INDIANAPOLIS -- More than 3,000 overdose reversal kits will go to first responders serving 34 rural Indiana counties because of a large grant awarded to the state health department.
The Indiana State Department of Health awarded $127,000 grants to 95 agencies for the purchase of kits and training to prevent fatal overdoses. The grants were made possible through a four-year, $3.2 million Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration grant awarded to ISDH in October 2017.
- Provide 3,388 naloxone kits to first responders for emergency treatment of known or suspected opioid overdoses in rural communities;
- Train first responders on carrying and administering naloxone; and
- Expand referrals to appropriate treatment and recovery communities.
“This rural grant funding is putting naloxone into the hands of first responders who are working on the front lines of the opioid epidemic,” said Katie Hokanson, director of the ISDH Division of Trauma and Injury Prevention, which awarded the grants. “Some rural residents may be several miles from a healthcare provider, so supplying those first responders with naloxone can save lives during those time-sensitive situations when seconds count.”
The grants were awarded to rural counties with higher emergency room visits for overdoses, a greater number opioid prescriptions and a lower reported use of naloxone by first responders.
Agencies receiving grants serve Adams, Cass, Clinton, Crawford, Decatur, DeKalb, Dubois, Fayette, Grant, Greene, Henry, Huntington, Jackson, Jay, Jefferson, Jennings, Kosciusko, LaGrange, Lawrence, Marshall, Miami, Montgomery, Noble, Parke, Pike, Pulaski, Randolph, Rush, Starke, Steuben, Tipton, Wabash, Wayne and Union counties.
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