Hamilton County QRT says single contacts cut arrests and health encounters, cites multimillion-dollar savings

Megan Guthrie, director of the Office of Addiction Response, told the Hamilton County Board of County Commissioners on Dec. 16 that the county’s Quick Response Team (QRT) has produced measurable reductions in criminal-justice involvement and health-care utilization among people who survive overdoses.

Guthrie said the QRT — launched as a part-time effort after a $400,000 federal grant and expanded over time into four full-time units — has served more than 2,100 people through its post‑overdose response pathway since 2018. “Of that, 63 percent were successfully contacted, and 47 percent were connected or referred to services,” she said during a retrospective presentation (SEG 116–120, SEG 116–121).

Guthrie described a University of Cincinnati analysis that compared people who had at least one QRT contact with people who had none. She said people who engaged at…