A new team combining paramedics and recovery specialists will now respond to some Chicago 911 calls for overdose emergencies.
The city’s first Opioid Response Team launched Monday, Chicago Department of Public Health Director Dr. Allison Arwady said. The alternate 911 response team is part of the city’s expanding effort to send mental health and substance use professionals to emergency calls.
Each team will feature a Chicago Fire Department community paramedic and a University of Illinois at Chicago “peer recovery specialist” who has recovered from substance abuse disorder themselves.
