In support of President Biden’s Unity Agenda efforts to beat the overdose epidemic, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and the General Services Administration (GSA) announced new guidance recommending that all federal facilities across the nation include overdose reversal medications in their safety stations on site. The recommendation will make life-saving medications like naloxone more readily available in case of an emergency situation.
“Far too many lives are being lost to overdose. Fortunately, we know what it takes to save people. Safety stations save lives,” said HHS Secretary Xavier Becerra. “We must continue to do everything we can to make sure the necessary tools are quickly and easily available so anyone can respond to an emergency situation – anytime, anywhere. It’s about empowering everyone to play a role in saving lives when it counts the most.”
“Saving lives is at the very core of the HHS Overdose Prevention Strategy and that’s why it’s so important for federal facilities to have naloxone and other opioid overdose reversal medications readily available,” said Miriam E. Delphin-Rittmon, Ph.D., HHS Assistant Secretary for Mental Health and Substance Use and the leader of SAMHSA. “Taking this step ensures these lifesaving medications are accessible, and protects the millions of Americans that work in and visit these facilities every year.”
The updated guidelines expand the concept of an automated external defibrillators (AED) program by introducing the “safety station,” which would enable anyone located within a federal facility to access the necessary tools quickly and easily to respond to an emergency situation. Under the new guidance, anywhere that an AED was previously located can and should be converted to a safety station. Each safety station is recommended to include an AED and supporting equipment at a minimum. It is now highly recommended that each station also includes either a bystander-empowered opioid reversal agent or hemorrhagic control component, or both.
Read more at HHS.gov.
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