Seeing the exciting things the Tribal Opioid Response program did to increase access to Narcan, Prevention Specialist, Frances Gates, and Bison Resiliency Coalition Program Director, Brandy Tenas, at Salish Kootenai College wanted to do something similar at the college. Last year, Kathy Ross, the director of the Tribal Opioid Response program under Tribal Health, met with Tenas to collaborate and discuss ways to get more Narcan out into the community.
With the belief that public access to the opioid overdose reversal medication naloxone is one way to curb overdose deaths in Lake County; Ross, Tenas, and Gates went to work identifying ideal locations to distribute naloxone, also known as Narcan, to the community and the college. Providing Narcan is a harm reduction tool and harm reduction is a nonjudgmental approach where addicts aren’t shamed for their addiction.
The Tribal Opioid Response program also purchased five weatherproof boxes to mount on poles in different places. These boxes will be placed in outdoor locations without the medication being exposed to extreme temperatures in the near future.
Read more at CharKoosta.com.
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