Staff from Chester County’s Department of Drug & Alcohol Services and the Health Department gave away nearly 500 doses of naloxone last week, as part of a state-wide Naloxone Giveaway Day for any county residents requesting the drug.
Two distribution sites were set up at the Chester County Government Services Center in West Chester and at the County’s Public Safety Training Campus in South Coatesville. The event was part of the State’s “Stop Overdoses in PA: Get Help Now” campaign to increase awareness of, and access to the lifesaving medication which reverses opioid (prescription painkillers, fentanyl and heroin) overdoses.
Commissioners’ Chair Michelle Kichline joined county staff in handing out the medication. “Last year, Chester County lost 144 lives to accidental drug overdoses, which is devastating,” said Kichline. “We are working together – and will continue to work together – to find real solutions to the opioid epidemic, and access to naloxone is a key part of that. This medication saves lives and helps us to guide someone who is suffering from an opioid use disorder into treatment and recovery. Without it in the hands of many county residents, the number of lives lost could be even greater.”
Chester County remains committed to tackling the opioid and heroin epidemic through intensive prevention, education, treatment and law enforcement measures, and has an established Overdose Prevention Task Force. To learn more about treatment services and other resources in Chester County, or to get involved in the Task Force, go to the Overdose Prevention Task Force website, StopODChesco.org. For more information on opioids, providing community education and additional resources, download the Chester County Department of Drug and Alcohol Services Opioid Epidemic Community Tool Kit, here.
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