Community Paramedic and Healthcare Partnerships to Increase Access to Harm Reduction and Treatment Engagement

Milwaukee County, Wisconsin, experiences more than three times the national average for opioid deaths, with a 75% increase in nonfatal overdose incidents since 2019. Fragmentation of the county has resulted in many suburban municipalities having high rates of overdose and deaths, with little resources to address their needs. The West Allis Fire Department’s Mobile Integrated Health (WAFD’s MIH) Team of community paramedics and peer support counselors, Froedtert Health System (FH), medication assisted treatment (MAT) clinics, and other stakeholders have partnered to address these issues.

This session will present WAFD’s innovative MIH model to provide targeted outreach, harm reduction, and engagement with MAT; FH’s emergency department-based buprenorphine induction program; and WAFD and FH’s innovative partnership to provide wraparound service delivery to patients. Since partnering, the WAFD-FH service area did not experience the same increases as the surrounding county — indeed, overdose deaths and nonfatal incidents dropped 4% and 16%, respectively. WAFD-FH has begun to share program tools, education, and resources with other county fire departments, creating a network of municipal entities, hospitals, and community stakeholders to overcome barriers related to boarders and fragmentation. Presenters will highlight partnership with the Greenfield Fire Department, including workflows for Fire-to-Fire system referrals and unique aspects of each department. They will discuss lessons learned and outcomes around developing and maintaining broad partnerships to: (1) increase access to and retention in MAT, (2) reduce barriers to treatment, (3) prioritize EMS transport to MAT-providing emergency departments, and (4) track outcome data, with the overall goal of increasing collaboration between first responders and healthcare to address the opioid epidemic.