MADISON, Wis. – The Dane County Board on Thursday approved a new $750,000 initiative to fight the opioid epidemic.
The Harm Reduction and Prevention Act outlines several specific things Dane County executives hope will reduce the number of opioid-related deaths, which have been steadily rising since 2016.
It includes a program to teach prevention and harm reduction in schools, widespread distribution of Narcan kits and fentanyl test strips, and a partnership with local hospitals and first responders to help people get treatment faster, among other initiatives.
It will also hire a dedicated specialist to oversee a county-wide “leave behind” program which will enable EMS providers to leave a Narcan kit behind when they leave the scene of an overdose. The naloxone nasal spray can reverse an opioid overdose almost immediately.
Fitchrona EMS Chief Patrick Anderson says he hopes providing the life-saving drug to as many people as possible might give those who end up using it another chance at recovery.
“We will leave it with a patient, we can leave it with a family member, we can leave it with a bystander, we can leave it in a home,” said Anderson. “This is something we can do to help people survive. One more survival means that that is another opportunity for a person to seek rehab or seek help.”
The $750,000 initiative will add to the $1.6 million that Dane County already spends on fighting the opioid epidemic.
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