Emergency Medical Services St. Paul (EMS) have implemented a new program to help treat patients struggling with addiction. Crews now carry suboxone, which can be administered to those in withdrawal.

“This drug will absolutely save lives,” said EMS Deputy Chief St. Paul Steve Sampson. “For this to be offered by a fire or EMS service is a little bit over the top. There are not many fire-based EMS services across the country that implement this.”

He explained that they have started reaching out to other agencies elsewhere in the country that administer suboxone to see if a program can be adopted here.

“Our community in the city of St. Paul was kind of devastated by the impact of emergency medical services related to opioids,” Sampson said. “Our people were looking for a resource that could benefit those most in need.”

Within six months, in partnership with the Regional Hospital, St. Paul EMS received DEA approval to begin administering the drug.

Regional Hospital Emergency Medical Services has been involved in training the crews, which has included testing over the past month to ensure EMS medics are prepared to administer suboxone.

Patients will choose whether to use the option. It’s intended for people who immediately start experiencing withdrawal symptoms after receiving Narcan or those who have decided to stop using the drug on their own and need intervention to help with withdrawal symptoms before they relapse, according to Sampson.

“The only option we really had before was to bring these individuals to an emergency department, now we have the ability to give people the option of drug treatment and we can meet them where they are,” he said.

Suboxone has been used for years, including by the Hazeldon Betty Ford Foundation.

“Suboxone is very safe,” said Dr. Alta DeRoo, the medical director of Hazeldon Betty Ford, who explained that it is classified as an opioid. “It only partially activates that opioid receptor. It has a ceiling effect, so even if someone wanted to take more Suxboxone, it doesn’t have an overdose profile like other opioids have.”

She added, “People won’t get high on suboxone.”

It can be taken in an acute or long-term setting, according to Dr. DeRoo.

“They will no longer have the opiate withdrawal of rapid heartbeat, nausea, vomiting or diarrhea,” she said. “It takes away those horrible opioid withdrawal symptoms because it actually stimulates the opioid receptor.”

She is encouraged by the new program of St. Paul EMS.

“Having some type of medication on board to transition that treatment from the EMS person to a facility like ours could be a life-saving measure,” she said. “I’m really excited to hear about it.”