Santa Fe Opioid Overdose Outreach Program

The Comprehensive Addiction and Recovery Act (CARA) Program is the first major federal substance use disorder treatment and recovery legislation in 40 years and the most comprehensive effort to address the opioid epidemic. CARA establishes a comprehensive, coordinated, and balanced strategy through enhanced grant programs that expand prevention and education efforts while also promoting treatment and recovery. The Comprehensive Opioid Abuse Site-based program was developed as part of the CARA legislation signed into law on July 22, 2016. In FY 2017, the Overdose Outreach Projects will provide funding and technical assistance to units of local government, and Indian tribal governments to plan, develop, and implement comprehensive diversion and alternatives to incarceration programs that expand outreach, treatment, and recovery efforts to individuals impacted by the opioid epidemic who come into contact with the justice system. Funding may be used to connect survivors of a non-fatal overdose with treatment providers or a peer recovery coach in an emergency department; provide survivors of non-fatal overdoses, and their friends and family, with access to naloxone and other recovery support services; provide prioritized—ideally immediate—access to detox and treatment services; overdose prevention education and community outreach and engage a research partner to conduct action research providing skills and assistance in identifying performance measures, tracking measures to assist in the improvement of program implementation and fidelity, providing subject matter expertise and guidance.

The City of Santa Fe, New Mexico will implement the Santa Fe Opioid Overdose Outreach Project (SFO3) to address increasing opioid overdose rates in the region. The project aims to increase the quality and prevalence of prevention and treatment services and to reduce opioid incidence and fatalities through outreach and response programs; intensive follow-up and case management with overdose survivors and their families to link them with support services and treatment; dissemination of naloxone kits, harm reduction training and prevention education; more efficient use of data to identify potential opioid misuse; and increased collaboration across multidisciplinary sectors in the community. The SFO3 Coordinator or the project paramedic will utilize patient care records systems and first responder data to respond to overdoses, establish personal contact with overdose survivors, and provide resources for a successful intervention.

CA/NCF