Anti-overdose drug stations installed in public housing in Pawtucket
PAWTUCKET – The Pawtucket Housing Authority will be the first public housing authority in the state to install “NaloxBoxes” in all of its developments and properties, to provide emergency assistance to a person who may have suffered from an overdose.
“NaloxBoxes” include Naloxone – a medicine that can treat, block, and reverse the effects of a narcotic overdose in an emergency – as well as a mask that can allow a person to provide CPR rescue breaths until emergency aid arrives. The boxes are viewed similarly to automated external defibrillators for people having heart attacks or fire extinguishers to put out flames.
The impending installation of the boxes comes in the wake of a nationwide opioid crisis, an epidemic that has gripped the state and Blackstone Valley in recent years. Boxes will be installed at each of the Housing Authority’s properties, which includes Galego Court on Leonard Jenard Drive, Prospect Heights on Prospect Street, Kennedy Manor on Broad Street, St. Germain Manor on Mineral Spring Avenue, Fogarty Manor on Roosevelt Avenue, and Burns Manor on Park Street.
Rhode Island Department of Health spokesman Joseph Wendelken said the department is “very happy to see that Naloxone is getting out into the community.”
“This is an issue that’s affecting every city and town in the state, this is a method to have it out and visible through the community,” he said.
“We absolutely want education there and accessible if someone is having a health emergency. If someone is overdosing in a public space, medicine there could mean life or death for someone.”
The “NaloxBox” will store the Naloxone and mask in public, highly-visible spaces inside the properties, allowing even bystanders to provide assistance in an emergency. Additionally, training was provided for a dozen staff members and on-site training has been scheduled for all property residents.
Wendelken explained that the intranasal form of Naloxone, which is featured inside the NaloxBoxes is “very easy to use,” but if anyone is interested in learning on how to properly administer the life-saving drug, there are tutorial videos online.
According to the Associated Press, NaloxBoxes were constructed and designed earlier this year by faculty members at Brown University’s medical school and professors and students from Rhode Island School of Design. They were first installed in June at Providence’s Amos House, which offers recovery services and shelter to people suffering from addiction. The boxes were built and designed using grant money from RIDOH, Wendelken said.
Pawtucket housing officials in a statement on Thursday said: “The PHA is dedicated to the safety of our residents and we are pleased to be a leader in taking these measures to possibly preserve lives.”