PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) — Within the first 30 days of Portland Fire & Rescue’s “specialized” intervention program, crew members received 90 overdose calls.
The fire bureau gave an update on its Community Health Assess and Treat program on Thursday, after Portland Commissioner of Public Safety Rene Gonzalez — who is currently running to replace Mayor Ted Wheeler — first announced it in early January.
CHAT’s two-person overdose response teams operate out of Station 1 in Old Town. PF&R previously revealed it had responded to nearly 7,000 drug overdose calls in 2023, and about a third of them occurred in that neighborhood.
While Portland Street Response — which is facing budget cuts — assists police by responding to behavioral health crises, the overdose response team was designed to free up some of the city’s overburdened firefighters and other first responders. The program helps divert hospital visits as well.
Throughout the first 30 days of the new program, officials reported that 48% of CHAT responses prevented patients from visiting an emergency department. KOIN 6 previously reported that 80% of patients in overdose calls refuse to be transported to hospitals.
Officials also shared that 28% of its patients were treated in the field without being driven to a nearby medical center. In total, PF&R estimates the program helped firefighters dedicate 30 operational hours to other work.
The CHAT team administered Narcan five times, while “laypersons” — or community members who aren’t involved with the program and aren’t medical professionals — administered it 20 times, often before officials arrived at the scene. In some instances, patients received several doses of the overdose-reversal medication.
“Providing access to medication at the time of the 911 call provides the right treatment at the right time for this disease and saves lives by assisting more individuals into treatment programs,” PF&R said in its statement.
The program also includes a follow-up team that connects people with addiction treatment resources, although Commission Gonzalez previously said crews have experienced “barriers because it’s a heavily service-resistant population.”
