A distribution box for free naloxone, which can prevent opioid overdose death, has been placed in the pharmacy lobby at Vanderbilt Health One Hundred Oaks (OHO).
The box, similar to a sidewalk newspaper box, is funded by the Firefly program at Vanderbilt University Medical Center. The VUMC Firefly program, which treats pregnant and postpartum women with substance use disorder and their families, has grant funding to provide free naloxone to patients for the purposes of opioid overdose prevention.
According to the NIH’s National Institute on Drug Abuse, “Naloxone is a medicine that rapidly reverses an opioid overdose. It is an opioid antagonist. This means that it attaches to opioid receptors and reverses and blocks the effects of other opioids. Naloxone can quickly restore normal breathing to a person if their breathing has slowed or stopped because of an opioid overdose… Naloxone should be given to any person who shows signs of an opioid overdose or when an overdose is suspected.”
Substance use disorder is a leading cause of pregnancy-related and pregnancy-associated death in Tennessee. To help prevent overdose amongst pregnant and postpartum women — and more generally — Firefly received funding from the state’s Opioid Abatement Council to offer free naloxone at VUMC.
The pharmacy is helping with the distribution by storing the box and replenishing supplies as needed, and naloxone will be free to take by any patient or person in the OHO pharmacy.
