Seattle, first city to equip first responders with buprenorphine

Seattle will be the first city in the nation to have first responders administer buprenorphine, a drug that treats opioid use disorder, while they are in the field responding to a crisis.

This comes as an expansion of a pilot program the Seattle Fire Department (SFD) ran earlier this year that allowed select paramedics to administer the new medicine in the field.

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“Providing treatment for people suffering from substance use disorder and addiction is the right thing to do and the right thing to do,” Seattle Mayor Bruce Harrell said in a prepared statement. “People treated with this highly effective, evidence-backed drug are more likely to accept follow-up care and conversations, an essential step in breaking the cycle and getting them the help they need.”

Buprenorphine is a Schedule III drug and a synthetic analog of thebaine, an alkaloid compound derived from the poppy flower, according to the National Library of Medicine. Buprenorphine is primarily used to treat acute, chronic pain, and opioid dependence, and was approved by the FDA for use in agonist replacement treatment, a method of addressing addiction by replacing an opioid agonist full more powerful, like heroin, for a less powerful opioid. , such as buprenorphine or methadone.

“Buprenorphine substitution treatment allows patients to focus on therapy rather than enduring uncomfortable withdrawals,” said Rachna Kumar, Omar Viswanath and Abdolreza Saadabadi of the National Library of Medicine. “The drug proves to be an effective option for addressing opioid dependence by decreasing cravings and improving overall quality of life during addiction treatment.”

SFD responded to more than 35 patients a week who experienced an overdose, according to city officials, and the department’s post-overdose response unit, Health 99, has responded to more than 514 overdoses since launching in July of 2023.

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Seven hundred and thirty-five people died of drug overdoses in Seattle last year, city officials said.

“I want to thank the Washington State DOH for moving forward with this initiative to train more of our staff to administer this medication to the people we serve,” said SFD Chief Harold Scoggins. “This allows us to continue meeting patients where they are rather than just providing access to medication at the facility.”

The buprenorphine pilot is supported by additional public health investments in Harrell’s proposed 2025 budget, with $14.5 million earmarked specifically to address the opioid crisis.

Frank Sumrall is a content editor at MyNorthwest. You can read her stories here and you can email her here.