Wabash County has received its doses of Naloxone from the Indiana State Department of Health, and an outside source played a large role in obtaining the opioid antidote on behalf of the county.
Four County Counseling System of Care (SOC) coordinator Antonia Sawyer became aware of a program that supplies communities with Naloxone through the Howard County Health Department.
Sawyer, Brian Van Camp from the SOC and Michelle Siegfred from the Miami County Health Department then collaborated to write a grant proposal. But first, they would have to get the support of the Miami County Commissioners.
In June, the Miami County Commissioners denied their request to apply for the grant, stating they needed more data.
So Sawyer and her team spent the rest of June doing so, and also received letters of support from Miami County Prosecuting Attorney Bruce Embrey, Peru Mayor Gabriel Greer and Peru Chief of Police Mike Meeks.
This time, they received a unanimous yes vote from the commissioners to apply for the grant.
Wabash County Public Health Nurse Lori Foust saw what was happening in Miami County and reached out to Sawyer for help in receiving Naloxone for Wabash County.
Wabash County Commissioners were supportive from the get-go, and after making it through the application process, Wabash County now has 250 doses of the potentially life-saving medication.
It’s needed because Wabash County had 19 overdose deaths from 2012 to 1015, and also had 25 non-fatal visits to emergency rooms for overdoses in 2015, ranking Wabash County in the top 30 per capita among Indiana’s 92 counties, according to ISDH data.
“Lori asked for me to come and give support, but she didn’t need it,” Sawyer said. “Wabash County Commissioners were amazing. The Wabash Community didn’t question it one bit, which was awesome.
“What Miami County was able to do was be a model for Wabash County,” Sawyer added. “We were able to answer a lot of questions and get everyone used to the idea. I think that really assisted Lori. Howard County was our model and then we were able to be a model for Wabash.”
Sawyer is credited with spearheading this movement. She says it’s extremely important to her that everyone within a community has an opportunity to assist in the opioid epidemic, be empowered and gain the education and knowledge they need to be able to appropriately respond to emergency situations.
“This can take some of the burden off of first-responding agencies,” Sawyer said. “Right now they’re the only ones able to assist in an overdose, because they’re the only ones with Naloxone. This allows us to assist them as much as possible.”
A standing order from the state health department allows the public to purchase Naloxone without a prescription, which is available at certain pharmacies and now the local health department.
Sawyer hopes the Naloxone is able to save lives of residents in Wabash County.
“It’s a wonderful medication that’s harmless, easy to use and can bring an overdose victim back to life,” she said. “The opioid epidemic isn’t going anywhere soon.”
The Wabash County Health Department is expected to host training seminars for anyone interested in learning how to administer Naloxone at a later date.