BURLINGTON, Vt. (WCAX) – The Burlington Fire Department is using a unique initiative to tackle substance use in the Queen City.
With the new ‘PREVENT’ initiative, a majority of the department can now administer a medicine to treat opioid use disorder. BFD says they are the first department in the nation to allow not just paramedics, but also advanced EMTs to administer buprenorphine after an overdose.
It’s a significant expansion of who can help people when they need it most. BFD says the program provides more life-saving tools and expands opportunities for care.
“What it does is it allows instead of only about 22 people in Burlington to engage in this ‘PREVENT’ initiative where you can give buprenorphine, we have about 70, so it’s a huge increase in engagement,” Chief Michael LaChance of the Burlington Fire Department said.
The prevent program also allows automatic referrals for people to connect with local recovery programs in the area.