DeKalb County is getting help in its fight against opioid addition.
The Aetna Foundation has donated $15,000 worth of Narcan kits, which will contain 408 doses of the nasal spray.
Narcan is a used to treat emergency cases of an opioid overdose or a suspected overdose and works within minutes.
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The donated Narcan will distributed by the DeKalb County Department of Health to first responders.
“Opioid abuse and overdose is one of the most urgent public health crises facing our community today,” DeKalb County Commissioner Larry Johnson, said in a release. Johnson was part of an opioid summit with Stand Inc. “Narcan saves lives, and we need a ready supply. This donation equips our first responders with an increased supply to prevent fatal opioid overdoses in DeKalb County.”
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Narcan kits contain nasal syringes prefilled with naloxone, which blocks or reverses the effects of opioids.
The Georgia Department of Public Health reports that from 2010 to 2016, the total number of opioid-related overdose deaths statewide increased by 117 percent, from 426 to 929 deaths.
There has been a movement recently for regular citizens to carry Narcan. Police and EMTs routinely carry the anti-overdose drug Narcan to reverse overdoses.
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