Round Rock Fire Department Tackles Opioid Epidemic Head-On

ROUND ROCK, TX — In the type of preventive, proactive measure that is widely lacking nationwide, the Round Rock Fire Department has secured $1.5 million in grant funding for a program focusing on mental health and opioid abuse, officials said.

Fire Chief Robert Isbell is bringing the idea locally after launching a similar program during his time working in Midland, Texas, centered on at-risk residents. The Round Rock version of the program focuses on another set of at-risk residents as a preventive measure, he told Spectrum News.

"If we go in and just fix up their environment and not address any medical issues or mental issues they may have, there is a good possibility they may relapse," Isbell told the news station. "It's going to allow us to address what appears to be a problem nationwide," he added, saying plans call for addressing the scourge before it takes root in the community.

The local program is being launched via a Texas Health and Human Services Commission grant, the chief explained. Emergency crew members' need to administer naloxone, used to treat opioid overdoes, speaks to the local need for the program: Last year alone, crews administered the naloxone on 139 calls — up from 83 the year before, the chief told the news station.

Not your typical "back-alley drug problem," opioid abuse transcends across demographic lines, social status and income levels, the chief noted. "This is a problem with prescription drugs that went too long and ends up with an addiction that people struggle to get out of," Isbell told Spectrum News.

The grant-funded initiative to eradicate the problem was launched last week, Isbell noted. Half of the funding will be used to purchase more overdose-reversal drugs while the rest will help secure staffing dedicated to mental health and overdose emergency calls, he said.

>>> Read the full story at Spectrum News

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