Get to know Sam Elliott

Bloomberg Fellow Sam Elliott’s journey into substance use and overdose prevention care began long before her professional career. Growing up in a family where substance use was prevalent, she saw the impact of these issues firsthand. Those early experiences and her work as a paramedic shaped her commitment to harm reduction and public health.

Now based in Minneapolis, Minnesota, Elliott works as an Educator and Quality Specialist with North Memorial Health’s Community Paramedic Program, where her work centers on education, data management, and quality improvement, ensuring that paramedics are equipped to provide the proper care to vulnerable populations, including individuals with substance use disorder.

Throughout her career, Elliott has witnessed the devastating impact of the overdose crisis. As a first responder, she regularly encountered individuals struggling with addiction, including fellow paramedics who used substances to cope with the pressures of their work. One moment that reinforced the reach of addiction occurred early one Sunday morning when she administered Narcan to an unresponsive individual. “When he regained consciousness shortly thereafter, he refused transport to the local hospital, stating he was a local pastor and needed to deliver his sermon to his church in a few hours,” Elliott recalled. This experience underscored for her that addiction does not discriminate—it affects people from all walks of life.

Elliott has played a crucial role in expanding harm reduction efforts within her organization. She has helped her team secure grants to distribute Narcan kits and fentanyl testing strips and partnered with local organizations to connect people with peer recovery specialists. However, implementing harm reduction strategies has not been without challenges. Some of her colleagues initially resisted, believing that such measures enabled continued substance use. Elliott and her team addressed these concerns by integrating harm reduction education into their training programs and highlighting small but meaningful successes. “We challenged the belief that abstinence is the ultimate goal and only way to help those with substance use and instead prioritized how to keep people safe, even if they choose to use substances,” she explained.

As a Bloomberg Fellow, Elliott has found a network of like-minded professionals committed to public health and harm reduction. Looking ahead, she envisions a future in which addiction medicine and community health are more integrated, ensuring that people facing substance use challenges receive compassionate, evidence-based care.