MOUNTAIN TOP CARES COALITION
Subtitle
In 2018 Greene County, NY, was identified by the National Institutes of Health's HEALing Communities Study in collaboration with Columbia University as a community with a high incidence of opioid-related overdoses and deaths. Greene County received a significant grant to hire a team to work with the community to provide training and community impact dollars to fund local initiatives to reduce opioid deaths by 40% over the next three years.
The grant could not have come at a more opportune time, as the novel Corona Virus, which has hurt so many, has had a particularly devastating impact on those who use drugs and those struggling in recovery. Overdoses and death have surged since the state-wide shutdown.
Beginning in April 2020, the number of overdoses increased dramatically as the economy shutdown;; thankfully, due to the efforts from local agencies such as Mobil Crisis and Greener Pathways with support from the HEALing Communities Study, there was increased Narcan/Naloxone distributed to those at risk. While overdoses did increase, deaths did not grow at the same rate due to this lifesaving medication.
Narcan/Naloxone is as valuable to the person with OUD as an automatic electronic defibrillator (AED)is to a person with a heart condition. That's why Mountain Top Cares is installing Narcan boxes throughout our community. Using identifiable stations, much like an AED mounted on the walls of a store, any person can find and administer Narcan/Naloxone.