Helping Frontline Workers in Texas-A Framework for Resource Development.

First responders disproportionately experience occupational stress when compared to the general population, and COVID-19 has exacerbated this stress. The nature of their duties as law enforcement officers, firefighters, and medics exposes them to repeated trauma, increasing their risk of developing a broad array of mental health issues, including post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), substance use disorder (SUD), and compassion fatigue. This paper describes the need for resources for frontline workers and provides a framework for creating and implementing resources.

Feasibility and outcomes from an integrated bridge treatment program for opioid use disorder.

Objective: With a significant proportion of individuals with opioid use disorder not currently receiving treatment, it is critical to find novel ways to engage and retain patients in treatment. Our objective is to describe the feasibility and preliminary outcomes of a program that used emergency physicians to initiate a bridge treatment, followed by peer support services, behavioral counseling, and ongoing treatment and follow-up.

Methods: We developed a program called the Houston Emergency Opioid Engagement System (HEROES) that provides rapid access to board-certified emergency physicians for initiation of buprenorphine, plus at least 1 behavioral counseling session and 4 weekly peer support sessions over the course of 30 days.

A Framework for EMS Outreach for Drug Overdose Survivors: A Case Report of the Houston Emergency Opioid Engagement System.

Fatalities from drug-induced overdoses in the United States have taken greater than 292,000 lives in the last five years, and nearly two-thirds of these are opioid-related. The burden on prehospital emergency medical services (EMS) to respond to these incidents is growing. The standard of care typically involves overdose reversal and rapid transport, although a few agencies have begun to use community paramedicine to more proactively follow-up, initiate treatment, and refer patients to addiction medicine providers.