
PAGE 3 WWW.FSOS.ORG
First Step Confronts the Opioid Overdose Crisis
Local Healthcare Leaders Partner in Substance Overdose Services (SOS)
As opioid use continues to rise in
Sarasota County, emergency medical
services and law enforcement respond
regularly to overdose calls. Individuals
who have overdosed receive naloxone,
a medication that reverses the drugs’
effects, and are then transported to the
hospital emergency department. Given
an emergency room’s high patient
volume, need for swift bed turnover, and
focus on medical trauma, First Step is
stepping in to offer specialized care for
overdose survivors with our Substance
Overdose Services (SOS) Teams.
First Step has launched this initiative
in partnership with the Gulf Coast
Community Foundation, the Sarasota
Memorial Hospital Foundation, Sarasota
County Health and Human Services,
and Central Florida Behavioral Health
Network. Our goal is to decrease
the number of repeat overdoses and
other risky substance abuse behaviors
of individuals following an opiate
overdose. SOS Teams accomplish this
goal by immediately providing treatment
recommendations and the option of
Medication-Assisted Treatment for their
chronic disease: addiction.
Overdose survivors encounter First
Step SOS Teams through admission
to our Addictions Receiving Facility
or the Sarasota Memorial Hospital
emergency room, where stabilization,
assessment, and physician-directed
medical detox are provided. Made up
of a Care Coordinator and a Recovery
Peer Specialist, an SOS Team engages
the survivor in addiction treatment and
support services, developing a solid,
effective recovery plan that addresses
and eliminates internal or external
barriers to accessing and maintaining
these services. Each recovery plan
includes 120 days of intensive follow-up
to monitor, support, and promote each
individual’s recovery process, followed
by 120 days of transition follow-up.
The SOS Team ensures continuity
of care through communication and
information-sharing with our SOS
partners. The team also addresses
any medical needs through linkage to
appropriate medical services, and helps
participants’ support network of family
and friends access recovery services as
well.
With the stabilization, assessment, and
treatment support from SOS Teams,
First Step will help survivors of
opiate drug overdoses end destructive
substance abuse behaviors and prevent
future relapse. An SOS Team’s efforts
ensure that someone who has overdosed
not only survives, but thereafter is able
to thrive.
First Step’s treatment programs are
built upon the strongest, evidence-
based treatment practices and
protocols, and delivered by licensed
and experienced clinical professionals.
We’re very proud of the caliber of
psychiatric care we’re able to offer
our clients, and a great deal of credit
for this ability goes to our Medical
Director, Dr. David Panting.
Dr. Panting has been a consultant for
First Step since 2000, and became the
Medical Director in 2006 prior to the
opening of the Addictions Receiving
Facility. In 1996, he completed
his training in Psychiatry at the
Allegheny Neuropsychiatric Institute
in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, where he
was Chief Resident during his senior
year. Dr. Panting is a Board-Certied
member of the American Board of
Neurology and Psychiatry, as well as
the American Society of Addiction
Medicine. He currently is on staff at
Blake Medical Center and maintains a
private practice in Bradenton, Florida.
Under Dr. Panting’s leadership, First
Step has partnered with Centerstone,
of Manatee County, to create a new
medical residency rotation at First
Step. The rst resident in the program
is Dr. Di Xun, a fourth-year resident
in General Psychiatry. Dr. Xun will
complete a four-month rotation
under the tutelage of Dr. Panting.
His role will be to assist in managing
our Seasons program clients, who
are diagnosed with a co-occurring
disorder consisting of both mental
and substance abuse disorders. Dr.
Xun’s residency will primarily focus
in the areas of assessments and
pharmacology.
First Step is grateful to Dr. Panting as
the driving force that has made this
program a reality. We look forward to
growing this program with additional
residents, and developing resident
rotations at First Step facilities.
First Step Spotlight:
Dr. David Panting, M.D., Spearheads New
Residency Rotation