The Montgomery County Health Department has begun distributing Narcan and is training residents how to use it in an effort to prevent fatal drug overdoses.
Narcan, a brand name for naloxone, quickly reverses respiratory failure in overdose patients. Agencies are increasingly providing the drug to the public in response to the nationwide heroin epidemic.
Nine people have died of opioid-related causes in Montgomery County this year and there have been 53 overdoses since October, according to the health department. Statewide last year, 1,271 Hoosiers died of drug poisoning, preliminary state data show.
Kits of nasal spray Narcan are available at the health department’s offices on South Boulevard.
Health department staff will show those interested how to properly administer the drug, which can be used before EMTs arrive.
Residents will also receive information and resources on drug abuse prevention, treatment and recovery. A series of public workshops are planned in the coming year.
The health department is a registered naloxone dispenser.
Other certified sites are listed on the state health department’s website at optIN.in.gov.
Those in need of naloxone can request it from a registered entity without a prescription.