Colorado Springs and Mesa County take new approaches

The Colorado Springs Fire Department has created a new program that it hopes will help overdose victims manage withdrawal and begin medication-assisted treatment.  

The department’s new Targeted Opioid Response and Medication Assisted Treatment (TOR-MAT) team will pair civilian paramedics and behavioral health navigators. The team will carry buprenorphine to help individuals manage withdrawal, and the navigator can provide referrals to treatment and will contact individuals within 72 hours of the overdose to assess their health status.

According to a story by KRDO, the program is the first of its kind in Colorado. TOR-MAT’s funding is from the opioid settlement fund and is only for one year, according to Colorado Public Radio.  

If you would like to know more about the settlement, the Colorado Spring Gazette published an op-ed from former Prowers County commissioner Wendy Buxton-Andrade explaining its importance to the state. Buxton-Andrade noted the state’s dedication to using the funds effectively.

“It is strictly about getting that money directly to where it is needed, without wasting it on red tape, administrative overhead, or diverting it to other uses that it is not intended for,” Buxton-Andrade said.

Colorado Springs isn’t the only community trying something new. Over the past few months, the Western Colorado Area Health Education Center and Mesa County Public Health have installed naloxone kiosks across the county, including several in Grand Junction. The naloxone will be free to anyone who needs it, as reported in this Colorado Public Radio story.

Naloxone vending machines and free kiosks have been used effectively all over the country, but they are new to Grand Junction. Western Colorado AHEC’s Lyndall Young said the kiosks have been successful in nearby Montrose and Delta counties, where they distributed 3,000 boxes.