The fentanyl crisis has taken a toll on communities all across Oregon. It has also shined a light on the challenges frontline responders face when trying to get people help for substance use disorder, especially in rural areas and jails or prisons where treatment can be hard to obtain.  

But a training program in addiction medicine offered by OHSU is providing help by sharing resources, best practices and collaborative problem solving on complex cases. While most of the people who enroll in the course, which is taught remotely, work in healthcare, it’s attracting growing interest among law enforcement. Enrollment overall in the training program has grown by nearly two-thirds in the past two years. Dan Hoover, an assistant professor of medicine and the director of the Extension for Community Health Outcomes addiction medicine program at OHSU, joins us for more details.