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Public safety committee hears Spokane opioid-treatment briefing; presenters urge low-barrier access and naloxone distribution

October 06, 2025 | Spokane, Spokane County, Washington


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Public safety committee hears Spokane opioid-treatment briefing; presenters urge low-barrier access and naloxone distribution
Bob Lutz and Kayla Cross briefed the Spokane City Public Safety Committee on local overdose trends and treatment approaches on Oct. 6, saying Spokane County’s overdose burden remains above much of the state and urging expanded, low‑barrier care.

Lutz, who presented epidemiology and mortality counts, told the committee that Spokane’s adjusted overdose rate is “higher than the eastern portion of the state as well as Washington state as a whole” and that the county recorded “300 plus deaths last year from overdoses.” He cautioned that national declines in overdoses have not been uniform and said Western states, including Washington, continue to see upticks driven by synthetic opioids.

Cross, who described the “continuum of care” for people who use substances, emphasized prevention, harm reduction and making evidence‑based treatment available on demand. “We know [medication for opioid use disorder] can reduce mortality by over 50 percent for people that engage in treatment, and take the medications as prescribed,” she told the committee. Cross urged “low barrier medication for opioid use disorder” at walk‑in clinics, naloxone distribution and more mobile outreach to reach people who lack phones, transportation or stable housing.

Why this matters: presenters said Spokane’s overdose deaths remain high and that interventions that reduce barriers to treatment and provide harm‑reduction supplies can reduce deaths and downstream community harms. Committee members pressed presenters about services for adolescents, what substances are most often combined in overdoses, and gaps in insurance and pharmacy access for people seeking buprenorphine.

Key details and local context: Lutz cited medical examiner figures showing 197 decedents listed as housed and 136 as unhoused in the prior year’s data. The presenters said the most frequent polysubstance combinations were fentanyl with a psychostimulant (primarily methamphetamine). Cross said hospitals, juvenile detention and community clinics are expanding initiation of MOUD and coordinating follow‑up appointments to reduce gaps at discharge. She described evidence‑based elements that reduce harms — naloxone training and distribution; syringe access and disposal; contingency management for stimulant use disorder; and Housing First models paired with treatment – and warned that coerced or involuntary treatment often produces worse outcomes after discharge.

Questions from the committee focused on adolescents and availability of age‑appropriate programs. Cross said some local providers will see adolescents for MOUD depending on insurance and credentialing, and she named Healing Lodge of the Seven Nations and “Bloom Psychiatry” as programs that will work with youth in specific circumstances, but added that availability varies widely by insurer and program. She and Lutz said juvenile detention can be a point to stabilize youth and arrange continuing outpatient care, but both stressed adolescents must generally consent to treatment.

Presenters identified operational barriers the city and its partners can address: inconsistent insurance coverage and prior‑authorization rules, pharmacy hours and access (regional hotline services will need pharmacy infrastructure to be useful), transportation, and the need for stronger case‑management/navigation so a patient discharged from a hospital or juvenile facility can get a scheduled follow‑up appointment immediately.

Ending: Lutz and Cross said they will prepare written materials and follow‑up documentation for the council, and the committee indicated it wants additional data on youth services, hospital‑initiation programs and measures of on‑demand access.

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Scribe from Workplace AI
Scribe from Workplace AI