Up-and-coming appliance brand has been named a Top 100 Fastest Growing Private Company for 2022

SAN FRANCISCO, Oct. 24, 2022 /PRNewswire-PRWeb/ — Hauslane, the world’s friendliest range hood company, has ranked in San Francisco Business Times’ Top 100 Fastest Growing Private Companies in the Bay Area list. Calvin Ruan (roo-AHN), the co-founder and CEO of Hauslane, was recognized during the Top 100 Award Ceremony in San Francisco, on October 20, where the brand was listed as the 21st fastest growing company in the San Francisco Bay Area for 2022.

“When I founded Hauslane, I envisioned it as more than just an appliance brand,” said Ruan. “I saw it as a leader in the category for providing top-tier education, service and products that empower people to experience the kitchen in a whole new way. To see this dream come to fruition over the last four years and now be recognized alongside some of the Bay Area’s most influential brands is a true honor.”

From its establishment in 2018, Hauslane has modernized the kitchen ventilation industry by offering high quality range hoods at attainable prices. Under Ruan’s leadership, the brand found early success in the digital space with a direct-to-consumer pathway that includes major online retailers such as Amazon, Wayfair, Lowes.com and HomeDepot.com. The brand has recently expanded into the brick-and-mortar space with new opportunities to establish a presence in showrooms across the United States.

Additional Accolades:
In addition to ranking in San Francisco Business Times’ Top 100 list, Hauslane has been recognized by the publication as one of this year’s Largest BIPOC-Owned Businesses in the Bay Area. The brand also earned the following distinctions thus far in 2022:

About the Top 100 Fastest Growing Private Companies in the Bay Area Award:
The San Francisco Business Times’ Top 100 Fastest Growing Private Companies in the Bay Area is one of the most prestigious awards for businesses in the area, recognizing brands that have shown outstanding growth over the last three years.

To learn more about Hauslane’s products, visit Hauslane.com.

About Hauslane:
Launched in 2018, Hauslane is the world’s friendliest range hood company that has been transforming the century-old kitchen ventilation category with an easy, fun and informative purchase process. As one of the most successful and fastest growing new brands in the kitchen appliance industry, Hauslane puts people first by providing top-tier education, customer service and premium range hoods that eliminate grease and fumes from the kitchen. Its innovative and beautiful products enable home chefs to cook their favorite foods with confidence while also enhancing indoor air quality. For more information about Hauslane, call 800-929-0168 or visit Hauslane.com.

Media Contact

Chad Riley, Merlot Marketing, 916-285-9835, [email protected]

SOURCE Hauslane

The post Hauslane Features Recognition by San Francisco Enterprise Occasions for Fast Progress appeared first on DAILY SAN FRANCISCO BAY NEWS.

The up-and-coming home appliance brand has been named one of the 100 fastest growing private companies for 2022

SAN FRANCISCO, October 24, 2022 /PRNewswire-PRWeb/ — Hauslane, the friendliest range hood company in the world, has been named one of the 100 Fastest Growing Private Companies in the Bay Area by the San Francisco Business Times. Calvin Ruan (roo-AHN), the co-founder and CEO of Hauslane, was recognized during the Top 100 awards ceremony in san franciscoAt the 20th of Octoberwhere the brand was listed as the 21st fastest growing company in the Bay area of ​​San Francisco for 2022.

“When I started Hauslane, I envisioned more than just a device brand,” said Ruan. “I saw it as a category leader for providing world-class education, services and products that enable people to experience the kitchen in a whole new way. To see that dream come true over the past four years and now be recognized next door to some of the Bay Area’s most influential brands is a true honor.”

Since its inception in 2018, Hauslane has modernized the kitchen ventilation industry by offering quality range hoods at affordable prices. Under Ruan’s leadership, the brand found early success in the digital space with a direct-to-consumer path that includes major online retailers such as Amazon, Wayfair, Lowes.com and HomeDepot.com. The brand has recently expanded into the brick-and-mortar space, with new opportunities to establish a presence in showrooms around the world The United States.

Additional awards:
In addition to being placed in the San Francisco Business Times Top 100 list, the publication recognized Hauslane as one of the year’s largest BIPOC-owned companies in the Bay Area. In addition, the brand has received the following awards so far in 2022:

The story goes on

About the Top 100 Fastest Growing Private Companies in the Bay Area Award:
The San Francisco Business Times’ Top 100 Fastest Growing Private Companies in the Bay Area is one of the most prestigious awards for companies in the region, recognizing brands that have demonstrated outstanding growth over the past three years.

