Madison’s New Approach to Fighting the Opioid Epidemic

Madison Fire Department ambulances and community paramedics now carry a new drug to help people recover from opioid withdrawal. 

The drug is called buprenorphine and it helps relieve symptoms almost immediately, says Dr. Megan Gussick, the medical director for the Madison Fire Department.

They’re one of a handful of departments in the state — and possibly the country — to carry this drug. And with opioid overdoses still at record levels, the idea is that people can begin treatment more easily this way than at methadone clinics, which are still sparse around the city, require transportation to get to, and can carry a stigma. It could be a game-changer for treating addiction.

Molly Stentz sat down with Dr. Gussick to learn how it works.

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