Milwaukee Fire Department's community paramedics were granted a new task Friday, May 3. Their job: help Milwaukee's drug addicts beat addiction.
"We can't get people to get clean if they die," said Captain Michael Wright, Milwaukee Fire Department. A team of firefighters put together a task force known as the Milwaukee Overdose Response Initiative (MORI). It's a community-wide approach which operationalizes the Milwaukee City-County Heroin, Opioid, and Cocaine Task Force (CCHOCTF) recommendations. The goal initially is to focus on decreasing fatalities by utilizing diverse databases to uncover trends, streamline access to treatment, and provide education in schools. "This puts them in a situation where we can do the followup to see what we can do to help people," said Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett.
The process of recovery first starts when the patient overdoses.
"The work now begins," Captain Wright said. "This is after the emergency follow-up care."