To learn more about Hauslane products, visit Hauslane.com.

About home lane:
Founded in 2018, Hauslane is the world’s friendliest range hood company, transforming the century-old kitchen ventilation category with a simple, fun and informative buying process. As one of the most successful and fastest growing new brands in the kitchenware industry, Hauslane puts people first by providing world-class training, customer service and premium range hoods that remove grease and fumes from the kitchen. Its innovative and beautiful products enable home cooks to prepare their favorite foods with confidence while improving indoor air quality. For more information about Hauslane, call 800-929-0168 or visit Hauslane.com.

media contact

Chad RileyMerlot Marketing, 916-285-9835, hauslane@merlotmarketing.com

SOURCE home lane

The post Hauslane Positive aspects Recognition by San Francisco Enterprise Occasions for Speedy Development appeared first on DAILY SAN FRANCISCO BAY NEWS.

Calvin Ruan is the energetic entrepreneur and visionary behind Hauslane, the friendliest range hood company in the world.

To see that dream come true over the past four years and now be recognized alongside some of the Bay Area’s most influential brands is a true honor.

SAN FRANCISCO (PRWEB)
October 24, 2022

Hauslane, the friendliest range hood company in the world, was named to the San Francisco Business Times’ list of the 100 Fastest Growing Private Companies in the Bay Area. Calvin Ruan (roo-AHN), the co-founder and CEO of Hauslane, was recognized at the Top 100 awards ceremony in San Francisco on October 20, where the brand was listed as the 21st fastest growing company in the San Francisco Bay Area was for 2022.

“When I started Hauslane, I envisioned more than just a device brand,” said Ruan. “I saw it as a category leader for providing world-class education, services and products that enable people to experience the kitchen in a whole new way. To see that dream come true over the past four years and now be recognized alongside some of the Bay Area’s most influential brands is a true honor.”

Since its inception in 2018, Hauslane has modernized the kitchen ventilation industry by offering quality range hoods at affordable prices. Under Ruan’s leadership, the brand found early success in the digital space with a direct-to-consumer path that includes major online retailers such as Amazon, Wayfair, Lowes.com and HomeDepot.com. The brand has recently expanded into the brick-and-mortar space, with new opportunities to establish a showroom presence across the United States.

Additional awards:

In addition to being placed in the San Francisco Business Times Top 100 list, the publication recognized Hauslane as one of the year’s largest BIPOC-owned companies in the Bay Area. In addition, the brand has received the following awards so far in 2022:

About the Top 100 Fastest Growing Private Companies in the Bay Area Award:

The San Francisco Business Times’ Top 100 Fastest Growing Private Companies in the Bay Area is one of the most prestigious awards for companies in the region, recognizing brands that have demonstrated outstanding growth over the past three years.

To learn more about Hauslane products, visit Hauslane.com.

About home lane:

Founded in 2018, Hauslane is the world’s friendliest range hood company, transforming the century-old kitchen ventilation category with a simple, fun and informative buying process. As one of the most successful and fastest growing new brands in the kitchenware industry, Hauslane puts people first by providing world-class training, customer service and premium range hoods that remove grease and fumes from the kitchen. Its innovative and beautiful products enable home cooks to prepare their favorite foods with confidence while improving indoor air quality. For more information about Hauslane, call 800-929-0168 or visit Hauslane.com.

Share the article on social media or via email:

The post Hauslane Features Recognition by San Francisco Enterprise Occasions for Speedy Development appeared first on DAILY SAN FRANCISCO BAY NEWS.

Calvin Ruan is the energetic entrepreneur and visionary behind Hauslane, the world’s friendliest range hood company.

To see this dream come to fruition over the last four years and now be recognized alongside some of the Bay Area’s most influential brands is a true honor.

SAN FRANCISCO (PRWEB)
October 24, 2022

Hauslane, the world’s friendliest range hood company, has ranked in the San Francisco Business Times’ Top 100 Fastest Growing Private Companies in the Bay Area list. Calvin Ruan (roo-AHN), the co-founder and CEO of Hauslane, was recognized during the Top 100 Award Ceremony in San Francisco, on October 20, where the brand was listed as the 21st fastest growing company in the San Francisco Bay Area for 2022.

