Overdose Outreach Team partnerships reduce opioid harms in the community
In early 2025, an increase in overdoses in Saskatoon created challenges to health care delivery and increased the complexity of the calls for help.
The Saskatchewan Health Authority’s Overdose Outreach Team typically provide post-overdose support and needed to adapt their role mid-crisis as they were encountering individuals mid-overdose who required immediate intervention. Fire and emergency medical services responders often found multiple individuals overdosing at the same time, requiring even more medical supports.
The Overdose Outreach Team saw a surge in referrals and had to be agile to distribute 700 nasal naloxone kits instead of the injectable take home naloxone kits they normally provide. Distribution reached an all-time high of 276 kits in March. At the same time, the Saskatoon Fire Department’s overdose response calls peaked at almost 600, or 40 per cent of all emergency medical service calls for service.
In addition to connecting individuals to opioid agonist medications through the Saskatchewan Health Authority’s at home detox program and training partner organizations to administer naloxone, the Overdose Outreach Team engaged with many individuals actively using substances who expressed fear about overdosing alone, the unpredictability of the drug supply, and misinformation about how naloxone works.
“People thought fentanyl had become naloxone resistant. The reality was the drug supply was so potent it took an average of five doses to reverse an overdose,” said Ashlee Suidak, Saskatchewan Health Authority Addictions Counselor Degree Senior, Mental Health and Addiction Services.
A turning point in community response was the dedication and partnership of multiple agencies working tirelessly to sharing resources and save lives.
