For kit, training
Those interested in obtaining a naloxone kit and training should contact the Westmoreland Drug and Alcohol Commission at 724-684-9000.
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Updated 44 minutes ago
Patients at Excela Health's three hospitals who have overdosed on opioids or are at risk of an overdose will go home with a naloxone kit that could save their lives, officials said.
“We're seeing them after they've overdosed … but we also identify patients who are under our care who are at high risk,” said Denise Addis, director of value-based quality for the health system.
The program started this week at Westmoreland, Frick and Latrobe hospitals in response to the deadly opioid epidemic that claims hundreds of lives annually in the region.
Between 2012 and 2015, 377 people in Westmoreland County died of overdoses, according to county coroner statistics. In 2016, 151 fatal overdoses have been confirmed and 21 suspected cases are under investigation. Another 15 deaths in January are being investigated as overdoses.
The Westmoreland Drug and Alcohol Commission provided Excela with 73 kits, each containing a dose of naloxone, a drug that counteracts the effects of an opioid overdose, instructions on how to use it and information about treatment options. The commission will replenish the supply of kits as needed, said Elizabeth Comer, director of clinical and case management services.
“It's something we're committed to continuing to do,” she said.
The kits will be offered to family members or friends of patients age 12 and older who are treated for an overdose or are identified by staff members or doctors as being at risk for an overdose when they were in an emergency room, crisis center or inpatient acute care unit for any reason. Children under 12 will be evaluated on a case-by-case basis with a doctor's input.
The drug and alcohol commission already works with Excela Health through its mobile case manager program, which connects survivors of an overdose or at-risk drug users to treatment facilities.
Mobile case managers from Southwestern Pennsylvania Human Services will hand out the kits and show a family member or friend a training video before they leave the hospital. Nurses have been trained to step in when needed, Addis said.
“They're for patients under our care. We are not a … drug store,” Addis said, stressing that nonpatients who want a naloxone kit should contact the commission. “We are not a distribution site.”
The partnership has benefitted both Excela Health and the commission, Comer said. Providing at-risk patients with a kit while they are still at the hospital is important, rather than depending on patients to get the overdose antidote after they are discharged and are not in a treatment facility, Comer said.
“We recognize that there are people presenting due to an overdose at all hours of the day or night,” she said. “There always is that potential for relapse and use.”
Renatta Signorini is a Tribune-Review staff writer. Reach her at 724-837-5374 or rsignorini@tribweb.com.
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