“When I founded Hauslane, I envisioned it as more than just an appliance brand,” said Ruan. “I saw it as a leader in the category for providing top-tier education, service and products that empower people to experience the kitchen in a whole new way. To see this dream come to fruition over the last four years and now be recognized alongside some of the Bay Area’s most influential brands is a true honor.”

From its establishment in 2018, Hauslane has modernized the kitchen ventilation industry by offering high quality range hoods at attainable prices. Under Ruan’s leadership, the brand found early success in the digital space with a direct-to-consumer pathway that includes major online retailers such as Amazon, Wayfair, Lowes.com and HomeDepot.com. The brand has recently expanded into the brick-and-mortar space with new opportunities to establish a presence in showrooms across the United States.

Additional Accolades:

In addition to ranking in the San Francisco Business Times’ Top 100 list, Hauslane has been recognized by the publication as one of this year’s Largest BIPOC-Owned Businesses in the Bay Area. The brand also earned the following distinctions thus far in 2022:

About the Top 100 Fastest Growing Private Companies in the Bay Area Awards:

The San Francisco Business Times’ Top 100 Fastest Growing Private Companies in the Bay Area is one of the most prestigious awards for businesses in the area, recognizing brands that have shown outstanding growth over the last three years.

To learn more about Hauslane’s products, visit Hauslane.com.

About Hauslane:

Launched in 2018, Hauslane is the world’s friendliest range hood company that has been transforming the century-old kitchen ventilation category with an easy, fun and informative purchase process. As one of the most successful and fastest growing new brands in the kitchen appliance industry, Hauslane puts people first by providing top-tier education, customer service and premium range hoods that eliminate grease and fumes from the kitchen. Its innovative and beautiful products enable home chefs to cook their favorite foods with confidence while also enhancing indoor air quality. For more information about Hauslane, call 800-929-0168 or visit Hauslane.com.

Share article on social media or email:

The post Hauslane Positive aspects Recognition by San Francisco Enterprise Instances for Speedy Progress appeared first on DAILY SAN FRANCISCO BAY NEWS.

NEW YORK, May 6, 2022 /PRNewswire/ — The ductless HVAC system market size is set to grow by USD 15.36 billion from 2021 to 2026, progressing at a CAGR of 7.58% according to Technavio. 55% of the market’s growth will originate from APAC during the forecast period. China, Japan, and South Korea are the key markets for ductless HVAC systems in APAC. Market growth in this region will be faster than the growth of the market in other regions. The rapid growth in construction activities and rise in population in countries such as China, Japanand India will facilitate the ductless HVAC system market growth in APAC over the forecast period.

Technavio has announced its latest market research report titled Ductless HVAC System Market by Type and Geography – Forecast and Analysis 2022-2026

For more insights on the market share of various regions – request a sample report

Ductless HVAC System Market 2022-2026: Vendor Analysis

The ductless HVAC system market is fragmented and the vendors are deploying growth strategies such as technological innovation, packaging, and promotional activities to compete in the market. AB Electrolux, Carrier Global Corp., Daikin Industries Ltd., Fujitsu General Ltd., Haier Smart Home Co. Ltd., Hanon Systems, Hitachi Ltd., Lennox International Inc., LG Electronics Inc., MAHLE GmbH, MIDEA GROUP, Mitsubishi Electric Corp., Panasonic Corp., Rheem Manufacturing Co., Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd., Sanden Holdings Corp., Sharp Corp., Subros Ltd., Trane Technologies plc, and Valeo SA are some of the major market participants.

Ductless HVAC System Market 2022-2026 : Scope

Our ductless HVAC system market report covers the following areas:

Ductless HVAC System Market 2022-2026: Drivers & Challenges

The key factor driving the global ductless HVAC system market growth is the rapidly rising commercial and residential construction globally. The global construction market is expected to grow by USD 4.5 trillion between 2020 and 2030 and reach USD 15.2 trillionwith emerging markets accounting for USD 8.9 trillion in 2030. However, region-wise, the construction market in Sub-Saharan Africa is expected to have the highest growth, followed by emerging economies in APAC. Further, in 2020, China, Indiathe US, and Indonesia accounted for 58.3% of growth in the global construction sector. Furthermore, the residential construction sector accounted for 44% of the total global construction industry in 2020, making it the largest sub-sector and a key driver of the global construction market’s growth. This growth will be fueled by emerging economies that are looking to develop energy, transport networks, sewage and waste systems, and other large-scale projects, in the forecast period.

