Madison County Launches Program To Address Opioid Overdoses

The Madison County Health Department and the Madison County Council on Alcoholism and Substance Abuse (BRIDGES) are launching a new program to address opioid overdoses.

The new program will increase community access to naloxone by making wall-mounted boxes containing Narcan available to community agencies and local businesses.

Partner agencies plan to distribute the boxes across the community through targeted outreach and facility requests.

They will begin by placing them at the Madison County office buildings, with approval from the Board of Supervisors.

Naloxone, known as Narcan, is a medication designed to reverse an opioid overdose in minutes.

Similar to an AED machine, wall-mounted boxes of Narcan serve as an emergency response for a person experiencing an overdose where they are until medical help arrives.

The New York State Good Samaritan Law allows people to call 911 without fear of arrest in the event of an overdose.

The boxes are easily installed on a wall and training and Narcan will be provided free to the organization by BRIDGES.

Any agency or business that is interested in applying for a Narcan emergency box,can fill out the online form.

The latest data available in Madison County shows the number of opioid-related deaths increased to 10 in 2020.

“The opioid overdose epidemic is a multi-layered problem across the Country. We here in Madison County are committed to reducing opioid-related deaths in our community through our network of partner organizations,” said Eric Faisst, Public Health Director for Madison County.

Nationally, more than 107,000 Americans died this past year due to an opioid overdose