Local-Level Implementation of the Public Health and Safety Team Framework: A Collaborative Data-Driven Approach to Overdose Prevention

Following a two-year development process, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Foundation, in partnership with CDC’s Division of Overdose Prevention, has completed the final version of the Public Health and Safety Team (PHAST) Toolkit. The PHAST Toolkit, modeled after New York City’s RxStat Initiative, was developed to guide and advance local-level, multi-sector data sharing and overdose prevention capacity. The Toolkit provides guiding principles, key action steps and strategies multi-sector partners can apply to achieve three primary goals: (1) establish a shared understanding of the local overdose crisis, (2) optimize jurisdictional capacity to address the overdose crisis, and (3) establish shared accountability for improving overdose prevention and reducing overdose deaths. In June 2022, the CDC Foundation awarded funding to three diverse sites to support local PHAST implementation through May 2023: Winnebago County Health Department, in partnership with the Oshkosh Fire Department (Wisconsin); Camden Health and Human Services in partnership with the Camden County Prosecutor’s Office (New Jersey); and the Alliance for Prevention and Wellness in partnership with the State Police Statewide Narcotics Taskforce (Connecticut).

This session will provide audiences with an overview of the PHAST Framework and Toolkit and highlight supplemental tools and resources available on the PHAST website. Then, presenters representing three PHAST implementation sites will describe: (1) how their jurisdiction has integrated the PHAST Framework into their local overdose prevention efforts, (2) which PHAST action steps, strategies, and activities were implemented and how they helped to advance local initiatives, and (3) key successes and challenges in implementation.