2,000 Lives Saved in Pennsylvania by Anti-Opioid Naloxone, Officials Say

More than 2,000 opioid overdoses in Pennsylvania have been reversed by naloxone since November of 2014, Governor Wolf announced during a press conference on Wednesday. Naloxone, also known as narcan, is a drug now widely carried by law enforcement organizations around the state and the nation.

Wolf said that there were more than 3,500 drug overdoses in Pennsylvania in 2015. Opioid overdoses have been on the increase everywhere in recent months and years.

"It is critical to have naloxone in the hands of our police and first responders who may be first on the scene of an overdose,” Wolf said. “We owe law enforcement agencies a great debt of gratitude for doing their part in battling this public health crisis.”

In 2015, Wolf announced that every state police patrol car would be equipped with two doses of naloxone, thanks to a donation from Aetna, Geisinger Health, Health Partner Plans, and Highmark. Hundreds of departments around the state have followed suit. At present,there are 574 municipal police departments carrying naloxone and an additional 87 departments which plan to carry the drug soon.

>>Montgomery County overdoses are up 138 percent from last year

“With heroin on the street becoming more potent, Naloxone is a valuable tool for law enforcement and other first responders in the battle against the opioid epidemic in the communities we serve,” said Pennsylvania State Police Commissioner, Colonel Tyree C. Blocker, in a statement.

A Prescription Drug Monitoring Program was launched by Wolf's office earlier in the year. Officials hope this will help them to identify patients struggling with addictions.

Patch file photo.