The First Responder + Public Health Team is part of the Addiction Science Team at the University of Missouri, St. Louis (UMSL) - Missouri Institute of Mental Health (MIMH).
Our mission is to empower Missouri’s first responders and public health workers with the equipment, training, and confidence to respond to overdose emergencies, save lives, and foster long term health and safety in their communities.
We provide free naloxone (Narcan), evidence-based training, and data/research support to law enforcement, fire, EMS, probation and parole, corrections, courts, public defenders, and local public health agencies throughout Missouri.
Overdose crisis in Missouri
As synthetic opioids like fentanyl became more common in the Missouri drug supply, Missouri’s overdose death rate spiked sharply from 2016-2021.
However, in 2022, Missouri’s death rate began to stabilize. Then, in 2023, Missouri saw a substantial decrease in overdose deaths (12% compared to a national decrease of 3%). Early data from 2024 show an even sharper decrease than the one in 2023.
There are many factors that affect a state’s overdose death rate. Missouri is currently implementing two public health strategies to drive down the overdose death rate:
Naloxone distribution - with an emphasis in getting naloxone directly into the hands of the people most likely to witness/respond to an overdose
Rapid access to addiction treatment - with an emphasis in Medication Assisted Treatment (MAT) also called Medication for Opioid Use Disorder (MOUD)
The UMSL-MIMH First Responder and Public Health Team supports both of these strategies with naloxone distribution to first responder and public health agencies, overdose response training, and facilitating EMS-initiation of MOUD on scene.
Click here for more information about Missouri Overdose and Drug-involved Mortality
