PULSE Magazine | November/December 2018 Issue

edics Making A Difference

clients’ healthcare destinations, including use of the ATU. Clients are frequently transported to appointments and other resources, freeing up ambulances to attend to critical patients within their districts. Another valuable CHP program that is gaining momentum is the Opioid Emergency Response Project . PCR’s that capture data about opioid overdoses in the field are forwarded to CHP, activating a response process. When possible, a CHP will meet the patient at the hospital, or will follow up at the patient’s home to offer a Naloxone kit and connections to healthcare resources. Through CHP, clients have access to medically assisted treatment options, as well as peer recovery coaching. Because of the efforts of the Opioid Emergency Response Project, CHP medics are seeing clients who were once homeless become housed. Those who were once jobless are working for the first time in years. Some are entering class- rooms to pursue their dreams, no longer bound by addiction. The Incarcerated Program serves clients that are in Travis County Jail and at the Austin Transitional Center. Incarcerated individuals are historically at risk for increased reliance on emergency medical systems during incarceration and upon release from the criminal justice system. Proactive methods used by the CHP program help to create a healthier environment within the criminal justice system and connect inmates with needed resources prior to release. This involves a partner- ship with CommUnity Care and Central Health that administers regular screening, assessments, pre- scription services, and coaching, as well as access to MAP. The Incarcerated Program also works to

decrease the number of 911 calls to the Travis County Jail and to the Austin Transitional Center. Preventive measures and prompt follow-ups help reduce the number of preventable EMS calls to these locations. The Pop-Up Resource Clinic (PURC) is an integration of multiple agencies and resources, made accessible to the homeless population in one location. September’s PURC, for example, included Central Health, CommUnity Care, Integral Care, ECHO, the VA, the CARE team, Harm Reduction, and HOST. With a clinic on-site and no appoint- ments needed, attendees can be seen by a provider immediately. They also have access to services for mental health, substance abuse treatment, housing, and medical funding.

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