Examining a Stabilization Center for Patients with Alcohol or Opioid Intoxication Transported by Paramedics: A Cohort Study of an Emergency Department Diversion Model

OBJECTIVES: Emergency departments (EDs) face growing strain from increased health-seeking behavior. To preserve finite ED resources, a non-medical stabilization center (SC) was implemented in Toronto, Canada as an alternative destination to receive paramedic-transported patients with suspected acute alcohol or opioid intoxication who would otherwise have been taken to an ED. These patients typically require observation and recovery rather than …