Story continues

However, the key challenge to the global ductless HVAC system market growth is the stringent government regulations. For instance, the New Efficiency Standard for Residential Heating and the Cooling United States of America and the National Appliance Energy Conservation Act (NAECA) went into effect in 2006 and 2015, respectively. The new standards that come into effect in 2023 require a seasonal energy efficiency ratio (SEER), a measure of a systems cooling performance, of no less than 14 for residential systems in the northern parts of the US and a SEER of 15 in the southern parts (states) of the US. In addition, the new standards require an increase in the heating efficiency of air-source heat pumps, which is measured by the equipment heating seasonal performance factor (HSPF). The minimum HSPF will be 8.8 when compared with the HSPF of 8.2 required by the current standard, which went into effect in 2015. Such factors would hamper the market growth in the forecast period.

To know about the other drivers & challenges – Download a sample report now!

Ductless HVAC System Market 2022-2026 : Segmentation Analysis

Ductless HVAC System Market 2022-2026 : Revenue Generating Segment

The ductless HVAC system market share growth by the single-zoned segment will be significant for revenue generation. The significant increase in the demand for HVAC systems applications, owing to growth in household incomes and changing expenditure patterns of consumers in emerging economies, will drive the growth of the segment in focus in the coming years.

To gain further insights on the market contribution of various segments – Download a sample report now!

Ductless HVAC System Market 2022-2026: Key Highlights

• CAGR of the market during the forecast period 2022-2026

• Detailed information on factors that will assist ductless HVAC system market growth during the next five years

• Estimation of the ductless HVAC system market size and its contribution to the parent market

• Predictions on upcoming trends and changes in consumer behavior

• The growth of the ductless HVAC system market

• Analysis of the market’s competitive landscape and detailed information on vendors

• Comprehensive details of factors that will challenge the growth of ductless HVAC system market vendors

Related Reports:

• The HVAC terminal units market size is expected to be valued at USD 1.41 billion by 2026 with a progressive CAGR of 5.05%. Download a sample report now!

• The energy-efficient HVAC systems market share is expected to increase by USD 24.37 billion from 2021 to 2026, and the market’s growth momentum will accelerate at a CAGR of 11.02%. Download a sample report now!

Table Of Contents:

1 executive summary

2 Market Landscape

3 Market Sizing

4 Five Forces Analysis

5 Market segmentation by type

6 Customer Landscape

7 Geographic Landscape

8 Drivers, Challenges, and Trends

9 Vendor Landscape

10 Vendor Analysis

11 Appendix

About Us

Technavio is a leading global technology research and advisory company. Their research and analysis focus on emerging market trends and provides actionable insights to help businesses identify market opportunities and develop effective strategies to optimize their market positions. With over 500 specialized analysts, Technavio’s report library consists of more than 17,000 reports and counting, covering 800 technologies, spanning across 50 countries. Their client base consists of enterprises of all sizes, including more than 100 Fortune 500 companies. This growing client base relies on Technavio’s comprehensive coverage, extensive research, and actionable market insights to identify opportunities in existing and potential markets and assess their competitive positions within changing market scenarios.

Contact

Technavio Research
Jesse Maida
Media & Marketing Executive
US: +1 844 364 1100
UK: +44 203 893 3200
Email: media@technavio.com
Website: www.technavio.com/

Technavio (PRNews photo/Technavio)

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SOURCE Technavio

The post Ductless HVAC System Market – 55% of Development to Originate from APAC | Pushed by Speedy Rising Business & Residential Building Globally appeared first on DAILY SAN FRANCISCO BAY NEWS.

A man named Nicholas gets care in an ambulance after overdosing in San Francisco, Calif.

Rachel Bujalski for NPR

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Rachel Bujalski for NPR

A man named Nicholas gets care in an ambulance after overdosing in San Francisco, Calif.

Rachel Bujalski for NPR

It’s a sun-filled, fall day and Nicholas is strapped to an ambulance gurney near 8th and Market streets in downtown San Francisco, dazed and barely conscious. Plastic IV tubes snake around his left hand where L-O-V-E is tattooed just below his knuckles.

“Nicholas, try to wake up a little bit for me, come on,” paramedic Paula Fartash coaxes, as she unsuccessfully tries to rouse him from his drug-induced stupor.

