Three Things To Read This Week

As opioid deaths in America continue to reach historic highs, cities have launched promising new prevention programs in an effort to combat the overdose epidemic. This week’s Safer Cities focuses on those efforts, including:

• Increased and innovative access to life-saving medication like Narcan; 

• Overdose response teams who save lives through rapid response in the wake of an overdose; and 

• Addiction stabilization centers with medical professionals who offer crisis treatment and connections to long-term care.

1. Momentum Grows For Expanding Access To Narcan

• “Southwest Airlines To Provide Medical Kits Containing Narcan On Flights.” For The Dallas Morning News, Alexandra Skores reports on Southwest’s move to include life-saving “Narcan nasal spray to its medical kits in the carrier’s fleet.” Southwest joins American, Alaska, Delta, and United Airlines, all of which now stock their planes with Narcan. 
  
  Federal legislation that would require all airlines to carry Narcan on planes was introduced last year (and is still in committee) by U.S. Representative Brittany Pettersen—a bill that was inspired by her mother’s struggle with addiction to painkillers following a back injury.  Pettersen explained the personal origin of her bill, and its importance, to Denver’s local ABC affiliate: 

“Overdose-reversal drugs [should be] available in as many places as possible… includ[ing] commercial aircraft. My mom wouldn’t be alive today without [Narcan]... increasing access to this medication can help us combat the opioid crisis, which has already claimed more American lives than all world wars combined…”

• “Honolulu Becomes First American City To Require Bars, Nightclubs And Restaurants Carry [Narcan].” For The Hill, Nick Robertson reports on the Honolulu City Council’s decision to ensure that more public spaces have this life-saving tool to combat the opioid crisis. City Councilmember Tyler Dos Santos-Tam told the Honolulu Star-Advisor that Narcan “should be available and accessible in as many places as possible, in the same way we have fire extinguishers and defibrillators in case of emergencies…”

• “If You Live In Santa Clara County, The County Will Mail You Narcan For Free.” For NBC’s Bay Area affiliate, Katie Marzullo reports that “County officials say they believe this new home delivery option gives them another tool to fight the deadly opioid crisis… The county says it will ship the drug within 24 hours.” Santa Clara County Supervisor Cindy Chavez told The Mercury News’ Grace Hase that “she’s learned that not everyone feels comfortable picking up Narcan at their local library out of fear that others might think they’re a drug user themselves … ‘Even if they’re not drug users, they’re around people who are and so a lot of the folks who are requesting this aren’t using drugs themselves but have friends or family who do. Being somebody who is responsible, just wanting to be ready just like you would take a CPR class, that’s how we’re wanting to make it feel.’”

2. New Overdose Response Teams Launch

• Baltimore, Maryland. For WMAR, Baltimore’s local ABC affiliate, Bryna Zumer reports on Baltimore County’s new Quick Response Team that “will deploy specially-trained EMS staff and peer recovery specialists to respond to overdose calls… [provide] services like free [Narcan]... and access to treatment.” The new team, a partnership between the county’s Department of Health and Fire Department, is funded through a U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention grant. After an overdose event, Baltimore County Health Officer Dr. Gregory Branch explained to the local Fox affiliate, Fox45, that the Quick Response Team will also follow up with the patient to provide additional medical care and connection to services, “from helping to schedule appointments to coordination of transportation to substance rehabilitation locations.” 

• Portland, Oregon. For the Portland Mercury, Courtney Vaughn reports that a surge in calls for opioid overdoses in Portland has overwhelmed the emergency system. In response, Portland Fire and Rescue created the Mobile Medication for Opioid Use Disorder (MOUD) program, which will allow EMTs to enroll patients in a detox program, administer Narcan to treat overdoses, and provide buprenorphine to treat opioid withdrawal symptoms. 

3. Growing Momentum for Addiction Stabilization Centers

Addiction Stabilization Units are specialized care centers staffed by medical professionals and social workers who provide comprehensive care to patients experiencing an opioid overdose. This care includes both medical treatment to manage cravings and withdrawals, and connection with longer-term treatment and social services such as housing. Here are three new centers opening across the country:

• Portland, Oregon, Will Provide People In Recovery With Transitional Housing and Services. Multnomah County announced plans for a 70-bed treatment center and transitional housing for people in recovery from substance use disorders. Mary-Rain O’Meara, director of community development at Central City Concern which will run the center says, “Step-down from detox — transitional housing and recovery services — are a critical link to help people stabilize on the path to health and well-being. And it’s missing.” The facility will help fill a gap in Portland’s continuum of substance use services who need housing and longer-term support. A lack of step-down services forces Central City Concern’s current stabilization center to send one-third of the 3,000 people it serves back to the streets after they leave detox.

• Baltimore Plans To Build a Center For Those Who Are Pregnant And In Opioid Withdrawal. For The Baltimore Sun, Angela Roberts reports on a new residential crisis stabilization center focused on the intersection between addiction and pregnancy. The facility will have 30 beds for teens, 20 beds for adults, and 40 stabilization beds for people experiencing acute emergencies. The center will also “offer outpatient therapy and mental health treatment, medication-assisted substance-use disorder therapy and walk-in medical care for non-emergency illnesses and injuries to members of the surrounding community.”
  
  Local NBC affiliate WBAL’s Breana Ross reports that providing services like these can also reduce jail populations. As Ivan Bates, the top prosecutor for Baltimore City recently told Ross:

“This is the type of program that, eventually, we would like to sit and talk and work with the police to say, 'Hey, we don't even want to bring them to jail. We can bring them to you at the center like this immediately... This way, they can deal with the detox and any of the other issues individuals will have. So, that way, they are not about being incarcerated. It's about being directed immediately to the services they need to change their life.”

• Wisconsin Opens “Center [That] Provides Medication-Assisted Treatment.” For Waukesha County’s The Freeman, Bridget Dean reports that government and community leaders joined the Waukesha County Business Alliance in opening the fifth Community Medical Services clinic in Pewaukee to provide critical, urgent care to people with opioid use disorder. The center will offer patients who cannot wait for care and who need ongoing support with outpatient medication-assisted treatment, necessary same-day walk-in treatment, and counseling in a welcoming environment. Waukesha County executive Paul Farrow told the outlet, “This is just another piece of the puzzle ... Last week we opened our community crisis stabilization center, the other half of our mental health hospital. Another piece of the puzzle we need.”