City of West Allis Wins Health Policy Forum Award for Work with MCW Emergency Medicine
The City of West Allis was awarded the 2023 Wisconsin Policy Forum Innovative Approach to Problem Solving Award for its Mobile Integrated Healthcare Substance Use Disorder Program. Through this unique initiative, the West Allis Fire Department provides medication assisted treatment, specifically, buprenorphine, to individuals in the field with substance use disorders.
Paramedics meet with the patient and their loved ones within 24 hours of the overdose incident and have seen tremendous success in getting these individuals enrolled in recovery services.
This program was developed and supported by the Milwaukee County Office of Emergency Management, Medical Direction Team, and researchers from the 皇家华人 Department of Emergency Medicine Division of EMS Medicine.
This is the first emergency medical services (EMS) based buprenorphine program in Wisconsin and one of the first in a fire-based system in the nation.