Expansion brings lifesaving naloxone training to first responders across Harris and Fort Bend counties
Key Takeaways
- Expanding lifesaving training: A $3 million federal grant will expand the Houston Health Department’s FRONTLINES program, training first responders across Harris and Fort Bend counties to recognize opioid overdoses and administer naloxone.
- Building on eight years of work: The four-year grant extends a program co-founded by Dr. James Bray, chair and clinical professor at the University of Houston’s Fertitta College of Medicine, that has provided naloxone to Houston-area first responders and trained them to administer it to reverse potentially fatal overdoses.
- Training the next generation of lifesavers: UH medical, social work and psychology students will receive overdose-response training, with select students prepared to train community members throughout Greater Houston.
HOUSTON – A lifesaving program that trains first responders to recognize opioid overdoses and administer naloxone is expanding across Greater Houston with support from a new $3 million federal grant.
The four-year grant from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration will extend the Houston Health Department’s FRONTLINES program across Harris and Fort Bend counties, building on eight years of work to combat opioid overdose deaths in the region.
According to the Texas Department of State Health Services, nearly 450 Harris County residents died from opioid overdoses in 2024, with fentanyl involved in nearly three-quarters of those deaths.
Dr. James Bray, chair of the Department of Behavioral and Social Sciences at the University of Houston’s Tilman J. Fertitta Family College of Medicine and co-founder of FRONTLINES, says the expansion will help reach communities where opioid overdoses extend beyond Houston’s city limits.
“When someone experiencing an opioid overdose is reached in time, naloxone can save their life,” Bray said. “We’ve seen the impact this training can have in Houston, and now we have an opportunity to extend that reach across Harris and Fort Bend counties, putting lifesaving knowledge and tools into the hands of more first responders.”
The program also brings overdose-response training into the classroom. UH medical, social work and psychology students will learn to recognize opioid overdoses and administer naloxone, and some will become trainers themselves, working with community groups in neighborhoods surrounding UH.
“We’re not just training our students to respond to an overdose — we’re preparing them to take that knowledge into the community,” Bray said. “They’ll be able to train others to recognize an overdose, administer naloxone and potentially save a life.”
FRONTLINES, a collaboration among the City of Houston, the Fertitta College of Medicine, Baylor College of Medicine and the Houston Recovery Center, goes beyond emergency response. Houston Recovery Center specialists connect overdose survivors with treatment and recovery services, while participating agencies share data to identify areas where additional resources and training are needed.
