Escambia County is one of nine Florida counties taking part in the state-funded Coordinated Opioid Recovery (CORE) Networkto address the crisis of opioid and fentanyl overdoses. The local program has been up and running for a few months now and already reporting success in saving lives and helping individuals get the long-term addiction treatment they need.
“For us, we did our first induction on April 19,” said Escambia County Medical Services Manager David Torsell. “An induction is where we identify someone that meets all the criteria to be placed on medication-assisted therapy. We utilize Suboxone medication to treat them.”
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Torsell shared those details in an update on the program this week to theOpioid Abatement Funding Advisory Board, which was created to distribute Escambia’s $2.5 million share of Florida’s opioid settlement money.
During the nearly four-month period, he said they’ve had 32 people inducted into the program.
“Of the 32, we've had 13 successful, what we call graduates already," said Torsell. "They've already been on these medications. They've already come off of drugs."
“We've gotten them jobs, we've gotten them clothes, and we’ve gotten them food. We're taking them to regular appointments, whether it's healthcare appointments, mental health appointments, and what have you," he added.
Torsell says it’s a good start for this area, which leads the state in opioid overdose deaths, according to Florida Attorney General Ashley Moodyin a press conference in Pensacola on Aug. 2.
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“In the first six months of last year, 350 people in this area overdosed and died with opioids in their system,” said Moody. “That now makes the Pensacola Medical Examiner’s District the deadliest district for opioid overdose deaths per capita.”
Putting most of the blame for the crisis on the influx of fentanyl, the Attorney General said the rate of opioid deaths in the four-county region of Northwest Florida is double the rate of any other area in the state.
According to data from the Florida Department of Law Enforcement (FDLE), the Pensacola District reports 42 deaths per 100,000 people, while the state average per capita opioid-related death rate is 21 per 100,000 residents.
Current statistics from the Escambia County EMS Dashboard show 37 overdoses on-scene last week, with 1,166 reported thus far this year.
In a report to advisory board Monday, Torsell said his CORE team, which now includes four nurses and two EMTs, is leaving law enforcement to focus on supply, while they’re working to do all they can to control demand for the drugs.
“The plan for us is to treat them in the field, wherever they are, whether they're unhoused, whether they're staying at a shelter, whether they're staying at a friend’s. We've actually had one who was still living with parents,” said Torsell.
The key, said the EMS chief, is their ability to provide various “wrap-around’ services aimed at preventing relapse — and that “wash, rinse, repeat” cycle of overdose that some people fall into while waiting for long-term treatment.
“Our plan, initially was a seven to 10 day process where they would be with EMS to try to have a limited time where we could get them over to the FQHC (Federally Qualified Health Center), Community Health Northwest Florida, so we could get them over there for that long-term addiction therapy, mental-health therapy, and a prescription of Suboxone,” he explained.
Chief Torsell acknowledged that sometimes the process has taken longer.
While Waterfront Rescue Mission has dedicated six beds, he listed the lack of safe housing for patients as a barrier and cited the need to hire a licensed clinical social worker.
RELATED: How medication is helping to treat opioid addiction in Northwest Florida
Implementation hasn’t been easy, but pointing to a letter from one of the CORE program’s 13 graduates to date, Torsell said all the effort is worth it.
“When you read that, it makes everything else good, bad, or indifferent, seem absolutely insignificant,” he said. “When someone tells you they are alive and you have changed their life as a result of your efforts. Period. The end.”
Tommy White, member of the Opioid Abatement Fund Advisory Board said he was impressed with the progress.
“Hello Chief, you came here last fall and to see your movement on this is just awesome,” White began. “So, my first question to you, what can we do to help you?”
Torsell responded by acknowledging his expectation that the program will grow, noting three recent referrals from patients currently in the program.
Instead of seeking money, until he gets an idea about next year's budget, he asked the panel to help get the word out about the program, including its new number: 850-477-HELP (4357).
