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Port Angeles’ "Operation Shielding Hope" credited with increased linkages to treatment; county overdose fatalities fall, officials say
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Summary
City fire and police officials described a post-overdose response pilot that pairs community paramedics with police resource officers, reported high linkage-to-treatment rates when community paramedics arrive, and presented county-level reductions in overdose-fatality metrics following a year of implementation.
Port Angeles Fire Department and Police Department staff briefed the council on Operation Shielding Hope, a program funded with opioid-settlement money that expanded a post-overdose response and the scope of community paramedics to include field interventions and linkage to substance-use-disorder services.
Why it matters: presenters said the program directly addresses high local overdose rates by increasing immediate, on-scene engagement and referral to treatment services. Officials reported marked declines in county overdose-fatality rates during the program’s first year.
Fire Chief Daryl Sharp introduced the background and goals, and said the program aimed to equip outreach specialists, reduce repeat overdoses and increase access to medication for opioid use disorder. Sharp said the county previously had one of the highest overdose fatality rates in Washington and that high rates of survivor refusal for transport and treatment were limiting traditional 9‑1‑1 interventions.
Program rollout and scope change: Sharp said in January 2024 the Fire Department petitioned the Washington State Department of Health for a two‑year pilot to allow community paramedics to administer buprenorphine in the field and to stand up a post‑overdose response team. In February the department equipped community paramedics with emergency-response vehicles using opioid settlement funds. In March the department received DOH approval to implement the pilot and expand community‑paramedic scope of practice.
Early results: Sharp reported that in the first six weeks after implementation, community paramedics responded to 23 overdoses while on duty and that 18 of those survivors accepted referrals to substance‑use‑disorder services—an observed linkage rate greater than 78 percent when community paramedics arrived on scene. Sharp added that overdose survivors were far less likely to be linked to services when community paramedics were not on scene; staff estimated a roughly 3 percent linkage rate for incidents without community‑paramedic arrival.
Partners and expanded capacity: In June 2024 the department received a $350,000 grant from the University of Washington and the Co‑Responder Outreach Alliance to add two community EMTs, enabling two autonomous post‑overdose response units and expanding ALS response capacity when ambulances were unavailable. Sharp credited partners—Reflections Counseling, Peninsula Behavioral Health, North Olympic Healthcare Network, Jamestown Healing Center, Olympic Medical Center and Clallam County Health & Human Services—for providing transport and ongoing treatment options.
County overdose statistics: Sharp cited the Washington State overdose fatality report and said that from January 2024 to January 2025 Clallam County dropped from the second‑highest to the tenth‑highest overdose fatality rate in the state, falling from 73.3 deaths per 100,000 (reported earlier in the meeting) down to 41.2 per 100,000 by January, and later to 34.8 per 100,000 for a 12‑month comparison presented by staff—a decline staff characterized as a substantial reduction within 12 months of the program’s implementation.
Staff emphasized that the critical factor in linking survivors to care was the arrival of community paramedics and the warm‑handoff behavior that builds rapport and trust; while field buprenorphine was used sparingly, the arrival and engagement were described as key to higher referral acceptance.
Council members thanked staff for the program and asked about funding sustainability. Sharp said staff were preparing to seek additional behavioral health advisory board funding cycles and other sources to sustain and expand hours for the autonomous units. Sharp and councilors also discussed data‑sharing and follow‑up; staff said monthly coordination meetings with co‑response partners provide feedback on individuals’ engagement with treatment, which helps crews with morale and measures of success.
Ending: presenters asked the council to continue to support funding and partnerships; no legislative action was taken during the briefing.
