First responders across all of Pennsylvania's 67 counties can now put in their applications for the naloxone kits being made available through $5 million in state's 2017-18 budget, officials recently announced.
Pennsylvania's department of health, department of drug and alcohol programs and the Pennsylvania Commission on Crime and Delinquency are working to provide 60,000 of the opioid overdose reversal kits to medical professionals during a two-year span. Radnor's Adapt Pharma will supply the kits, which have two, 4-milligram doses within them.
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“Getting first responders enhanced access to naloxone saves lives and gives those suffering from the disease of addiction a second chance,” Acting Health Secretary and Physician General Dr. Rachel Levine said in a news release Thursday. “This opportunity gives heroes in the commonwealth the support they need to better fight the opioid epidemic. Reversing overdoses and then getting people into treatment is the key to curbing addiction and overdose rates.”
State officials will determine how many kits are allotted to each county based on a number of factors, including population and how many opioid-related deaths have occured in the region.
In Pennsylvania, there were more than 4,600 drug-related deaths in 2016, approximately 13 deaths per day, according to the Drug Enforcement Administration. Philadelphia had 907 overdose deaths during that time.
“The availability of naloxone is a crucial component in the first step toward the road to recovery,” Acting Secretary for the Department of Drug and Alcohol Programs Jennifer Smith said in a statement. “The need for naloxone does not stop at first responders and law enforcement. There is a need to permeate this overdose reversal drug in all aspects of our communities including college campuses, libraries, gas stations, and community parks.”
The kits should be available as early as November.