Everett details opioid response, proposes earmarking settlement funds for EMS fleet expansion

Julie Willie, Everett’s community development director, and Chelsea Monroe, the city’s opioid program manager, briefed the Community Health and Safety Committee on May 7, 2025, on the city’s opioid response plan and proposed uses of opioid settlement funds.

The briefing outlined six work “buckets” to guide spending and programs — education and prevention, crisis response, treatment and recovery services, advocacy and policy, settlement-compliance practices, and partnerships — and described ongoing initiatives including the EMOTE Street Medicine team, a new alternative response care team, outreach partnerships, and county-level collaboration.

The memo and presentation put the city’s anticipated opioid settlement receipts at about $8.7 million between 2022 and 2038 and showed that in 2024 Everett received a larger-than-usual payment because one settlement participant paid its funds up front. Willie told the committee that the city used roughly $60,000 of the $309,000 previously allocated to EMOTE and that a state grant through the Health Care Authority has covered most EMOTE costs so far.

Chelsea Monroe described EMOTE’s work and the program’s results to date: "June 30 will be one year into that project, and they have worked with over 600 folks," and she added that street medicine teams meet people where they are and may require repeated contacts before people accept services. Monroe said the team’s goals vary by person and that not everyone’s pathway includes detox or inpatient treatment: peer support or harm-reduction services are often the appropriate next step.

Everett Fire Chief David DeMarco outlined operational impacts on emergency medical services and asked committee members to consider earmarking opioid settlement dollars to reimburse the EMS enterprise fund and to begin the process of ordering an ambulance. "An ambulance today is about $350,000," DeMarco said, noting manufacturing lead times of about two years and that ordering now would align with anticipated fleet needs later this decade. He said quantifying the dollar impact of overdoses is difficult but added that the fund endures increased wear and tear and higher call volumes tied to the opioid crisis.

DeMarco also described a field buprenorphine protocol the fire department is running under a limited-state approval. "We've currently encountered 34 people that have agreed to a buprenorphine dose, and we've administered 44 doses," he said, adding that patients must be conscious and able to consent and that they are asked to meet with a social worker after dosing. He said Washington State is considering statewide adoption of a similar protocol.

Willie said the city is moving cautiously in its spending plan to remain compliant with settlement requirements, which prioritize prevention, treatment and first-responder strategies, and noted county and state partners who advise on allowable uses and administer some grants. She described staffing needs, saying hiring a dedicated program coordinator is “imperative” to manage the city’s work and to maximize external grant use for sustainability.

Committee members asked for additional comparative data and assistance from staff; DeMarco agreed to compile and share Department of Health statewide EMS data. Willie said she would return with more detailed spending proposals and noted the Legislature’s recent budget actions that will fund five street medicine programs statewide, which may reduce near-term local spending needs for EMOTE.

The committee did not take formal action on specific expenditures at the May 7 meeting. Staff were directed to continue developing the spending plan, work with county partners on potential grant administration, and provide follow-up data and proposals to the committee for future consideration.