Community Paramedicine Overdose Outreach Lexington (CPOOL)

The Lexington-Fayette Urban County Government (LFUCG) is requesting
the sum of $1,299,416 in Category 1b funding from the Bureau of Justice Assistance’s
Comprehensive Opioid, Stimulant, and Substance Abuse Program for the Community
Paramedicine Overdose Outreach Lexington (CPOOL) for a First Responder diversion program
and to provide naloxone as leave behind kits for ambulance first responders. This project will be
implemented in Lexington-Fayette County, a jurisdiction represented by a merged city-county
government, in central Kentucky. CPOOL has four specific objectives. The first objective of
CPOOL is to hire two qualified Social Workers and a Peer Support Specialist to enhance a multidisciplinary response team of law enforcement, fire and emergency services, treatment providers, recovery advocates, and other community partners. Second, CPOOL will increase the rate of successful client contacts and referrals to services for individual survivors of drug overdose
identified by emergency response by the Lexington Division of Fire and Emergency Medical
Services (LDFEMS). The third objective is through the implementation of a naloxone Leave
Behind program by the ambulance crews that have responded to the 911 call for the non-fatal
overdose. The fourth objective is to provide reentry support to individuals who are preparing to
leave treatment and transition back home, including to help connect to support services,
treatment providers, and recovery housing as needed. In CPOOL, there will be continued
collaboration with substance use treatment providers like Hope Center, Chrysalis House, and
Isaiah House; support programs Voices of Hope; and policy makers such as the Kentucky Office
of Drug Control Policy. Additionally, LFUCG will work directly with the Training and
Technical Assistance provider selected by BJA. LFUCG will work with the University of Kentucky Center on Drug and Alcohol
as a research partner to complete an evaluation on the project.