PREBLE COUNTY — Montgomery County Alcohol, Drug Addiction, and Mental Health Services (ADAMHS) awarded a $2 million federal grant from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration. The four-year award will develop a program that mobilizes first responders and provides wider access to naloxone.
Project Save of Miami Valley will provide overdose prevention, education, and overdose reversal medications to first responders in Montgomery, Darke and Preble Counties.
“Preble County Public Health is looking forward to our partnership with Project Save in our effort to prevent overdoses, provide education, and equip our first responders with medications essential to saving lives in Preble County,” Erik Balster, Preble County Public Health Commission, said. “Similar to our partner counties, overdose related deaths in Preble County, have doubled every year over the past 3 years, with 2017 already exceeding those numbers and on track to surpass that rate.”
Annually, its estimated that Project Save will serve up to 85 law enforcement officers; 400 EMS personnel; 1,920 overdose victims; 67 friends/families of overdose victims; and 800 community members throughout the lifetime of the project, that equates to 340 law enforcement officers; 1,600 EMS personnel; 7,680 overdose victims; 268 friends/families of overdose victims; and 3,200 community members.
Project Save will utilize six main key activities: Equipping law enforcement agencies with naloxone by training on and implementing Centralized Naloxone Repositories; Equipping non-transporting EMS vehicles with naloxone; Equipping EMS departments to furnish naloxone to citizens directly at the scene of an overdose as well as at fire/EMS stations; Outreach services to link individuals to treatment and recovery services after a non-fatal overdose; Prevention and education services that focus on how to have a healthy relationship with prescription medications; Training for healthcare providers on overdose dangers and encouraging them to provide resources to overdose victims and their families.
