100 Lives Saved from Opioid Overdose in Lake County

LAKE COUNTY, IL - Lake County authorities have used Naloxone to save 100 lives from opioid overdose since December 2014, authorities announced this past week.

The 100th save took place on Aug. 7. The Lake County Sheriff’s Office has saved 21 of those lives using Naloxone with the most-recent save occurring on Aug. 2, according to a Lake COunty Sheriff’s Office press release.

“(A hundred) saves is an amazing accomplishment, and I couldn’t be more proud of the law-enforcement approach throughout Lake County,” said Lake County Sheriff Mark Curan in a press release this past week. “Because of the Lake County Naloxone program, many people have been given another chance at life, and we must work together, as a community, to capitalize on their second chance.”

Besides utilizing Naloxone, an opioid reversal drug, the sheriff’s office is implementing programs aimed at drug abuse prevention and recidivism reduction, according to the news release.

“We must continue making the heroin epidemic a community issue and continue having a community approach toward this poison,” Lake County Undersheriff Ray Rose said in a news release.

The Lake County Sheriff’s Office is a member of the Lake County Opioid Initiative, a countywide coalition working to prevent opioid use, abuse, misuse, addiction, overdose, and death.

Source: Lake County Sheriff’s Office press release