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URMC to make heroin OD drug, classes available
As the number of deaths from heroin and other opiates remain persistently high, the University of Rochester Medical Center plans to give away overdose reversal kits containing the powerful prescription drug naloxone.
The kits will be offered to participants of a free monthly course aimed at preventing fatal overdoses.
The Opioid Overdose Prevention Program offered by Strong Recovery, a drug addiction treatment center, is slated to run from 5:30 to 6:30 p.m. on the first Tuesday of each month, beginning Sept. 2.
Participants will be taught to spot an overdose and how to react. Naloxone kits will be distributed to participants upon completion of the course. The kits are paid for through state and federal funds, according to the medical center.
Naloxone kits are currently in the hands of law enforcement officers across the state, including police in Rochester and Brighton and the entire University of Rochester security force.
In a written statement announcing the program, the university said it wanted to put naloxone in the hands of family members of opioid abusers.
"Statistics show that when someone overdoses on opioids, he or she is usually not alone," said Patrick Seche, director of Strong Recovery. "And generally, overdose does not cause instant death. So there is time to act."
An abundance of cheap and impure heroin across the Rochester region led to a sharp rise in deadly overdoses last year, mirroring a national trend.
Heroin killed 65 people here in 2013, compared with 29 the previous year and 11 in all of 2011, according to the Monroe County Medical Examiner's Office. Counties reporting heroin-related deaths included Monroe, Livingston, Chemung, Ontario, Orleans, Steuben and Wyoming.
Statistics to date for 2014 have not yet been compiled.
Opiates, like heroin and oxycodone, sedate users and can gradually slow their breathing and pulse until both stop. An injection or nasal spray application of naloxone temporarily restores normal breathing.
Opioid Overdose Prevention Program classes are limited to 30 people per monthly session. Prior registration is required. For more information or to register, call (585) 275-1829.