'It facilitates recovery': New program could help reduce opioid dependence

WEST ALLIS, Wis. (CBS 58) -- A new program hopes to make a dent in the opioid epidemic by meeting people where they are.

"The [withdrawal] symptoms for this person were severe, but with a single dose of Buprenorphine, they subsided. With their symptoms reduced, they reported that they didn't feel the need to use more drugs," Assistant Chief of Community Risk Reduction for West Allis Fire Department Jason Schaak said.

Schaak talked about a recent experience his paramedics faced in the field after treating an overdose patient, something they often do. But this time, his team was able to administer a medicine to help curb the symptoms of withdrawal: Buprenorphine. Until recently, this treatment could only be given in a clinical setting, but now, the West Allis Fire Department can administer it anywhere.

"Buprenorphine is a medicine that dissolves in the mouth, and it binds strongly to the same receptors in our bodies as opioids," Milwaukee County Chief Health Policy Advisor Dr. Ben Weston said.

The medicine, Weston said, puts people on the road to relief.

"It minimizes withdrawal symptoms. It prevents overdoses, and it limits the high that people get from opioids. In short, it facilitates recovery," he said.

To put Buprenorphine into the toolbox of West Allis Fire, the department once again partnered with Milwaukee County and the Medical College of Wisconsin. They believe they are the first program in the state to administer the medication in this way.

"We have to be realistic to recognize that not all opioid overdose patients want to go to the hospital," Weston said. "Field-based treatment with Buprenorphine, where a paramedic can start you on a medication on a street corner, is far more attractive to many folks than going to the emergency department."

Weston said patients given the medicine in emergency departments were twice as likely to stick with treatment programs than those who were not.

To get more local entities on the Buprenorphine boat, a $900,000 Department of Justice grant will provide the funds for these three groups to share their work with others.

"We have a program here, it might look different than what yours will, but how can we help you start up something similar in your community," Medical College of Wisconsin Assistant Professor of Emergency Medicine Jennifer Hernandez-Meier said.