THEY SEE IT UP CLOSE –
Nov. 1, 2025 – Many people who survive an overdose decline to be taken to the hospital, which leaves EMS personnel as their only point of contact with the health care system. Those interactions can be a critical window: Research shows people who survive an overdose are at heightened risk of subsequent overdoses. Overdose deaths like the one above have led Shukla and others to see EMS as a crucial link that can bring addiction treatment directly — and immediately — to people in crisis. A dose of buprenorphine can reduce the risk of another overdose for up to 24 hours.
Buncombe is among 30 EMS agencies in North Carolina approved by the state Office of Emergency Medical Services to administer buprenorphine for up to seven days to manage withdrawal and support early recovery as a bridge to a long-term treatment provider, according to a spokesperson at the N.C. Department of Health and Human Services.
“I see it gaining even more traction moving forward,” said Mike Campbell, training division chief at Stanly County Emergency Medical Services, one of the first agencies in the state to begin field-based buprenorphine in 2019. “I think, before too long, it will become the norm.”
