The Dallas City Council approved an agreement with a local nonprofit to help firefighters respond to opioid overdoses in its last meeting on December 14.
Dallas will enact a three-year master service agreement with the Recovery Resource Council (RRC) to provide medical support services for those in the RRC “Overdose Response Team” project from December 14, 2022, through December 13, 2025.
City officials said in the resolution *upload and link Overdose Response Team Resolution* that “Dallas Fire-Rescue through its Emergency Medical Services treats and transports to area hospitals over 1,200 patients who were administered Naloxone for an opioid overdose” to hospitals around the area.
Naloxone quickly reverses the effects of an opioid overdose, such as fentanyl. To assist in the effort, the Recovery Resource Council will provide over $560,000 to the city for the purpose of acquiring the medication.
Officials also suggested that Dallas Fire-Rescue already possesses the equipment, expertise, and personnel to provide the service if the medicine itself was provided.
Specifically, Drew’s 27 Chains, a nonprofit organization dedicated to bringing awareness to and alleviating opioid overdoses, has already trained first responders to administer Naloxone to those suffering from a fentanyl overdose, as previously reported by The Dallas Express.
According to the latest data available from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, for the 12-month period ending in April 2021, deaths from opioids increased to 75,673, up from 56,064 the year before.
Dallas County was recorded as second in the top five counties in terms of opioid-related deaths for 2020, according to the Texas Department of Health State Services. Dallas County was only surpassed by Harris County.
Texas has already received more than $280 million in federal taxpayer funding to address the opioid crisis through the Texas Targeted Opioid Response since 2017.
The City of Dallas’ partnership with the Recovery Resource Council will go into effect immediately.
How about providing narcan for each Dallas Police Officer? They’re on the front lines and often encounter fentanyl.