For immediate release
IPSWICH – The Ipswich Public Health Department and Director of Public Health Colleen Fermon encourage the community to participate in an overdose response training hosted by the Town in conjunction with the North Shore Health Project/ONESTOP Harm Reduction Services and Ipswich Aware.
The training will take place on Wednesday, Nov. 20 from 12-1:30 p.m. at Ipswich Town Hall, 25 Green St., Meeting Room C.
The community is invited to register for the training here. There are openings for about 40 people to participate in the training.
The training will be hosted by the North Shore Health Project/ONESTOP Harm Reduction Services. Ipswich Aware will provide a cold lunch at the event. During the training, participants will learn how to recognize when someone is having an overdose and how to respond using Narcan.
Narcan is a brand name of naloxone, a medication designed to rapidly reverse the effects of a life-threatening opioid emergency. Naloxone is a nasal spray that blocks opioids, which can quickly and fatally slow a person’s breathing, and allows breathing to return to normal. It is effective against overdoses of many prescription pain medications such as oxycodone or hydrocodone etc., or illegal drugs such as heroin or fentanyl.
The Town of Ipswich currently offers Narcan nasal spray to the community in its Overdose Response Cabinets, located in each floor of Town Hall, 25 Green St., near the AED and first aid kits, and in the restroom of Hall Haskell House, 36 South Main St. The Town plans to add Overdose Response Cabinets on the outside of the Central Street and Linebrook Fire Stations.
These cabinets are for use of a bystander in an emergency, but residents are also encouraged to take and keep items from the cabinets at home or in their car for use, should they need to act in an emergency.
Individuals at risk of an opioid overdose and individuals who regularly interact with someone at risk of an opioid overdose should have Narcan on hand.
“As the recently appointed Opioid Abatement Coordinator, I am committed to improving the response to opioid overdose when it happens. I believe the community will benefit from removing the barriers to accessing naloxone/Narcan by providing this medication for free and making it widely available in town,” said Director Fermon. “The Town is especially fortunate to provide training opportunities to the community to better prepare residents for these emergencies. While hopefully this training is never needed, we encourage the community to be as ready as possible, as opioid overdose death is less likely when another person has the proper tools and training.”
About the North Shore Health Project/ONESTOP Harm Reduction Services
North Shore Health Project/ONESTOP Harm Reduction Services is the provider of the syringe services program in Ipswich. Through these programs, persons who inject drugs can get sterile needles and syringes free of cost, dispose of used needles and syringes, receive overdose education, and Narcan (naloxone) and get connected to other services such as testing for hepatitis C, HIV and other sexually transmitted infections.
About Ipswich Aware
Ipswich Aware is a multi-disciplinary community collaborative, under the umbrella of the Ipswich YMCA, created to address substance use in the Town of Ipswich. Its members include representatives from the faith community, police, public health, school, mental health providers, business owners, residents and regional prevention partners.
