Friday, May 17, 2024
5/17/2024
The Opioid Overdose Prevention: Medical Outreach and Education Project will provide increased overdose prevention education, including naloxone training and distribution, to Portland’s at-risk residents. This medical outreach will be conducted by skilled paramedics who are currently employed by the Portland Fire Department. Paramedics will spend fifteen hours each week at the Oxford Street Shelter, Maine’s largest emergency shelter. The Oxford Street Shelter is located in an area of Portland, the Bayside Neighborhood, which has been disproportionately impacted by the opioid epidemic. In addition to providing overdose prevention education, the paramedics will have the ability to make referrals to primary care, substance use and mental health treatment services and recovery services. Partnerships with the Oxford Street Shelter, the Preble Street Resource Center, Greater Portland Health and the Portland Recovery Community Center will enhance the continuum of care Portland is seeking. Further, overdose prevention education and naloxone distribution will be available to other key community members. These members include social service agencies serving Portland as well as the friends and family members of our high-risk community members. Through this project, we intend to serve approximately 400-500 unique individuals, annually, with a total of 1600-2000 over the life of the project. Throughout the implementation of the project, demographic data will be collected on all participants. Additionally, the number of referrals to primary care, substance use or mental health treatment and recovery services will be collected and reported. For the naloxone distribution portion of the project, number of naloxone trainings and kits, reported reversals and kit refills will be collected and reported.
HHS’ Tracking Accountability in Government Grants System (TAGGS) website provides access to detailed descriptions of grants, loans, aggregated direct payments and other types of financial assistance awarded by the HHS Operating Divisions (OPDIVs) and the Office of the Secretary Staff Divisions (STAFFDIVs).
