POWHATAN, Va. (WWBT) – When you walk towards the doors of the Powhatan Health Department, you’ll notice a large box by the entrance, which contains Naloxone.
Naloxone distribution box(Source;WWBT | WWBT)
This is one of three large boxes recently installed around Powhatan to create access to the medication, which is used to reverse opioid overdoses.
“You never know when you’re going to need it and so we really believe that everyone should carry it, and we wanted to make that as easy as possible,” said Jordan Schellin, who works as an outreach coordinator in Powhatan.
The idea became a reality through national opioid settlement funds.
“Those settlement funds are required to be used to reduce negative impacts of substance use in communities,” said Schellin.
During discussions and surveys, Schellin said they chose to set up three large naloxone distribution boxes in front of the Powhatan Health Department, the Deep Creek Volunteer Fire Department, and Huguenot Volunteer Fire Department.
Naloxone distribution boxes were installed in Powhatan(Source;;WWBT | WWBT)
Inside each box, you’ll find the life-saving medication.
“They are provided in single-dose form and attached to the dose is information and a step-by-step guide on how to use it,” said Schellin.
The shelves of the box are also stacked with other essentials.
“Things like hygiene kits, wound care, first aid kits, and some other harm reduction resources,” said Schellin.
A mobile outreach team also worked with different local businesses and county departments to set up about 50 smaller naloxone boxes in Powhatan and Goochland.
Naloxone boxes are going up in Powhatan(Source;WWBT | WWBT)
“They’re places that people go, they’re places like a gas station that people are walking into every day here at the Village Building or county admin building that people are coming into for different services or support,” she said. “Just to make it really easy to acquire Naloxone.”
It’s an initiative Schellin hopes will help everyone have access to the tools they need to save lives.
“Naloxone is never for yourself, it’s always for someone else,” she said. “It’s for your grandma that may have taken a double dose of her pain medication, or for your kid, or your pet got into something that they shouldn’t have. It’s for a teen who may be experimenting with drugs and not knowing the risks or it’s for someone who is using drugs and has overdosed.”
Every Wednesday through the end of September, Powhatan will host free Naloxone training inside the Village Building, located at 3910 Old Buckingham Road, from 11:30 a.m. until 12:30 p.m.
The training is free and open to the public to attend. No registration is required.
Powhatan installs multiple Naloxone distribution boxes in the county.(Source;WWBT | WWBT)
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