Program launches on Overdose Awareness Day
The Hamilton County Council on Alcohol and Other Drugs (HCCOAOD) and the Hamilton County Health Department (HCHD) have partnered to make Opioid Overdose Boxes available to Hamilton County businesses. Hamilton County is the first county in the state to do so.
Schwartz
Greer
“The public would be surprised to learn just how many overdoses happen in restaurants and hotels,” HCCOAOD Executive Director Monica Greer said. “There’s very little time when someone overdoses to save them, so if we can treat them before emergency responders arrive it could literally mean the difference between life and death.”
Hamilton County Councilman Steve Schwartz, owner of Schwartz’s Bait & Tackle, was the first business owner to sign on to the program.
“I work a lot with the county coroner and have witnessed first-hand the devastation drug overdoses create,” Schwartz said. “If this project saves just one life it will be worth the effort.”
Each overdose box contains gloves and two doses of NARCAN®, a nasal spray used to treat opioid overdoses. The HCCDA is providing the boxes to businesses free of charge and will even replenish the NARCAN as it is used or expires. The program is funded by a grant from the Indiana Division of Mental Health and Addiction.
The manager of a local convenience store who recently witnessed an overdose in the public bathroom said, “Having the emergency equipment to help an individual here in the store would be an awesome thing.”
Businesses who are interested in securing an Opioid Overdose Box must first complete a NARCAN class with the Hamilton County Health Department. The course teaches participants how to recognize an overdose and how to correctly administer NARCAN.
Ginder
“We want to be proactive with our programs instead of reactive,” HCHD Health Education Specialist Jim Ginder said. “If someone needs services, perhaps we can reach that person before an overdose happens.”
For more information about the Opioid Overdose Boxes, businesses can contact Monica Greer at monica.greer@hamiltoncounty.in.gov.