A $2 million federal grant is coming to Lexington to help battle the opioid problem in the central Kentucky community. The formal announcement came Tuesday at city hall. Much of the money will go toward the purchase of Naloxone kits, the medicine used to reverse the effects of an opioid overdose.
Fayette County Health Commissioner Kraig Humbaugh, says people outside of first responders can benefit from this training. “The Surgeon General thinks it’s just as essential as knowing CPR, but you have to have the availability of the kit and to be able to know how to use it, in the event, just like you would with CPR,” said Humbaugh.
Humbaugh says the health department is down to 300 Naloxone kits for distribution. Substance Abuse and Violence Intervention Program Administrator Amy Baker doesn’t anticipate a gap in local availability of these lifesaving kits.
Fayette County Sheriff Kathy Witt says her deputies are routinely responding to these emergency calls. “We have overdose issues in our plaza weekly, weekly. Can you imagine? weekly. To now equip our staff with that needed narcan is a life saver. It’s going to save lives,” noted Witt.
Fayette Health Commissioner Humbaugh said the medicine should be stored at room temperature, so a glove department in a car, for instance, is not well suited for such storage.?
