” Graves said. “At some calls, the firefighters will be there, on the rig, and [at others] CHAT will handle the case.”
Graves said it makes no sense to send an 80,000-pound vehicle with four firefighters and specialized tools on-board to an overdose call that can be handled by a car and a team that can provide help beyond the moment.
The CHAT team will offer to put the overdose victim in contact with a treatment center that offers services for substance abuse. The services will include drug counseling and other services. If the person declines to be connected with a treatment center’s services, a CHAT follow-up team will seek out the client later, make an assessment and offer appropriate services and resources.
Details – how many CHAT staffers and vehicles there will be, in particular – are still being worked out. The pilot program will operate Monday through Thursday from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m.
“On off hours, it will be a traditional old-school fire response” to overdose calls, said Graves. “The idea is not to remove the fire bureau, but to be more efficient with service.”
The contract lasts through June 30, 2025, and the program will be continually evaluated over the next year.
Metrics used to determine success will include the number of times CHAT administers medication for opioid use disorder; the number of people served; the number of times CHAT dispenses Narcan; the number of patients referred to a treatment clinic, as well as the number who establish care at the clinic; and the number of people remaining in the program after 30 days, 60 days and 90 days.
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