Nicholas (we’re not using his last name because of the stigma of addiction) tells Fartash that when he started getting high in nearby U.N. Plaza park, he assumed he was smoking his drug of choice.

“This gentleman thought that he was doing meth,” the veteran San Francisco Fire Department paramedic says. “And turned out he was actually doing fentanyl as well,” the synthetic opioid many times more powerful than heroin. “So he walked over to someone and they gave him some Narcan.”

That’s the brand name for naloxone, the emergency nasal spray drug used to try to reverse an otherwise potentially fatal overdose. That someone who administered life-saving antidote was a nearby volunteer and street cleaner carrying Narcan. It’s part of a city-supported program.

San Francisco has among the highest per capita drug overdose death rates of any city in the U.S.

Faced with a stunning rise in drug overdose deaths the last few years, the vast majority tied to fentanyl, San Francisco has launched mobile teams made up of paramedics and nurses. The new Street Overdose Response Teams (SORT), a collaboration between the city’s health and fire departments, aim to deliver a broad range of support and care directly following an overdose.

“Fentanyl is a game-changer,” Dr. Hillary Kunins, the city’s director of behavioral and mental health services, says of the opioid that’s 80 to 100 times stronger than morphine. “It requires a new way of thinking and resourcing.” It also, she says, “requires people to learn to work across disciplines and sometimes across organizations.”

San Francisco Department of Public Health nurses with the Street Overdose Response Team hand out Narcan as part of a broader effort to contact and help those who have recently overdosed.

Rachel Bujalski for NPR

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Rachel Bujalski for NPR

Registered nurse Louise Bisby is part of the city’s mobile outreach team that aims to help people who recently overdosed with a broad range of support services, from treatment to housing.

Rachel Bujalski for NPR

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Rachel Bujalski for NPR

Dr. Kunins previously led New York City’s response to its overdose and substance abuse crisis. She concedes they aren’t sure what combination of tools, ultimately, will work best here to not only reduce fentanyl and other drug-related deaths but also boost treatment success rates.

So the street overdose pilot project is part of a broad and ambitious strategy of interventions across city agencies.

“There is no single approach that’s going to solve this complex problem,” Kunins says. “What’s exciting and important about the work is that it is really part of a movement across the country to rethink how we address people who are at risk of overdose, who have ongoing other challenges: mental health, housing, food. And we must do this work to scale.”

Fentanyl forced city officials to change how they approached harm reduction

Capt. Michael Mason, a paramedic, is the fire department’s point person on the new program. As he races to the call for Nicholas’ overdose, he’s simultaneously coordinating with other paramedics.

“So starting directly at the scene of this overdose, we can start trying to direct this guy’s care in the best direction possible,” Mason says.

That direct engagement could include helping to find a shelter bed, reaching out to friends or a doctor, helping with food or, most importantly, seeing if a person wants to start treatment with buprenorphine or suboxone, a medicated-assisted therapy for opioid dependence.

“Get this individual suboxone, stabilize him at the [emergency department], by that afternoon they can be in a treatment program,” Mason says, “All in the context of a 911 incident.”

For many years San Francisco has championed a harm reduction public health approach to lowering drug deaths and injury. The city, known for its relative tolerance of illicit drug use, was a pioneer of clean syringe access, distribution of life-saving naloxone kits, as well as boosting access to the treatment drugs methadone and buprenorphine.

But when fentanyl hit hard here starting a few years ago, the overdose crisis spiraled and the city was forced to rethink its approach. Free Narcan and syringes weren’t enough.

San Francisco Department of Public Health nurses with the city’s new mobile outreach teams say following up with people who’ve recently survived a drug overdose is a key part of the program.

Rachel Bujalski for NPR

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Rachel Bujalski for NPR

“If fentanyl is in the drugs that you’re using, your risk of overdose triples,” Capt. Mason says, adding that the drug is now tainting most every street narcotic here: Meth, cocaine, heroin and fake opioid pills.

The new street response teams bring the clinic to the patients

Pandemic isolation and lockdowns — people using alone with no one to administer life-saving Narcan — only partially explain the historic rise in overdose deaths here.

The drug death rate, in fact, had been trending higher well before that, city medical examiner data show. In mid-2018 the numbers began to skyrocket, reaching 441 deaths in 2019. And in 2020, a whopping 712 people fatally overdosed, more than double the number of people here who died from COVID-19 during that same period.

