State distributes free naloxone to EMS teams
TRENTON » New Jersey is still fighting the opioid addiction epidemic.
The Garden State “continues to battle the overdose epidemic which is being compounded by the current COVID-19 health emergency,” state Department of Health Commissioner Judy Persichilli said Thursday in a press statement. “New Jersey EMS clinicians have been responding to an increase in overdoses in the state and we want to ensure they have tools they need to care for patients.”
The Gov. Phil Murphy administration on Thursday announced the state is sending 11,352 free doses of the opioid-overdose antidote naloxone to 179 EMS teams throughout New Jersey.
Authorities have previously made naloxone available at no cost to residents, police departments, libraries and homeless shelters, according to Carole Johnson, commissioner of New Jersey’s Department of Human Services.
Now the Murphy administration is going farther by providing naloxone to EMS agencies in an expanded effort to reduce the growing toll of the opiate scourge, Johnson said Thursday in a press statement, adding, “We are committed to making naloxone as readily available as possible to as many people as possible to save as many lives as possible.”
Naloxone reverses overdoses from opioids by blocking the effects of opioids on the brain. The drug is credited with saving countless lives.
New Jersey lost 2,900 residents to fatal drug overdoses in 2018, according to the National Institute on Drug Abuse.
Mercer County had 147 overdose deaths and 583 naloxone administrations in 2018, data show.
Murphy signed a resolution last month designating Aug. 31 of each year as “Overdose Awareness Day” in New Jersey.
“Every New Jerseyan lost to an overdose is a loved one gone too soon,” Murphy said Monday in a tweet. “We’re committed to doing everything we can to #EndOverdose. If you or a loved one is struggling: ReachNJ.gov.”