MetroHealth and the ADAMHS Board Partner to Install NaloxBoxes Throughout County to Reduce Fatal Opioid Overdoses
The MetroHealth System and the ADAMHS Board of Cuyahoga County are partnering to install boxes filled with Naloxone (also known as Narcan) at locations across the county in an effort to reduce fatal opioid overdoses.
The first four NaloxBoxes were installed this week. They eventually will be available at several locations, including some public buildings, hunger centers, homeless shelters, rehabilitation centers and other places. Modeled after AED defibrillators in public buildings, each NaloxBox contains two doses of Naloxone and directions how to deliver the opioid-reversal drug through a nasal spray.
“The opioid epidemic has continued to rage through the COVID pandemic, and in many ways has gotten worse,” said Dr. Joan Papp, director of MetroHealth’s Office of Opioid Safety. “Making Naloxone easily available in the community will save lives. Anyone can turn their life around with treatment but first, they have to survive their overdose.”
“The public is focused on the pandemic, but the Opioid Epidemic has not gone away. In fact, it has been exacerbated by the pandemic and we have seen a drastic increase in overdose deaths as a result,” said Scott S. Osiecki, Chief Executive Officer of the ADAMHS Board. “These deaths are not statistics, these are our family and community members. Having public access to naloxone will help to reduce deaths related to opioid overdose in Cuyahoga County. Lives can be saved through these efforts and as long as people are alive, they have a chance for recovery.”
Workers from MetroHealth’s Office of Opioid Safety filled the boxes with Naloxone and are distributing them beginning Wednesday. Participating locations include the B. Riley Sober House, Bishop Cosgrove Center and Cuyahoga County Medical Examiner’s Office, among others.
The goal is to eventually distribute up to 100 boxes throughout the county. Anyone interested in possibly receiving a NaloxBox in the future should contact Beth Zietlow-DeJesus at (216) 479-3264 or dejesus@adamhscc.org.
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Founded in 1837, MetroHealth is leading the way to a healthier you and a healthier community through service, teaching, discovery, and teamwork. Cuyahoga County’s public, safety-net hospital system, MetroHealth meets people where they are, providing care through five hospitals, four emergency departments and more than 20 health centers. Each day, our nearly 9,000 employees focus on providing our community with equitable healthcare — through patient-focused research, access to care, and support services — that seeks to eradicate health disparities rooted in systematic barriers. For more information, visit metrohealth.org.
