Pittsburgh to partner with Johns Hopkins University on program combating opioid withdrawal
Pittsburgh will partner with Johns Hopkins University to analyze a city program that addresses opioid withdrawal.
The city launched a program in November that allows EMS personnel to administer buprenorphine to patients experiencing opioid withdrawal.
The city will share information about the program — the third of its kind in the nation — with the Bloomberg School of Public Health at Johns Hopkins University to evaluate its success.
The agreement comes at no cost to the city, according to Laura Drogowski, manager of the city’s Office of Community Health and Safety.
City officials will share historical data about overdoses in the city, as well as ongoing information about overdoses and prehospital buprenorphine use.
The university’s experts will then analyze factors such as overdose recurrence and how often patients connected with clinics that could provide help for overdoses.
City Council unanimously approved the measure Tuesday.
Julia Felton is a TribLive reporter covering Pittsburgh City Hall and other news in and around Pittsburgh. A La Roche University graduate, she joined the Trib in 2020. She can be reached at jfelton@triblive.com.
Remove the ads from your TribLIVE reading experience but still support the journalists who create the content with TribLIVE Ad-Free.