Camden County Takes the Next Step to Help Heroin Overdose Victims

Since police in New Jersey began carrying Naloxone/Narcan to save lives by reversing the effects of a heroin overdose, the question has been asked: what do you do with a heroin victim after you save their life?

In fact, first responder Sara Kucharski, of Audubon, was surprised to learn her fellow nurses said they wouldn’t have done as she did when she saved the life of an overdose victim while on her way home last year. Other nurses said the victim would be back on the street doing the same thing the next day.

On Wednesday, the Camden County Freeholder Board announced a new initiative to help overdose victims overcome drug abuse.

The goal of Operation SAL is to initiate a “warm hand off” to outpatient detox followed by intensive outpatient treatment at Delaware Valley Medical in Pennsauken. There they will be treated on an outpatient basis until a bed opens at a facility or they can be managed at the level of care determined by their case manager.

“In 2014 the Freeholder Board moved forward with a proactive new committee made up of law enforcement, community advocates, service providers and members of the health department to combat the heroin epidemic,” Camden County Freeholder Director Louis Cappelli said during a luncheon celebrating police officers that have administered Naloxone to more than 300 individuals preserving their life. “After more than a year of advocating, educating and coordinating we are now introducing a critical program to our community- treatment. This initiative is the first step in an organized effort to pull people away from the deadly grip of opiates and get them back on their feet.”

The program is named after Sal Marchese, who passed away in 2010 as the result of an overdose. Since then, his mother, Gloucester Township resident Patty DiRenzo, has been an advocate for compassionately helping heroin addicts and raising awareness about abuse of the drug.

In 2013, she worked with Gov. Chris Christie to pass the Overdose Prevention Act.

The name is also an acronym for Save A Life.

Cappelli thanked DiRenzo for her work.

“We identified the individual entities who would be on point to make an intervention and provide an alternative to someone who was treated for an overdose,” Cappelli continued. “They were best situated to make a warm hand off to offer detox and treatment services. Furthermore, they are providing transportation in cases that call for it and are a key component to Operation SAL.”

Kennedy Health, Virtua Health System, Cooper University Health Care, and Our Lady of Lourdes Medical Center all are participating in the program. Kennedy Health President and CEO Joseph W. Devine did not hesitate to endorse the new program.

“Kennedy Health, as a premiere leader in Behavioral Health Services in our region, is especially pleased to stand with our fellow area hospitals, along with our county officials, to establish what we believe will be an effective solution for a very challenging issue,” Devine said. “Operation SAL is a great example of working together for a common goal, to ensure that the right help is there when these patients are ready to leave the hospital setting. Ultimately, we believe it will save lives and help people get back on track with the support they need to do so.”

The Camden County Health Department is working with the health care providers now to train staff and Operation SAL should be active in the next month.

The program is being coordinated by the Camden County Addiction Awareness Task Force, who has put a number of educational and preventive initiatives into service after it was commissioned in May of 2014.

Some of those programs include Naloxone training, expanding prescription drop boxes throughout the county and a highly recognizable public service campaign that has been emblazoned on billboards and county vehicles- “HEROIN. PILLS. IT ALL KILLS…what you thought was miles away is right in your backyard.”