Cooper’s “Bupe FIRST” team has partnered with University Hospital and St. Joseph’s Health to launch and enhance EMS buprenorphine programs in North Jersey.
(CAMDEN, N.J.) – People who are revived from opioid-related overdose by emergency medical teams face dire odds. Historically, one in 10 who suffers an overdose dies within a year, making the interaction between overdose patients and the paramedics who treat them crucial. To better the odds for those who have suffered an overdose, Cooper University Health Care has expanded its first-in-the-nation Bupe FIRST program to two New Jersey health systems, University Hospital in Newark and St. Joseph’s Health in Paterson.
“That first interaction between a person who is suffering an overdose and EMS is a potent moment for intervention. It’s often the first interaction with health care the patient has had in some time, and, through Bupe FIRST, the responding EMS team has a needed tool to treat a patient’s underlying addiction, not only the overdose,” said Gerard G. Carroll, MD, FAAEM, EMT-P, medical director of Cooper EMS. “The expansion of Bupe FIRST to University Hospital and St. Joseph’s Health will translate to lives saved and improved outcomes for those affected by opioid use disorder in New Jersey.”
University Hospital now has seven paramedic units equipped and trained to administer buprenorphine (bupe). These units serve about 400,000 New Jersey residents across Newark, Orange, West Orange, and greater Essex County. Cooper will work with St. Joseph’s Health, which had four paramedic units authorized to administer buprenorphine before this agreement, to develop a structured referral program to connect patients who receive buprenorphine in the field with long-term addiction care.
“This expansion of Bupe FIRST to University Hospital and St. Joseph’s Health is a great win in the battle against deaths from opioid overdoses,” said Rachel Haroz, MD, FAACT, head of Cooper’s Center for Healing. “The evidence is clear. Bupe FIRST saves lives and brings people who are most at risk of death from opioid use disorder into care. I hope to see similar programs in every EMS program in the country.”
Dr. Carroll and his EMS team at Cooper worked with Cooper’s Center for Healing to create Bupe FIRST (Field Initiation of ReScue Treatment by EMS) in 2019 after recognizing that most of those who have suffered an overdose refuse transportation to a hospital. Bupe FIRST, for the first time in the country, equipped EMS teams with buprenorphine, commonly used as a medication for opioid use disorder (or MOUD), and trained them to administer it when appropriate, essentially starting long term addiction care in the field.
Buprenorphine is a partial opioid agonist, working on the same receptors as fentanyl or other opioids, but with a ceiling on its analgesic effect. This means, when used properly, it can provide relief for withdrawal symptoms and opioid cravings and significantly reduce the risk for another overdose. Buprenorphine is a popular medication for long-term treatment of opioid use disorder.
In a 2022 study published in Annals of Emergency Medicine, Cooper researchers detailed the program’s success, showing that overdose patients who interacted with an EMS team equipped with buprenorphine report fewer withdrawal symptoms and are five times as likely to have engaged in addiction treatment in the following 30 days than those who did not.
While University Hospital and St. Joseph’s Health are the first partners in Cooper’s program, Bupe FIRST has become the model for similar programs in California, Delaware, Minnesota, Missouri, Washington and parts of Canada.
About Cooper University Health Care’s Center for Healing
The Cooper Center for Healing, a State of New Jersey-designated Center of Excellence for substance-use disorders, is an integrated program that provides innovative, low-barrier, evidence-based, and compassionate care for patients with substance use disorders (SUD), pain, trauma, and psychiatric disorders. The center’s medical specialists in addiction medicine, toxicology, emergency medicine, emergency medical services, internal medicine, family medicine, and psychiatry provide interdisciplinary care in hospital, ambulatory, and community settings.
Among the wide range of services, the Center provides:
- Outpatient substance use disorder treatment.
- Hospital inpatient treatment.
- Inpatient detox and rehabilitation services.
- Program for pregnant or parenting patients struggling with substance use and SUD.
- Daily walk-in clinic for addiction care.
- Psychiatric and behavioral health services.
- Integrated primary care and obstetrics.
- Full coverage services for SUD and mental health for uninsured and underinsured people, including people who are unhoused.
- Group support for older adults, people struggling with sedatives such as benzodiazepines, and people with involvement in the justice system.
- Patient navigation.
- Care coordination.
- Peer recovery support.
- Transportation assistance.
- Emergency housing support.
- Individual, group, and family therapy.
About Cooper University Health Care
Cooper University Health Care is a leading academic health system affiliated with Cooper Medical School of Rowan University. Cooper, headquartered in Camden, New Jersey, has revenues of more than $2.4 billion and an A+ credit rating from both S&P and Fitch Ratings.
Cooper has nearly 14,000 team members, including nearly 1,600 nurses, more than 1,000 employed physicians representing 95 specialties and subspecialties, and more than 600 advanced practice providers.
Cooper operates MD Anderson Cancer Center at Cooper as well as three hospitals – its 663-bed flagship Cooper University Hospital in Camden, its 229-bed Cooper University Hospital Cape Regional in Cape May Court House, and Children’s Regional Hospital in Camden.
Cooper University Hospital in Camden is the only Level 1 trauma center in South Jersey and the busiest in the region. The hospital has been recognized as a top-performing regional hospital by U.S. News & World Report’s Best Hospitals annual survey for six years.
More than 2.4 million patients visit Cooper’s facilities annually. Cooper’s ambulatory network encompasses three outpatient surgery centers, several urgent care centers, a wound care center, and more than 130 physician, physical therapy, and radiology offices extending from the Delaware River to the New Jersey shore.
Cooper was named one of America’s Best Large Employers for 2025 by Forbes, ranking among the top 200 in the nation. Visit CooperHealth.org to learn more.