The Seattle Fire Department (SFD) and Harborview's Downtown Programs held pop-up clinics at Hoa Mai Park near the corner of 12th Avenue South and South Jackson Street to provide substance use medication for people suffering from opioid addiction earlier this month.
From Sept. 9 through Sept. 12, nurse practitioners and EMTs administered long-lasting shots of buprenorphine to participants in Little Saigon. Buprenorphine is a medication that treats withdrawal symptoms and curbs cravings from opioid use disorder. The program aims to "lower the barrier" to starting treatment, said Dr. Jared Klein, medical director of Harborview's Downtown Programs.
"The demand for treatment really exceeds the supply," Klein said. "And that's despite a lot of effort for many years to try to expand treatment availability."
The program was a coordinated effort between the pop-ups in the park and neighboring clinics, such as Hobson Place, Pioneer Square Clinic, and ORCA Center. The event was primarily staffed by firefighters, EMTs, and a nurse practitioner working on SFD's Health 99 Post Overdose Response Team. The team has responded to over 1,370 overdose cases since it launched in July 2023, according to SFD.
In the first of its pop-ups, organizers chose Little Saigon due to its "high rates of opioid use and unsheltered homelessness," SFD's Mobile Integrated Health Program manager Jon Ehrenfeld wrote in an email. SFD is still evaluating the results of the program before scheduling any more, Ehrenfeld said.
"With that said, the success of the event is likely to push us in the direction of looking for new clinical and operational partners to replicate this model elsewhere in the city," Erenfeld said.
Klein said 33 participants started treatment during the four days. Nearly 200 people were connected with services, such as receiving naloxone, food, wound care, and referrals, according to SFD.
SFD firefighters and EMTs regularly administer buprenorphine while on the job through tablets and films, which generally last a shorter period of time. The injections are more long-lasting and are a "smoother way" to get people started on treatment, Klein said.
This process allows people to start treatment without immediately stopping use of fentanyl, Klein said. Over the course of three days, recipients of the treatment were able to receive one injection per visit, with the last shot lasting a month, Klein said. During this time, people are much less likely to overdose because their cravings are curbed. Participants were also referred to nearby clinics for further treatment.
Once medication is started, a user's "use of fentanyl goes either down dramatically, or for many it stops completely," Klein said.
"Ideally, they continue to come in or get seen regularly for subsequent injections," Klein said. "The longer somebody's in treatment, the better their outcomes, so we encourage folks to stick with it as long as they can."
While SFD evaluates the results of the pop-up, Ehrenfeld referred to several resources and hotlines for those seeking treatment:
24/7 buprenorphine teleprescribing line from Harborview: 206-289-0287
Washington Recovery Helpline: 866-789-1511, or dial 2-1-1
Bupe Pathways Clinic in Belltown
Step Clinic in the Central District
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