Safe Stations another tool in opioid battle

NEWPORT — He painted horrific scenarios such as a person dead on the ground from a drug overdose, with a mother and father looking on from the kitchen, emotionally destroyed.

“That’s not just once or twice; I’ve seen a dozen of those,” said Newport Fire Department Chief Brian Dugan. “I’ve seen the struggles."

But maybe, he thought, his department could offer some relief. Dugan read an article about a year-and-a-half ago about Safe Stations in Manchester, New Hampshire. The Safe Stations program was first developed there and in Nashua, New Hampshire; the program designates fire stations as locations where people with substance use disorders can go and seek help— 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

On Friday, the Safe Stations program officially launched in Newport, becoming the second community in Rhode Island to adopt the program following Providence.

The program was originally a response to the opioid epidemic, Dugan acknowledged, but a person with any sort of substance use disorder can report to one of the three fire stations in the city — all are part of the Safe Stations program.

There was a need for such a program, he said; from January 1 to June 10 of this year, Dugan said his department has responded to 34 reports of drug overdoses in Newport. In that time span, there were about 111 accidental drug overdose deaths state-wide, according to the Rhode Island Department of Health website.

Safe Stations would provide additional locations for people seeking help, possibly leading to less emergency dispatches and "the city's resources can be put to other uses," Dugan added.

Dugan said there will be signage at the stations with instructions, but seeking help at a Safe Station is as simple as ringing the bell at the front door and asking for help. He said walk-ins will occasionally come to the stations seeking medical attention for cuts and scrapes; in cases of substance use disorders, “instead of them saying I sprained my wrist [they can say] I’m having trouble with addiction,” he said. “Whatever their problem is, we’ll help them out.”

The individual will receive a routine medical examination to rule out an emergency situation; if no serious medical attention is necessary, the fire department officials will call a Hope Recovery Center coach who will report to the station in 30 minutes or less. There is no fee for getting help at a Newport Safe Station, an insurance referral is not necessary and Newport Safe Stations are open to all people — not just Newport residents.

An individual seeking help who reports to a Safe Station with drugs and/or drug paraphernalia on his or her person won't face legal repercussions, according to Dugan; the drugs will be put in a lock box and picked up by Newport police, he said.

Dugan touted Newport Fire Captain Jared Minick as a major cog in the Newport Safe Stations Program. He also credited James Day, coordinator with the Newport Prevention Coalition; Lori Kosicki, certified peer recovery specialist supervisor for the Hope Recovery Center and Zach Kenyon, acting EMS chief for the city of Providence. Other community and state partners also aided the effort to bring Safe Stations to Newport.

“We couldn’t be more pleased to be partnering with the city of Newport to confront the opioid crisis head on,” Day said in a statement. Last year the coalition received a grant from Gov. Gina Raimondo's Overdose Prevention and Intervention Task Force to develop a plan aimed at preventing opioid overdose deaths in Newport. “This has been a truly collaborative effort and one which I hope will provide our neighbors experiencing addiction an accessible path to treatment and long-term recovery.”

“Hope Recovery Center is excited to work with the Newport Fire Dept. on this innovative project,” Kosicki said in a statement. “As we come together to assist members of our community, our hope is to provide 24/7 access to treatment for substance misuse and to support ongoing recovery efforts. The Hope Recovery Center Certified Peer Recovery Specialists are committed to following up, supporting and engaging with them throughout their journey.”

Dugan said his entire 96-member department was briefed on the Safe Stations program. Firefighters were trained on appropriate body language and proper ways to verbally interact with people seeking help, he said.

“You want to give people hope,” Dugan said. “Treat someone with dignity, [it] goes a long way.”