Anchorage Fire Department firefighter/paramedics and firefighter/EMTs are on the scene when Anchorage residents need help the most. We respond to more than 36,000 calls each year, which averages out to more than 100 calls per day. Three in five of those calls are medical emergencies. As we serve an increasing number of patients experiencing behavioral health crises, often co-occurring with alcohol use disorder, one thing has become increasingly clear: The patients we serve cannot get the help they need because that help is not available in our community. There are simply not enough treatment resources in Anchorage. Funneling patients with alcohol and substance use disorders and behavioral health conditions to emergency rooms not only fails to address the underlying problem, it also strains medical providers. We know we can do better. We should not be seeing the same patients over and over again. Read more from Anchorage Daily News here.