Rapid Response Guide to Opioid Emergencies

If you are prepared, you can save lives.

In the current opioid epidemic, opioid emergencies can arise without warning, among those we didn’t expect to be affected.

This guide shows you how to prepare and what to do. It describes the equipment you need, and the step-by-step procedures you need to know to care for a person in crisis and keep yourself safe.

As a rescuer, you may have training in opioid emergency response through your job, or you may have no formal training. This guide is for everyone. In an easy-to-scan format, it breaks down information by level of expertise.

Use this guide to build on the expertise you have, or to build the expertise you need.

Greg Clarkes, ACP, NRP, is an advanced care paramedic registered in Canada and the United States. He is a clinic-based paramedic for Primco Dene EMS at Cenovus Energy’s oil sands project on the Cold Lake Air Weapons Range in Alberta, Canada. He also works in dentistry as a sedation monitoring assistant. Greg has more than 30 years’ experience as an educator in emergency medical services, and has spoken and taught internationally throughout his career. He founded the Canadian First Aid School in 1988 and the Canadian College of EMS in 1996.