Marso 25, 2025​​ 

Susuportahan ng mga Parangal ang mga Lokal na Ahensya ng Serbisyong Medikal para sa Emerhensya sa mga Kondado ng Stanislaus at Ventura​​ 

SACRAMENTO — The Department of Health Care Services (DHCS) awarded $800,000 to two Local Emergency Medical Service Agencies to foster low-barrier access to clinically proven opioid use disorder (OUD) treatment for patients in an emergency medical services (EMS) setting who are at risk of overdose and often do not have access to services in other settings.​​ 

“This is an innovative and lifesaving approach to address the opioid crisis. By equipping emergency medical service providers to render treatment in the field, we are meeting patients where they are and connecting them with ongoing care. This program has the potential to reduce opioid-related deaths and improve long-term health outcomes for some of California’s most vulnerable people,” said DHCS Director Michelle Baass.​​ 

The grants—awarded through the Emergency Medical Services Buprenorphine Use Pilot Program (EMSBUP) to the Stanislaus County EMS Agency and Ventura County EMS Agency—will enable these two agencies to address substance use disorder as a treatable emergency condition, utilizing paramedics to identify and treat patients who would benefit from medications for addiction treatment (MAT). MAT is the use of medications in combination with counseling and behavioral therapies, which is effective in treating OUDs and helping some people sustain recovery.

WHY THIS IS IMPORTANT: The EMSBUP has pioneered a cutting-edge approach for delivering MAT through EMS. The population served by EMS has a high risk of death from overdose. In a study of 12,000 patients who received naloxone from EMS, 10 percent died within the following year. Another study found that one-third of all patients who died from unintentional overdose had contact with EMS in the year preceding their death. With an estimated 26,000 911 calls for overdose in California, EMS is a critical and underutilized intervention point for expanding access to MAT, delivering harm reduction, and connecting patients with care.​​ 

GRANT AWARDS: This program will assist EMS providers in coordinating with navigators to provide linkages to care options for EMS patients with an OUD and provide a system for patients who sign out against medical advice to have access to outpatient treatment options. The project will run from April 1, 2025, through March 31, 2027. It will also collect de-identified data for research and monthly performance metrics to evaluate the effectiveness of this treatment model.​​ 

Additionally, resources will be provided to Local Emergency Medicine Service Agencies to support the initiation and sustainability of this treatment model, which includes a naloxone distribution program, EMS-initiated first dose of buprenorphine, and substance use navigation.​​ 

GRANTS MAKING A DIFFERENCE: Through State Opioid Response (SOR) grant funding, EMSBUP builds upon an initial SOR-funded project in Contra Costa County in 2020 in which 260 paramedics were trained to identify and treat OUD from an ambulance, more than 2,000 patients were screened for OUD, 120 received buprenorphine in the field, and 55 were connected to ongoing MAT. The results of this work encouraged other counties to adopt the model. To date, this model has been extended to 11 LEMSAs covering 13 counties to train 1,300 paramedics.​​ 

"Ang pagbibigay ng buprenorphine sa pamamagitan ng EMS ay nagbibigay sa isang populasyon na may mataas na panganib ng access sa buprenorphine sa isang kritikal at mainam na oras upang makatanggap ng buprenorphine – pagkatapos ng overdose, kapag ang mga pasyente ay nasa withdrawal at maaaring mas hilig na tumanggap ng paggamot." Ang buprenorphine na ibinibigay ng EMS ay nagbibigay ng lunas sa mga pasyente kumpara sa mga pasyenteng kinakailangang humingi ng paggamot, na may potensyal na mabawasan ang nakamamatay na overdose, mabawasan ang mga rate ng krimen, at makapagligtas ng mga buhay. Gamit ang mga tamang pangkat na nakahanda, maaaring magsimulang uminom ng buprenorphine ang mga pasyente sa field, makipag-ugnayan sa mga serbisyong pang-emerhensya, at bumuti ang kanilang pakiramdam sa loob ng ilang oras. at ipagpatuloy ang paggamot gamit ang buprenorphine sa pamamagitan ng MAT Program pagkatapos ma-discharge mula sa emergency department,” sabi ni Phoebe Blaschak Oliveira, RN, PHN, BSN, Public Health Nurse Program Manager, Contra Costa Regional Medical Center at Choosing Change Clinic.​​ 

MAS MALAWAK NA LARAWAN: Noong 2023, inilunsad ni Gobernador Newsom ang kanyang Master Plan para sa Pagharap sa Krisis ng Fentanyl at Opioid, na nagbibigay ng komprehensibong balangkas upang matugunan ang krisis ng opioid at fentanyl, kabilang ang mga agresibong hakbang upang suportahan ang mga pagsisikap sa pag-iwas sa labis na dosis, panagutin ang industriya ng parmasyutiko ng opioid, sugpuin ang pagpupuslit ng droga, at itaas ang kamalayan tungkol sa mga panganib ng mga opioid, kabilang ang fentanyl.

Ang EMSBUP ay pinopondohan ng Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration at bahagi ng mas malawak na pagsisikap ng DHCS na tugunan ang mga sakit sa paggamit ng substansiya, na sama-samang kilala bilang California DHCS Opioid Response, upang mapataas ang access sa MAT, mabawasan ang hindi natutugunan na pangangailangan sa paggamot, at mabawasan ang mga pagkamatay na may kaugnayan sa labis na dosis ng opioid sa pamamagitan ng pagkakaloob ng mga aktibidad sa pag-iwas, paggamot, at paggaling. Ang California DHCS Opioid Response ay nakatuon sa mga populasyon na may limitadong access sa MAT, kabilang ang mga kabataan, mga tao sa mga rural na lugar, at mga komunidad ng American Indian at Alaska Native Tribal. Para sa karagdagang impormasyon, pakibisita ang website ng DHCS.​​ 

DHCS also created the Naloxone Distribution Project (NDP) to combat opioid overdose-related deaths throughout California. The NDP aims to reduce opioid overdose deaths through the provision of free naloxone. For more information about the state’s opioid response, visit opioids.ca.gov.​​ 

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Tanggapan ng Komunikasyon​​ 
(916) 440-7660
DHCSPress@dhcs.ca.gov​​