(PRESS RELEASE)

On August 30, 2018, the Department of Justice, in partnership with nine additional Federal departments/agencies and 24 stakeholder associations/organizations, including ACMT, released Fentanyl: The Real Deal. The video, designed for roll call training, reinforces key messages from the Fentanyl Safety Recommendations for First Responders, which ACMT also collaborated on, released in November 2017. 

America’s first responders – including law enforcement officers, firefighters, and emergency medical services (EMS) providers – are increasingly likely to encounter fentanyl and other synthetic opioids during their daily activities, such as responding to overdose calls and conducting traffic stops, arrests, and searches. 

To help first responders protect themselves when the presence of fentanyl is suspected or encountered, a Federal Interagency Working Group coordinated by the National Security Council developed Fentanyl Safety Recommendations for First Responders. Informed by expertise from the medical, public health, law enforcement, fire/EMS, and occupational safety and health disciplines, and developed in collaboration with the American College of Medical Toxicology and 23 other stakeholder associations/organizations, these science-based recommendations include: 

• Actions first responders can take to protect themselves from exposure 
• Actions first responders can take when exposure occurs 
• Actions first responders can take when they or their partners exhibit signs of opioid intoxication

Watch Fentanyl Safety Recommendations for First Responders:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6Yc9lSaSKls

ACMT’s members, who are Board Certified Medical Toxicologists, remain on the forefront of this issue. In July 2017, ACMT released a Position Statement ‘Preventing Occupational Fentanyl and Fentanyl Analog Exposure to Emergency Responders’ as a science-based educational tool for emergency responders.  

American College of Medical Toxicology
Advancing the Toxicological Care of Poisoned Patients and Populations

The American College of Medical Toxicology is a professional, nonprofit association of more than 700 physicians with recognized expertise in medical toxicology. Medical toxicology focuses on the diagnosis, management, and prevention of poisoning/toxicity and other adverse health effects resulting from medications, chemicals, occupational and environmental substances, and biological hazards. acmt.net