OCCMHA Reports on Lives Saved with Naloxone

Every day across the country, hundreds of people who overdose on opioids are being revived with naloxone. Along with its local law enforcement partners, Oakland County Community Mental Health Authority (OCCMHA) has been tracking naloxone "reversals" for more than a year. More than 70 lives have been saved locally with this celebrated antidote that is changing the landscape on the opiate epidemic.

Both rural and urban communities are heavily impacted by the current opiate epidemic. More people died from drug overdoses in 2014 than in any year on record. There were approximately one and a half times more drug overdose deaths in the United States than deaths from motor vehicle crashes. The majority of drug overdose deaths (more than six out of ten) involve an opioid. From 2000 to 2014, nearly half a million people died from drug overdoses. Opioid drug overdoses claim more than 78 American lives daily, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

Law enforcement officers are often the first responders on an overdose scene. OCCMHA’s Law Enforcement Responds with Naloxone (LERN) Program gives officers the support they need to prepare for these medical emergencies safely and effectively. The LERN Program provides law enforcement agencies with important information about the lifesaving drug Naloxone. Well over half of the police departments in Oakland County have participated in the LERN Program, equipping more than 450 officers with naloxone.

Naloxone, also known by the trade name, Narcan, has been around for decades, most often injected with needles by paramedics and emergency room doctors. Once developed as a nasal spray, it became more widely used, making it easy for just about anyone to administer. The CDC reports that the use of naloxone kits by laypeople reversed as many as 26,463 overdoses between 1996 and June 2014.

“Beyond Naloxone, people need more than an overdose remedy. They need help to quit using substances for good,” Christina Nicholas, OCCMHA administrator of Substance Use Services. “Following a “save,” officers provide an information card connecting people to mental health and substance use services through OCCMHA.”

Expansion plans for the LERN program are a high priority for OCCMHA. Ensuring all Oakland County law enforcement agencies are on board with Naloxone training and equipped with kits are the next steps to enhance overdose prevention, recognition, and response in our communities.

Law enforcement interested in LERN training, please contact Suzanne Weinert at weinerts@occmha.org.

About OCCMHA

Oakland County Community Mental Health Authority is the public mental health system responsible for identifying, influencing, and delivering services and supports to approximately 25,000 Oakland County residents, including individuals with intellectual/developmental disabilities, adults with mental illness, children with serious emotional disturbance, and persons with substance use disorders. Most of these individuals have Medicaid.

OCCMHA’s current network of service providers include: Common Ground, Community Housing Network, Community Living Services, Community Network Services, Easter Seals Michigan, Macomb-Oakland Regional Center, Oakland Family Services, Inc., and Training and Treatment Innovations. A complete list of substance use service providers is available on OCCMHA’s website. For more information about OCCMHA call (800) 341-2003 or visit www.occmha.org.