Explanation
BACKGROUND: The City of Columbus, Department of Public Safety, received three years of Overdose Data to Action funding from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) via a sub award from Franklin County Public Health (FCPH). This sub award addresses the local opioid crisis by supporting the Rapid Response Emergency Addiction Crisis Team (RREACT) and increasing linkage to RREACT outreach and education services. This ordinance accepts and appropriates year one project funds totaling $489,020.93. The 2022 award budget period is September 1, 2022 through August 31, 2023. This ordinance authorizes an appropriation of funds upon receipt of annual executed agreements.
Rapid Response Emergency Addiction Crisis Team (RREACT) is an innovative outreach effort addressing the opioid crisis ravaging Columbus, Ohio. RREACT team members go out into the community and do face-to-face follow up visits with substance users revived from opioid overdose by police or fire first responders who then refuse immediate transport to clinical facilities thereby bypassing treatment and recovery resources available through emergency rooms across the city. RREACT connects with survivors in their neighborhoods within 48 hours of overdose. The team includes a Crisis Intervention Team (CIT) trained peace officer, a paramedic, a social worker and a trauma specialist. The goal of this multi-disciplinary outreach team is to help stabilize the household in an effort to reduce barriers to accessing drug and/or behavioral treatment for the substance user.
CDC funding will continue mobile crisis response by providing outreach in high-risk areas of Columbus, in addition to continuing direct outreach services. RREACT leadership will continue to bolster relationships with suburban law enforcement teams to gain countywide buy-in for adopting naloxone/NARCAN© administration as standard protocol for opioid overdose incidents.
EMERGENCY ACTION: This ordinance is submitted as an...
Click here for full text