First supervised injection site OK’d

The first supervised injection site in the Bay State could be coming to Worcester after a local board backed opening a facility in the city.

The Worcester Board of Health has unanimously voted to OK an overdose prevention center pilot program. Local health officials and doctors have been pushing for supervised injection sites, saying the facilities would help reduce opioid overdose deaths as drug fatalities continue to remain elevated amid the unrelenting opioid epidemic.

Overdose prevention centers, which have operated for decades in other countries like Canada and Australia, are sites where people can use drugs under the supervision of trained staff — who can administer overdose reversal medication, also known as Narcan. No overdose death has ever been reported at a sanctioned overdose prevention center.

The Massachusetts Medical Society praised the Worcester Board of Health yesterday for its vote to authorize an overdose prevention center pilot program.

The facilities are “a proven public health tool that will save the lives of those impacted by opioid use disorder, as well as increase access to health care services and facilitate pathways for treatment and recovery,” said Massachusetts Medical Society president Barbara Spivak.

Seventy percent of Massachusetts voters support passing state legislation to allow cities and towns to establish overdose prevention centers, according to a poll released last year.

The Worcester Board of Health vote on Monday was to support piloting an overdose prevention center, with state Department of Public Health approval.

“Ultimately, it’ll be up to the State to permit to pilot a site in Worcester. And DPH is in favor!” posted Worcester City Councilor Etel Haxhiaj.

This comes as DPH reported that more than 2,300 overdose deaths occurred in the state during a recent one-year span.