PERU – Miami County residents will soon be able to receive free doses of the overdose-reversing drug naloxone, along with training on how to use it, as part of a state initiative to combat the Indiana’s opioid epidemic.
Miami County commissioners Monday unanimously approved a measure to allow the county’s health department to give away doses of the drug to anyone who completes state-certified training on how to use it.
To do that, commissioners gave a green light to the county health department to register as a naloxone entity with the state, which allows the county to distribute the drug and apply to receive free doses from the Indiana State Department of Health, which has a standing order for naloxone.
The proposal was first brought before commissioners last month by Certified Recovery Specialist Bryan Vancamp, who asked them to allow the county health department to become a certified naloxone entity.
Commissioners tabled the vote after expressing concerns about giving out free naloxone to the public.
On Monday, Antonia Sawyer, chair of the Miami County Systems of Care Governance Coalition, attended the meeting to answer commissioner’s questions and provide information on the naloxone program and its role in combating people’s opioid addiction.
“By providing this medication, we are affording these individuals the chance to live another day and attempt to receive treatment,” she said. “ … This is the Band Aid that keeps them alive, but this isn’t the cure. This isn’t going to solve the problem.”
Miami County saw a more than 200 percent increase in opioid and heroin deaths in 2015, when 14 people died from an overdose, compared to six people in 2014, according to data from the state health department.
Sawyer said the goal of the program is to distribute naloxone to anyone who struggles with addiction, while at the same time educating them about resources to help combat their addiction.
State law requires all naloxone entities to provide drug addiction treatment information and referrals to drug treatment programs to everyone who receives a free dose.
She said providing free naloxone would also be beneficial for people legally using pain medication who worry they may accidentally overdose.
Commissioner Josh Francis said he liked the idea that first responders would have access to free naloxone through the program, but said he still had concerns about giving doses to the public.
“If we’re just handing out treatment to addicts, I have concerns,” he said. “ … I have a problem of giving the same person a free dose and then another free dose and another free dose.”
He said another concern stemmed from children who might live with a parent addicted to heroin or opioids that might get into their parents’ drugs and potentially overdose and then revived with naloxone.
“We can’t get a kid out of that house and out of that environment because it’s never going to be reported,” Francis said. “If they have to call 911 to get that help, we’re going to know we need to get that kid out of there.”
Still, he said, that wasn’t a strong enough reason not to approve the program.
Commissioners agreed to implement the program on a one-year trial bases and then assess whether their concerns became a reality. Commissioner Larry West volunteered to help oversee the implementation of the program.
Miami County Nurse Michele Siegfred said her department was ready to take on the training and disbursement of the drug, and said the program went a long way to show residents that county officials were serious about fighting the area’s opioid epidemic.
“This is a good stepping stone,” she said. “We have to start somewhere. This isn’t going to solve everything, but it’s a good first step that shows that we’re trying to fight this.”
Sawyer said she anticipated the program will be up and running by the fall.
The Miami County health department is now the 23rd county health department to become a naloxone entity through the state.