1. Home
  2. Program Models
  3. Rapid Response Emergency Addiction and Crisis Team (RREACT)

Rapid Response Emergency Addiction and Crisis Team (RREACT)

This comprehensive, first responder-led mobile outreach program in Columbus, Ohio offers linkage to treatment, case management, and trauma specialists

Too often, those who survive an opioid overdose decline offers of transport to an emergency room or other services, putting them at increased risk for future, possibly fatal overdoses. RREACT, a multidisciplinary mobile outreach program in Columbus, Ohio, uses front line emergency medical service and public safety personnel to provide harm reduction and recovery resources, as well as immediate referrals to treatment, to overdose survivors. The program also offers case management to help overcome barriers to seeking treatment, support for families and individuals experiencing trauma, and community education on preventing substance use disorders and reducing stigma. 

RREACT outreach teams, including a firefighter, police officer, and a social worker, visit overdose survivors to coach them in naloxone administration while encouraging them to consider treatment. Should a client agree to enter treatment, the team helps with placement and provides no-cost transportation. The team assists also clients in developing an action plan for sustained recovery.

The program's website provides links to events and news releases, as well as contact information, including number to call for immediate assistance, an email address, and a message form. A detailed slide presentation about the program and its outcomes is available here, and a research evaluation of the program's inception and operation is here. 

 

By meeting clients where they are and with respect, RREACT increases the chances that overdose survivors, trauma victims, and their families will get the services and support they need.

Continuum of Care
Treatment
Recovery
Harm Reduction
Type of Evidence
Peer-reviewed
Response Approach
Comprehensive services
Early Intervention
Family Support
Outreach
Post-overdose response
Recovery coaching
Peer-reviewed Article
RREACT: A mobile multidisciplinary response to overdose
Related Resources
“Another Tool for the Tool Box? I'll Take It!”: Feasibility and Acceptability of Mobile Recovery Outreach Teams (MROT) for Opioid Overdose Patients in the Emergency Room
The Massachusetts Department of Public Health Post Overdose Support Team Initiative: A Public Health–Centered Co-Response Model for Post–Overdose Outreach
Best Practice Guidance for Post-Overdose Outreach
Partnerships for Post-Overdose Outreach Toolkit
A Scoping Review of Post Opioid-Overdose Interventions
A Pilot Study of a Telemedicine-based Substance Use Disorder Evaluation to Enhance Access to Treatment Following Near-Fatal Opioid Overdose
Association of Implementation of Postoverdose Outreach Programs With Subsequent Opioid Overdose Deaths Among Massachusetts Municipalities
Recovery Coaches in Opioid Use Disorder Care
rreact-flyer-handout.pdf

Evidence of Program Effectiveness

"Between 2018 and 2022, RREACT made 22,157 outreach attempts to 11,739 unique patients. RREACT recorded 3,194 direct patient contacts during this time, resulting in 1,200 linkages to care: 799 direct transports to opioid use disorder treatment and 401 warm handoffs to community treatment agencies. Furthermore, RREACT’s staffing increased from 4 full-time equivalent staff in 2018 to 15.5 in 2022 and was supported by the surrounding community through 287 community outreach events and the development of an alumni program. These preliminary results further support the deployment of multidisciplinary mobile outreach teams to increase access to harm reduction and recovery resources following opioid overdose." - Ulintz, AJ et al., 2024.