Tag Archive for: #opioidcrisis

Warren Co. Memorial Library

Naloxone, Other Opioid Reversal Medications Available In Vending Machine Outside Warren County Memorial Library

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It looks like a newspaper box, but the contents of this special vending machine outside the Warren County Memorial Library are life-saving resources to reverse opioid overdoses.

The Warren County Health Department joined the library and other local partners at a ribbon cutting on May 29 to announce the placement of the Naloxone vending machine outside the library.

It’s available 24 hours a day and includes an instructional video as well as risk-reduction supplies such as Naloxone, fentanyl/xylazine testing strips, medication lockboxes and more. Naloxone, also known as Narcan, is the opioid overdose reversal medication that has proven results saving the lives of individuals who have overdosed from opioid drugs, according to information from Warren County officials.

Guest speakers included Warren County Health Director Dr. Margaret Brake, Library Director Tanika Alston and Emergency Services Director Chris Tucker.

In her remarks, Alston stated, “We are excited to be part of this initiative aimed at preventing overdose deaths and creating a healthier community for everyone.”

The health department’s Health Educator Brittley Harris highlighted the supplies displayed in vending machine and described their use.

Supporting partners participating in the ceremony included representatives from Warren County Government, Emergency Medical Services, Sheriff’s Office, Detention Center, Parks & Recreation, Trillium Health Resources and Wilson County Substance Prevention Coalition.

In addition, the Health Department also provides the ONEbox™ emergency overdose reversal kits containing two doses of the opioid reversal medication, Naloxone, to local organizations, businesses, churches and county government offices. This will enable anyone in those places to administer naloxone quickly and safely to a person overdosing in an effort to save their life. If your business, church or organization is interested in receiving the ONEbox™, please call 252. 257.6017.

Health Department staff also provide training on how to use the kit.

ONEbox™ (Opioid Naloxone Emergency Box) is a self-contained, video-enabled opioid overdose reversal kit intended to contain two doses of the opioid reversal medication Naloxone, along with personal protective equipment and video instruction (in English and Spanish) that are activated when ONEbox™ is opened. ONEbox™ was invented by West Virginia native and entrepreneur Joe Murphy, who created the box after seeing the devastation the opioid crisis caused in his hometown community in Huntington, West Virginia.

Both the free vending machine supplies and the ONEbox™ are available to the community thanks to a grant partnership with Wilson County Substance Prevention Coalition.

Brake said, “We are pleased that our local partners support Naloxone training and access for populations most at-risk for overdose. We also recognize the importance of having access to the right tools at the right time to help in preventing an overdose. Awareness has never been more critical.”

Tucker noted that, “anyone is susceptible to overdose, not just those individuals experiencing addiction to drugs. Deaths from overdose are preventable through the timely administration of Naloxone/Narcan and appropriate response to overdose situations.”

Anyone interested in receiving free training on Overdose Prevention, Naloxone/Narcan administration and Hands-Only CPR can attend a two-hour training on Tuesday, June 24 at the Warren County Emergency Services Building. Please contact Chris Tucker 252.257.1191 or Rhonda Mushaw 252.257.6012 for more information and to register. Naloxone/Narcan will be available to those individuals who participate in the training.

North Carolina Reports 22% Increase In Overdose Deaths

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NCDHHS Continues Fight Against Overdose Epidemic

With overdose deaths in 2021 increasing 22%, the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services continues to extend mobile crisis care, treatment programs and other efforts to improve behavioral health services across the state.

— press release courtesy of NCDHHS

RALEIGH – With overdose deaths in 2021 increasing 22%, the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services continues to extend mobile crisis care, treatment programs and other efforts to improve behavioral health services across the state. The 2021 statistics show this is more critical than ever, as 4,041 people in North Carolina lost their lives to overdose. This is the highest number of overdose deaths in a single year on record in the state.

“North Carolina’s communities and families are meeting the tragedy of overdose deaths and the opioid crisis head on, every day,” said NCDHHS Secretary Kody H. Kinsley. “With the right treatment and support, recovery is possible, and individuals can go on to live full and productive lives. Our goal is to break the costly cycle of addiction and the smartest investment we can make to do that is expanding Medicaid.”

Reaching people before they are in crisis is critical to behavioral health. NCDHHS has expanded mobile crisis services, increased peer supports and collegiate recovery programs — all to get people the care they need at the right time and place. NCDHHS also launched the 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline, which offers 24/7 access to trained crisis counselors who can help people experiencing behavioral health-related distress. Since the launch of the easy-to-remember number in July, the NC Suicide and Crisis Lifeline call center has seen an 85% increase in callers identifying “substance use” as their primary reason for calling 988.

