Sunday, June 1, 2025
6/1/2025
San Antonio First Responders Comprehensive Addiction and Recovery Project - Summary. The San Antonio Fire Department and four critical community collaborators seek to bridge the existing and widening gap between 911 calls for an opioid overdose and entry into treatment. The partners will establish durable linkages - from the initial emergency response to treatment entry - and will promote treatment retention by identifying and eliminating economic barriers that hinder treatment engagement among persons of color who are low income. Project Name. San Antonio First Responders Comprehensive Addiction and Recovery Project Population of Focus. Adults between the ages of 18 and 54 who are predominantly male (70% male, 30% female, 10% LGBTQI) and Hispanic (85%) and live in lowest income zip codes in San Antonio/Bexar County, Texas where the incidence of opioid overdose has been greatest. Strategies and Interventions. San Antonio Fire Department has developed a longitudinal approach to caring for overdose patients that is making a significant, highly positive difference. Within 72 hours of being treated by EMS for an opioid overdose, SAFD's Mobile Integrated Health Officers (MIHO) visit the patient, administer buprenorphine, deliver a Narcan kit, and provide harm reduction education and treatment referrals (1,943 patients served in 2023). However, the paucity of no-cost/affordable MOUD treatment in San Antonio often means the population of focus experiences lengthy waits for treatment, causing many to return to using and making another overdose likely. San Antonio Fire Department, its EMS units and four collaborators - the Southwest Texas Regional Advisory Council (STRAC), Be Well Clinic (an MOUD provider and a division of UT Health San Antonio), the Center for Health Care Services (CHCS, an MOUD provider and the local mental health authority), and the San Antonio Council on Alcohol and Drug Awareness (SACADA, a prevention, intervention and recovery support provider) - seek to bridge the existing and widening gap between 911 calls for an opioid overdose and entry into treatment. These collaborators will establish durable linkages - from the initial emergency response to treatment entry - and will promote treatment retention by identifying and eliminating the economic barriers that hinder treatment engagement. Project Goals and Measurable Outcomes. The goal is to enable San Antonio's first responders and other collaborators to mitigate the opioid overdose crisis and provide resources to populations disproportionately impacted by overdose. Objectives, to be completed in four years, include: 1. Administer doses of buprenorphine within 72 hours of overdose to 8,353 patients, bridging the period between overdose and treatment. 2. Dispatch peers to provide encouragement and recovery supports and promote entry into treatment by 8,353 overdose patients. 3. Assist 4,176 low-income adults in clearing barriers to treatment entry, e.g., housing, employment, primary health care, health insurance, and locating an affordable treatment provider. 4. Ensure 50% of the patients served enter treatment and 75% are retained in treatment. 5: Provide training and technical assistance to up to 40 area schools or key community sectors in the use of Narcan (provided with training) and making referrals for treatment or support services. Of the 8,353 persons served during the project period, 100% will receive buprenorphine; 100% will receive recovery support; and 50% will be assisted in overcoming barriers to treatment entry or retention. Number to be Served. Year 1: 1,800; Year 2: 1,980; Year 3: 2,178; Year 4: 2,395; Total 8,353.
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).