On March 26, the Pennsylvania Department of Drug and Alcohol Programs (DDAP) announced its Overdose Prevention Program has reached a key milestone of 100 partner organizations now distributing naloxone and drug testing strips across all counties to help prevent overdoses, particularly those that could be fatal.
“The Overdose Prevention Program demonstrates DDAP’s commitment to reducing overdose deaths by expanding access to naloxone and other life-saving overdose prevention supplies,” said DDAP Secretary Dr. Latika Davis-Jones. “Having a strong, statewide network of partners really helps to strengthen our harm reduction infrastructure while emphasizing equity, access, and trust among the individuals using these resources to save lives.”
Naloxone is a medication approved by the US Food and Drug Administration to rapidly reverse an opioid overdose by quickly restoring breathing to an individual if their breathing has slowed or stopped. DDAP operates the Overdose Prevention Program, which uses a hub-and-spoke model by providing free naloxone and drug testing strips to organizations throughout Pennsylvania known as overdose prevention partners. Once an organization becomes a partner, DDAP supplies the partner with naloxone and drug testing strips. Partners then create a network of local access points for individuals, community-based groups, and others to get free naloxone and test strips to check drugs for xylazine and fentanyl. Since the start of the Shapiro Administration there have been over 15,000 overdose reversals using DDAP-supplied naloxone statewide, and over two million doses of naloxone distributed. In addition, nearly two million xylazine and fentanyl test strips have been distributed through the program.
Partners include county drug and alcohol offices, health care providers, police departments, fire departments, recovery community organizations, and faith-based organizations.
Among the partners is Shippensburg University, the first Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education institution to become an overdose prevention partner through the Administration’s program.
“Shippensburg University is honored to be a part of the Shapiro Administration’s Overdose Prevention Program,” said Dr. Charles E. Patterson, Shippensburg University President. “Through this collaborative initiative, we further prioritize the resources required to address this critical public health matter that impacts all Pennsylvania communities.”
As a partner, Ship’s Connection Alcohol and Other Drugs Program (Connection AOD) has distributed over 1,500 doses of naloxone. The naloxone is free and available in newspaper-style boxes across eight locations. The locations include three on-campus locations, and five off-campus locations, including the Coy Public Library in Shippensburg.
“Becoming an overdose prevention partner is an important new chapter and creates a more efficient pathway for access, streamlines distribution of naloxone and testing strips, and allows Shippensburg University to serve as a local site for community members who would like to pick up naloxone,” said Kurt Dunkel, program coordinator, Shippensburg University Connection AOD and Wellness Programs. “We believe that overdose prevention works best when it’s done collectively and we would not be able to do this work without our additional partners such as university leadership, DDAP, and the local county drug and alcohol offices.” Connection AOD is Shippensburg University’s alcohol and drug education, prevention, and intervention program.
The program provides services such as recovery support meetings, free trainings, peer support for students, naloxone training, and other resources. 24/7 Help All overdose prevention partners can be located through DDAP’s website. Individuals seeking substance use treatment or recovery supports can be connected to local SUD resources by calling the toll-free PA Get Help Now helpline at 1-800-662-HELP (4357) or by using Treatment Atlas, a free, online or smart phone locator tool to help Pennsylvanians confidentially find SUD treatment that meets their needs. In addition, local treatment programs are administered through county drug and alcohol offices called Single County Authorities. These programs can help with treatment funding, assess the need for treatment or other services, and make referrals to match treatment and/or service needs. Learn more about the Shapiro Administration’s overdose prevention efforts at ddap.pa.gov.
