Naloxone kits available from city police, fire
The city of Birmingham Fire and Police Departments have teamed up with The Alliance of Coalitions for Healthy Communities, Oakland Community Health Network and Corewell Health William Beaumont Hospital to provide free Naloxone leave-behind kits to be distributed to opioid overdose victims and their friends and families.
Naloxone is a life-saving medication that can reverse an overdose from opioids.
The departments said the goal of the program is to help prevent future overdoses and connect patients to resources that will empower them to end their dependence on opioids and make recovery possible.
“We are thrilled to launch this important program in our community,” said Birmingham Fire Chief Paul Wells, the program's champion. “We’re grateful to our health and public safety partners for their contribution in making these leave-behind kits a reality. Our job is to save lives and that’s what we’re doing with this program – saving lives.
“The Naloxone leave behind program is not just for individuals with drug addiction,” Wells continued. “Firefighter/paramedics will also offer the kits to those who recently had surgery and have opioids on hand, or may have troubled teens at home and have had problems with drugs and alcohol in the past. The goal is to get Naloxone and help from the CoRe program into as many hands as possible, to see this program grow into other communities, and get these patients into long-term recovery.”
At the conclusion of an overdose emergency visit, first responders will give a kit to the patient, family or friend of the patient.
Corewell Health assembles the kits and provides two doses of Naloxone. Literature, contact numbers and other resources from The Alliance and Oakland Community Health Network are included for the patient’s use to help prevent future emergencies. Also provided is immediate access to the Birmingham Police Department’s Mental Health Co-Responder Program (CoRe). Through the CoRe program, a mental health clinician will arrive on-site or be on call to help the patient after an overdose. Clinicians are involved in emergency follow up and counseling services for overdose patients as well as citizens with mental health needs.
Learn more about the Naloxone leave behind program at bhamgov.org/fire.
