Fire Chief Scott Busenbark and Division Chief of EMS Paul Miller announced Friday the Crawfordsville Fire Department’s Quick Response Team will be featured in a new 7,000 square foot exhibit at the Indiana State Museum called “FIX: Heartbreak and Hope Inside Our Opioid Crisis which opens today.
The exhibit is designed to “shift the conversation and break the stigma surrounding opioid use disorder” according to the museum’s website. The innovative QRT model has been gaining national attention and is seen as a best practice model across the state. This approach and its recognized success naturally got the attention of organizers for the exhibit.
While chronic opioid use is not exclusive to Crawfordsville — it is a national crisis — what is distinctive about this community is how it is addressing the issue. Built on collaboration, the QRT is a team of specialists consisting of firefighter paramedics, an early intervention specialist, law enforcement and a peer recovery specialist who together are dispatched when a 911 call for an overdose is received. Emergency room physicians and nursing staff allow the team to assist with patient care and begin navigating resources to aid in the recovery process. However, this unique model of care does not end there. After the patient is released another fire department team comprised of a non-physician paramedic practitioner, early intervention specialist, and peer recovery specialist will meet with the individual to provide immediate in-home services and treatment and assist in coordinating long-term behavioral health treatment and counseling as needed.
“When you understand that substance use disorder like opioid use is a chronic medical condition and treat it accordingly, you begin to reduce the stigma that many times can prevent someone from getting the help they need,” Busenbark said. “Our QRT program is designed with that in mind and we are seeing results that will have a lasting impact on our community.”
Featured at the exhibit will be a video of the Crawfordsville QRT’s operations and delivery of services.
More information about the exhibit can be found on the Indiana State Museum’s website at www.indianamuseum.org.
