Health department distributes OD kits to area responders

The Putnam County Health Department has received a supply of overdose rescue kits from the Indiana State Department of Health (ISDH) in an effort to help prevent fatal opioid overdoses.

The kits contain naloxone hydrochloride, a non-narcotic medication that reverses the life-threatening respiratory failure that is usually the cause of overdose deaths. Naloxone is also known by the trade name Narcan.

The PCHD has partnered with law enforcement and fire department agencies in the county to supply their staff with the naloxone kits. The initial shipment of kits went to the Putnam County Sheriff’s Department and Bainbridge Police Department back in June.

With additional kits being shipped by the ISDH in August, the Health Department was able to partner with Deputy Jeffery Freeman of the sheriff’s department. Through Freeman’s commitment and dedication to public safety, he contacted additional police departments and all fire departments in the county and distributed the August shipment of kits. He also performed the required training on location to the organization’s representative.

Due to Freeman’s offer to personally take on the task of contacting and meeting with each of the additional 18 agencies on site, the kits provided by the state are now distributed all across the county and can be ready to assists the general public in the event of an emergency.

ISDH data show that in 2017, 1,852 Hoosiers died of drug poisoning, while nearly 8,200 people visited Indiana emergency departments due to nonfatal opioid overdoses.

Naloxone is approved by the Food and Drug Administration and has been used for more than 40 years by emergency medical services personnel to reverse opioid overdose and revive people who might have died without treatment. It is not addictive, and although it is only effective at reversing overdoses of opioid drugs like heroin or prescription painkillers, it is not harmful if administered to someone who has not taken opioids. 

For information on treatment for substance use disorder, visit the Indiana Family and Social Services Administration’s Division of Mental Health and Addiction website at www.in.gov/fssa/addiction/ or www.optIN.in.gov, which lists entities that carry naloxone.

Individuals in need of naloxone can request it from a registered entity using a statewide standing order signed by State Health Commissioner Kristina Box. Individuals do not need to obtain a prescription from a private healthcare provider as long as they are requesting naloxone from an entity registered at www.optIN.in.gov.

While the PCHD is listed on the website as a place of distribution, there are no kits available to the public at this location. The public can reach out to other entities listed on the website for kits.

All of the kits supplied by the 2019 grant went to law enforcement and fire departments in Putnam County.