A Naloxone overdose emergency kit is now available at the Preble Fire Department building. Pictured (from left) are Preble fire commissioners Pete Thurman and Mike Redenback; Preble fire chief Ryne Austin; Dean O'Gorman, program director of Healing Hearts Collaborative; Amy Bertini, Kim Buttino and chairman Charlie Dailey. (Photo provided by the Preble Fire Department).
An N-POD, also known as Narcan Point of Distribution, is also available at the Truxton Fire Department, the Cincinnatus Fire Department, and the Four Corners in the town of Virgil. More N-PODs will soon be installed at other locations in the county, said Dean Gorman, director of Healing Hearts Collaborative.
N-PODS are wall-mounted and secured plastic packs that contain nine units of Narcan nasal spray.
Background on N-PODs and Narcan is below:
Naloxone, also known as Narcan, is a medication approved to reverse overdose by opioids. Naloxone is given when a person is showing signs of an opioid overdose. It blocks the toxic effects of the overdose and restores breathing to the individual.
These N-PODS are similar to publicly sited Automated External Defibrillators (AEDs), providing both a life-saving resource as well as instructions for use. Instruction booklets with written and graphical elements on Narcan administration are included in all the boxes.
Narcan is accessible in the city of Cortland, however, many rural communities in the county have limited access. If there’s an area where an N-POD can be located, contact O’Gorman at 607-283-6378.
O’Gorman said the goal is to have a N-POD available at every rural community in the community.
For more information and efforts to increase naloxone distribution in the county, contact Healing Cortland project director Sara Watrous at 607-232-1617 or [email protected].
