Counter Acting a Drug Overdose

So far in 2015, there have been six drug overdose deaths in Muskingum County.

Now, for the second time since June, the Zanesville-Muskingum County Health department and Muskingum Behavioral Health will teach up to a dozen people how to use a nasal spray to counter a drug overdose.  However, Steve Carrel, executive director of Muskingum Behavioral Health, said Naloxone shouldn’t be a replacement for calling 911 in the event of an overdose.

“If you have a concern about a loved one, a concern that they may overdose because of their use of painkillers and or heroin, this is the program for you,” Carrel said. “If you are with a that person that they abused to the point of overdosing, then you can save their life while waiting on first responders to get there.”

Project D.A.W.N. stands for Deaths Avoided With Naloxone. It’s a confidential program that is free to attend. The Health Department’s medical director, Dr. Vicki Whitacre, will be there after the hour-long training to hand out kits and answer any questions people may have about the drug.

“Once the family or people who are close to them realize how their situation is, they can be more persuasive to get them to go into treatment, and I think the person who has a near miss event is more likely to think ‘wow, I could have died. I want to live,'” Dr. Whitacre said.

The training is on August 25 at 5:30 p.m. Registration is on a first come first serve basis, and they have a cap of 12 participants. To register you can contact the health department at (740) 454-9741.