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Westbrook council backs EMS Suboxone pilot and funds secure medication-storage unit
Summary
Westbrook will serve as the initial site for a 36-month EMS pilot allowing paramedics to give buprenorphine (Suboxone) after overdoses; council also approved renting a BD Pyxis med station to meet DEA storage rules, funded in part from opioid settlement dollars.
Chief Sloan told the Westbrook City Council on May 18 that the city will be the initial site of a 36‑month prehospital buprenorphine pilot intended to reduce post‑overdose fatalities and increase treatment entry. “We are the initial site,” Chief Sloan said, outlining local and statewide data and the program’s objectives.
The chief said Westbrook recorded 59 overdoses in 2025; first‑responders transported 24 people and 35 refused care. He told the council that statewide EMS run‑report data showed 22 fatal overdoses, two of which occurred in Westbrook. He said field administration of buprenorphine after reversal of an overdose can reduce mortality by roughly 50–60 percent and address the withdrawal symptoms that drive many patients to refuse transport and further care.
Under the pilot, Westbrook paramedics will be trained to administer buprenorphine after an overdose, provide field relief of withdrawal and link patients to definitive care within 72 hours. Chief Sloan described follow‑up procedures: an administrative team member will contact patients within 24 hours and the police department’s recovery liaison will check in within 48 hours to assist with treatment navigation and social needs.
The chief provided performance targets for evaluation of the pilot: 15 percent of contacted patients entering a treatment program, 55–65 percent linked to definitive care, and an expected adverse‑event rate near 2 percent. He said the city anticipates modest medication costs — “about $1,000 for a year” — and that personnel costs are already budgeted.
Councilors praised the initiative as a humane, low‑risk intervention that could be scaled statewide if data support it. Mayor Morse and multiple councilors urged tracking and a follow‑up presentation once initial results are available.
Separately, councilors voted to approve a five‑year rental agreement with CareFusion Solutions LLC for a BD Pyxis medication station and supply tower at an annual rental cost of $11,172. Chief Sloan explained the storage decision was prompted by new DEA enforcement guidance: hospitals notified EMS services that they could no longer supply controlled medications, requiring EMS agencies to license as medical care facilities and to meet strict storage and auditing requirements.
Chief Sloan described the Pyxis unit’s safeguards — biometric access, unique passcodes, video surveillance, dual verification for removal and a sealed daily‑log process — and said dispensing limits will be enforced (no more than three vials per call, witnessed by a second provider). He said three agency chiefs will be authorized to restock the machine and recommended using opioid settlement funds to pay for the initial rental so the department can move quickly and trial the system.
Council members asked about machine security and potential tampering; the chief said the Pyxis system is used in hospitals and will sit in a secured room with swipe access, video surveillance and a two‑person verification process on each removal. The rental agreement (Order 2026‑63) passed unanimously, 7–0.
The council’s actions mean Westbrook will both begin the EMS Suboxone pilot and put in place a compliant controlled‑medication storage and tracking system to support expanded prehospital care. The city will monitor results during the 36‑month pilot and return to the council with outcome data and recommendations for broader rollout.
