[Baltimore Sun] Baltimore first responders need help to fight overdoses | READER COMMENTARY
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The Baltimore Sun’s recent coverage of Baltimore’s opioid crisis rightly highlights the immense strain the epidemic places on the city’s first responders. As a public health professional who has studied the disproportionate impact of opioid overdoses on our communities, I believe we cannot ignore that fentanyl is a significant driver of overdose deaths, both in Baltimore and nationwide.
Baltimore’s brave first responders are fighting this crisis on the frontlines daily. Yet, due to limitations of our state’s standing order, they have just one opioid reversal tool in their toolkit. This lack of choice prevents access to treatments that may be more effective in certain situations. Our emergency response personnel need access to all FDA-approved opioid reversal agents, including those designed to combat fentanyl’s unique potency (“Baltimore has been hit hard. An overdose prevention center could help.” Sept. 20).
The opioid crisis has evolved, and so must our response. Baltimore’s Fire Department deserves every available option to save lives and denying them access to all the available tools only further strains limited resources. It’s time to expand state standing orders to include all FDA-approved overdose treatments to meet the escalating challenge of the opioid crisis.
— Stephen B. Thomas, Baltimore
The writer is director of the Maryland Center for Health Equity at the University of Maryland.
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