Hosted by NHTSA’s Office of EMS on March 22 at 2 PM ET / 11 AM PT
According to the National Harm Reduction Coalition, “harm reduction is a set of practical strategies and ideas aimed at reducing negative consequences associated with drug use.” This can include improving access to naloxone (Narcan) to prevent death from opioid overdose, providing sterile syringes to reduce the spread of HIV and hepatitis C, and fentanyl testing programs, among other types of help.
EMS clinicians are often on the frontline of addiction and the unintended consequences of both legal and illicit drug use and substance use disorder (SUD). In addition, drug use greatly impacts the larger context of our nation’s roads and highways through impaired driving and the resulting risks to the impaired driver, other drivers, passengers, bicyclists, and pedestrians. A 2022 NHTSA study of seven trauma centers around the U.S. found that nearly 56% of people injured or killed on roadways tested positive for one or more drugs, including alcohol. The most prevalent drug category was cannabis, and opioids made up 8.5% of cases at the trauma centers.
In this EMS Focus webinar, panelists will discuss:
Harm reduction and SUD treatment in the context of EMS care
Recent research
How innovation and intervention can drive overdose prevention in your community and reduction of other health risks, including traffic crashes that may be a result of impaired driving
Kate Elkins, Emergency Medical Services/911 Specialist, NHTSA’s Office of EMS (moderator)
Gerard Carroll, M.D., EMS Medical Director, Cooper University Health Care; Division Head of EMS/Disaster Medicine; and Program Director, EMS Fellowship Program
John Ehrhart, Paramedic; EMS Manager, San Diego Health Connect; Co-Founder, California Paramedic Foundation; and Founder, Mission Critical Protocols
Simon Taxel, Paramedic Crew Chief and Public Safety Diver, Pittsburgh Bureau of EMS; Bloomberg Fellow, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health
About EMS Focus
EMS Focus provides a venue to discuss crucial initiatives, issues and challenges for EMS stakeholders and leaders nationwide. Be sure to visit ems.gov for information about upcoming webinars and to view past recordings.
We are committed to providing equal access to this webinar for all participants. Persons with disabilities in need of an accommodation should contact nhtsa.ems@dot.gov to request an accommodation no later than Friday, March 15, 2024.
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The AAA is pleased to report that language we supported on grant funding for opioid protection training for first responders has passed both the House of Representatives and the Senate and is now headed to the President’s desk.
On Wednesday, the Senate passed the Opioid Crisis Response Act with a bipartisan vote of 98-1 in the last necessary needed action before being signed into law by the President. The impact of this legislation on the ambulance industry includes providing resources and training so that first responders and other key community sectors, including emergency medical services agencies, can appropriately protect themselves from exposure to drugs such as fentanyl, carfentanil and other dangerous licit and illicit drugs. $36,000,000 will be given annually for each fiscal year from 2019 through 2023. The bill also gives $10,000,000 in supplemental competitive grants to areas that have a record of high seizure of fentanyl to be used toward training of law enforcement and other first responders on how best to handle fentanyl as well as to purchase protective equipment, including overdose reversal drugs.
Lastly, the legislation allows the Department of Labor to award grants to states that have been heavily impacted by the opioid crisis in order to assist local workforce boards and local partnerships in closing the gaps in the workforce for mental health care and substance use disorder. Based on an analysis by counsel, we believe all ambulance service agencies would be eligible to apply for the described grants. It is encouraging to see both parties and chambers come together to pass legislation that takes steps to better our country as a whole and finally help address this growing public health emergency. The President is expected to sign the legislation into law.
Fentanyl is a powerful drug that can be 50 times more potent than heroin. First responders are being warned to take precautions to avoid being exposed to the drug. Photo courtesy of the Drug Enforcement Administration.
The explosion of the opioid epidemic that is responsible for thousands of overdoses and deaths is a consistent problem that EMS and law enforcement encounter on an almost daily basis. Usually, the victims of these powerful drugs, such as heroin and fentanyl, are opioid users, who EMS personnel and law enforcement are regularly called to assist. However, first responders are also being warned about the increased risks they face of being exposed to these deadly drugs, specifically fentanyl—a popular synthetic opioid that is 40 to 50 times more powerful than heroin. To respond to these dangers, the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) released a field guide called “Fentanyl: A Brief Guide for First Responders” for EMS and police who find themselves responding to opioid-related calls.
“We need everybody in the United States to understand how dangerous this is,” Acting DEA Administrator Chuck Rosenberg warned. “Exposure to an amount equivalent to a few grains of sand can kill you.”
The warnings have become more urgent in recent months due to numerous cases of accidental overdoses and exposures involving EMS and police.
In May, Chris Green, a police officer with the East Liverpool Police Department, was accidentally exposed to fentanyl during a routine traffic stop after he inadvertently ingested the drug through his skin. Green needed four shots of Narcan, an emergency overdose medication, to be revived after collapsing from the effects of the drug. In another case, two Paramedics and a sheriff’s deputy in Hardford County, Maryland, were treated after showing signs of opioid exposure while treating an overdose victim.
“It is important to get the word out to everyone because it may be the first responder who needs to have Narcan administered,” said Baltimore City Health Commissioner Leana Wen.
The risks of accidental exposure are so high, in fact, that some emergency personnel have even begun carrying Narcan kits for drug-sniffing K-9s, just in case the dogs ingest the deadly drugs.
The DEA guide, along with a National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health manual on preventing fentanyl exposure, suggests certain precautions be taken to lower the risk of coming in direct contact with the substance. Personnel should be able to recognize the signs and symptoms of an overdose, be aware of the ways fentanyl can be ingested, and only allow trained professionals to handle substances that are suspect.
“Assume the worst,” Rosenberg said. “Don’t touch this stuff or the wrappings that it comes in without the proper personal protective equipment.”