The vast majority of those deaths – almost three-quarters –involved fentanyl.

The death toll would have been even higher if not for the wide availability of Narcan here. Well over 3,000 people reported using Narcan in the city in 2020, a self-reported figure. Officials say the real figure is probably far higher.

But health and fire department officials here, Mason says, noticed something else important: almost half of all who died of an overdose were treated or revived by a paramedic crew in the days or weeks before their death, a big signal they were headed for repeat trouble.

“Surviving a nonfatal overdose is one of the best predictors of future mortality. Anyone who survives a non-fatal overdose is a huge red flag for us, and that is what this program is about,” he says.

A key goal is trying to bring the clinic to the patients: rapid, face-to-face follow-up outreach on the street.

“We go out, we look for them, we say, ‘Hey, let’s talk about yesterday,'” says city health department nurse practitioner Kevin Lagor, as he drives through the Tenderloin neighborhood, where many of his clients live. He’s a program lead with SORT’s outreach arm.

The goal is to reach back out within 24 to 72 hours of an overdose to try to assist the person with everything from housing to treatment.

“That could be providing medical care to address their mental illness. Maybe they’re out of their meds, or maybe they want to start something to address their substance use disorder,” he says. “Just kind of, basically, meeting them where they are and seeing what they need and how we can help them.”

But to meet them where they are, the nurse teams first have to find them.

It’s a huge challenge. Many of them are homeless, living in tents on the street or in and out of shelters.

The overdose and substance abuse crisis is directly linked to the city’s epic struggles with homelessness and related challenges including mental illness. Almost 30% of all overdose deaths here are among the unhoused or people “with no fixed address.” SORT collaborates closely with the city’s other programs, including street medicine and new mental health and homeless street crisis response units.

Neil, we’re not using his full name because of his illegal drug use, is homeless and living in the city’s Tenderloin district. He says he smokes the powerful opioid fentanyl to deal with depression and chronic stomach pain.

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Rachel Bujalski for NPR

Homeless people living in tents line a side street in the Tenderloin district. More than 40% of all drug overdoses are in the Tenderloin and neighboring SOMA district, according to city data.

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Rachel Bujalski for NPR

City data show that men were almost four-times more likely to die of an accidental overdose than women. And the homeless, older San Franciscans and minority communities were disproportionately affected by the death rate. Almost quarter of all overdose deaths are among Black San Franciscans who make up just under 6% of the city’s population.

More than 40% of all overdose deaths in the last year have been concentrated in two neighborhoods: the South of Market area and the Tenderloin, according to data from the city and county chief medical examiner’s office. Those areas make up just 7% of the city’s population.

While drug deaths hit every sector of society, many who overdosed were found in city-funded hotel rooms for the homeless and in low-income apartment buildings.

“We have to remember that this is a social crisis at the intersection, particularly in San Francisco, of a housing crisis, of a mental health crisis, of people living at the margins of society,” says Dr. Dan Ciccarone, a professor and researcher at University of California, San Francisco.

Open air drug use and dealing in the Tenderloin, an area long challenged by poverty, homelessness and addiction crises, has only worsened during the pandemic. It’s common, day or night, to see people smoking or shooting up opioids or nodding out from drug use.

One 32-year-old man named Neil says he’s been homeless and living on the streets, mainly in the Tenderloin, for three years now. We’re not using his last name because of the stigma of addiction.

He says he uses fentanyl “to take the edge off” off of his depression and chronic stomach pain. He occasionally sells drugs, he says, to get money to support his habit. He soon crushes a small amount of fentanyl into a piece of tinfoil and begins to smoke the drug.

Follow-up work by nurses is full of challenges

On a recent day, nurse Lagor has half a dozen clients listed on his clipboard. He can’t find a single person.

“So we’ll just kind of keep following up with the staff at the shelter,” he says in the lobby of one facility, having been unable to find a client.

The same happens at a makeshift tent encampment behind a local Best Buy.

Outside another shelter, Lagor and his team strike out again trying to find a young man they thought they were making progress with. They’d recently written him a prescription for a supply of buprenorphine.

“He hasn’t been here in a couple of days,” Lagor says, disappointed.

“It is a bad sign. Sometimes folks disappear for a couple days and then resurface,” he says. “Then they disappear, or it just falls apart.”

