Opioid Overdose Emergency Kits Distributed in Hastings

 

On January 25, 2024, Linda Fosina, Coalition Coordinator of the Hastings WAY Coalition and Lillian Newman, Director of Community Outreach at St. Vincents Hospital, distributed Overdose Emergency Kits to 4 organizations in Hastings that volunteered to provide the lifesaving drug Narcan to the public: The Village’s Recreation Department, Greenleaf Pharmacy, Hastings Hardware and Visual Difference Hair Design. “I am proud that these businesses and organizations are concerned enough about keeping the Hasting’s community safe that they volunteered to increase access to this life-saving drug” said Linda Fosina.

 

Over 75% of the nearly 107,000 drug overdose deaths that occurred in 2021 involved an opioid. Opioids are a class of drugs that include heroin, Vicodin, oxycodone, morphine and fentanyl. Fentanyl is up to 50x more potent than heroin and 100x more potent than morphine, and is driving the opioid overdose crisis. Naloxone (Narcan) is an easily administered life-saving medication that can reverse an overdose. Anyone can use it, without medical training, to save a life.

 

 

These businesses volunteered to help the Hastings community have greater access to Narcan after attending a training on November 14, 2023 at the James Harmon Community Center sponsored by the WAY Coalition. The trainer, Lillian Newman, taught local business owners, employees, and members of the community to recognize and prevent an overdose. Local business attendees were given the opportunity to sign up for an Overdose Emergency Kit to allow the public greater access to the drug in the event of an overdose emergency.

 

For more information on Narcan Trainings or to request an Overdose Emergency Kit for your local Hastings business, please contact Linda Fosina, LFosina@Hastingsgov.org.

 

 

The W.A.Y. (Working Alliance for Youth) is a federally funded community coalition that works to reduce youth drug and alcohol misuse.