The rise in overdose deaths in recent years is driven by illegally manufactured fentanyl. In 2021, more than 77% of overdose deaths in the state likely involved fentanyl, often in combination with other substances. In response, NCDHHS is expanding access to treatment and prevention. Our efforts include the distribution of more than 719,000 units of naloxone to agencies across the state to assist in overdose response efforts. Additionally, the department is working to increase access to medication assisted treatment by changing regulations so mobile medication units can provide methadone and other FDA-approved medications for the treatment of opioid use disorders in North Carolina. The department will also be working with EMS agencies in eight counties to allow them to offer buprenorphine as a medication to treat people who have an opioid use disorder.

NCDHHS continues to implement the North Carolina Opioid and Substance Use Action Plan to prevent addiction, reduce harm, connect people to care and increase access to supportive services, such as housing and employment support. Progress is monitored on a data dashboard that tracks many local actions and state, regional and county-level metrics. Since launching this plan, the number of people receiving prescribed opioids has decreased by at least 36%. The number of people who don’t have insurance or have Medicaid receiving opioid use disorder treatment has increased by 48%. In 2021, there were nearly 17,000 emergency department visits related to drug overdoses.

The impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic exacerbated this crisis. Overdose deaths have increased 72% since 2019, with a 40% jump in 2020 during the first year of the pandemic. The number of people who have died from overdose has also worsened in some historically marginalized communities. The overall number of overdose deaths is still highest among non-Hispanic white people; however, when measured as a portion of population, American Indian/Indigenous people have the highest overdose death rate. The percentage by which overdose death rates increased from 2019 rates to 2021 rates was highest among Black/African American people with a 139% increase in their overdose death rate.

Overdose Death Rates by Year and Race, Increase from 2019 to 2021:

The 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline is available to assist those who need confidential emotional support, counseling referrals or connection to community resources. You can call or text 988 or go to 988lifeline.org.

Cardinal Innovations Healthcare

Narcan Kits Distributed in Vance Co. to Help Battle Opioid Crisis

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By: Kelly Bondurant, Freelance Writer/Editor for Hire

Earlier this week, community members and leaders gathered at the H. Leslie Perry Memorial Library in Henderson for a Town Hall meeting and to assemble Narcan kits, the treatment used to counteract a life-threatening opioid overdose.

A total of 700 kits, including a dose of the Narcan intranasal spray, were distributed to first responders, health departments, schools and interested community members in Vance and surrounding counties.

According to Elliot Clark, senior community executive with Cardinal Innovations Healthcare, the organization is “helping to distribute Narcan kits and get people resources to be able to literally help save lives and encourage people to enter into treatment for opioid dependence.”

Narcan, the only FDA-approved nasal form of naloxone, has been used to combat opioid overdoses, such as from heroin, for decades; however, it was previously available primarily through first responders. With the recent opioid crisis that has swept the nation, and proven especially hard-hitting in Vance County, the availability of the spray is becoming more wide-spread.

“Plenty of law enforcement agents are now carrying Narcan kits in their patrol cars,” said Clark. “They no longer have to wait for EMS to arrive in order to save a life.”

In addition to widely-distributing Narcan to prevent death from an opioid overdose, the local community is also ramping up efforts to promote prevention.

“It’s a community effort – not just one organization, not just first responders, or behavioral health professionals or schools; it’s all of us,” Clark said. “Education and awareness need to be at the forefront.”

According to Clark, County government is taking a very active role in addressing the health crisis. Multiple agencies have previously held, and continue to hold, community forums to discuss the crisis and educate the local area.

Initiatives such as Granville-Vance Public Health’s Project VIBRANT are focused on the opioid epidemic, specifically around the administration of Narcan. The Stepping Up Initiative that involves local law enforcement agents is also addressing the crisis.

“Prevention is hugely important and traditional methods of prevention need to revisited,” said Clark. “We need to start looking at prevention as a holistic health model and make it part of a conversation where even kids are comfortable talking about their mental health and how they are feeling.”

Cardinal Innovations is available by phone 24/7 for crisis support and treatment options. Those facing a crisis situation may call 1-800-939-5911 to speak with a licensed clinician.

(Cardinal Innovations Healthcare is an advertising client of WIZS Radio.)