And when it all falls apart, it can hit Lagor and the rest of his team hard.

“It’s a lot of death and they’re not strangers. You know, we’ve had a couple of deaths this week and we’ve, we shed tears together,” Lagor says. “It’s hard not to care about someone when you’re really trying to help them.”

Addiction and public health experts say these mobile, non-police teams mark a much-needed pivot for the city.

“It’s bold and it’s innovative. I like it,” says Dr. Ciccarone, a professor of medicine at UC San Francisco and a leading expert on drug use, drug users and heroin. “We need to bring in some innovations here because fentanyl is a wild card and it has caught us all by surprise. That’s what we need to do in a crisis situation: Think creatively.”

City public health department nurses Kevin Lagor and Louise Bisby, part of new mobile outreach teams, get supplies out of their SUV to bring to people who have recently survived a drug overdose.

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Rachel Bujalski for NPR

But Dr. Ciccarone cautions that the ravages of fentanyl and its complex stew of related challenges mean the city needs to scale-up this new street overdose response program and continue to try to break down obstacles to treatment that include bureaucratic silos, turf battles and funding woes.

“It’s definitely not enough,” he says. “We have to make sure that harm reduction is adequately funded, that our mental health system, our substance treatment system, our housing systems are adequately funded.”

So far, just two months since the program’s launch, 10% of those encountered by the SORT teams who’ve overdosed are now getting medicated assisted treatment for opioid use disorder. That includes buprenorphine or suboxone in collaboration with city’s street medicine nurses.

“I’m proud of that number,” Capt. Mason says, “and I very much look forward to increasing that.”

To get that number even higher, the fire department has applied to the state EMS agency to allow paramedics to more easily administer and prescribe those treatment drugs directly in the field.

Despite a recent slight drop in monthly fatalities the city looks to end 2021 with more than 700 overdose deaths for the second year in a row. Unfortunately, Dr. Kunins, the city’s director of behavioral health services, says San Francisco is “on track to continue this really tragic loss of life.”

Paramedics on the team look for small victories

Back on the street, another call comes in from the 911 dispatcher for a possible overdose. A middle-aged woman has been found slumped over in a McDonald’s bathroom across town in the Fillmore district.

Capt. Mason’s occasional staccato siren squawks aren’t working on a handful of indifferent drivers and pedestrians in heavy rush-hour traffic. So he hits his fire truck’s lights sirens full bore.

When they arrive, the woman tells the paramedics she has relapsed after several months of sobriety.

The heroin she bought, Mason says, was likely laced with fentanyl. Narcan saved her.

Inside the ambulance, Mason says the woman handed paramedics a crumpled, greasy brown fast-food bag and asks that they get rid of it.

“There were some clean syringes in there and what appeared to be small bags of heroin.”

Paramedic Capt. Michael Mason, of the San Francisco Fire Department, takes a bag of drugs and paraphernalia to a nearby police station for disposal. The drugs were from a woman who’d just overdosed in a nearby fast food restaurant.

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Fire Department Capt. Michael Mason with the city’s Street Overdose Response Team arrives at the scene of a reported drug overdose in downtown San Francisco.

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Rachel Bujalski for NPR

Mason finds out she was already part of a medicated-assisted treatment program using suboxone. He says she told them that she wants to get sober again.

“She was feeling extreme shame from experiencing a relapse,” he says. “Substance use disorder impacts millions of Americans. There’s no shame in having a relapse.”

He hopes she restarts her suboxone treatment quickly.

“As for today,” Mason says, “and as for surrendering those items and requesting they be disposed of, my hat’s off to her.”

The paramedics and nurses involved in this pilot project are dedicated to this difficult work. But all say working across multiple city agencies, treatment centers, health providers and non-profits can be exhausting.

“It’s complicated,” Mason says with a sigh, “it takes work from dozens of folks in a single encounter.”

How does he handle the strain of 12-hour shifts filled racing from overdose to overdose, including to some who seemingly don’t want help and others who don’t survive?

“For my own mental health, I have to kind of remain an optimistic warrior,” he says, driving his fire department pick-up through rush hour traffic. “There’s a quote in the Talmud that says, I won’t get it exactly right, but essentially says, “You don’t have to end this work, but you do have to start it.'”

And the woman who overdosed in the McDonald’s bathroom who wants help again? It’s a small victory.

Maybe.

It’s a start.

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