Seven - three in Hall County, two in Habersham County, and one each in Barrow and Lumpkin counties. That's the number of lives saved by Naloxone in the case of opioid overdose in North Georgia in the first six months of Project DAN.
The Medical Association of Georgia Foundation's Project DAN - Deaths Avoided by Naloxone - aims to equip first responders with a potentially life-saving drug that can reverse the effects of an opioid overdose.
1,069 first responders and 1,099 Narcan kits have been distributed in North Georgia since the program began six months ago. The "Overdose Rescue Kits" contain administration instructions and Narcan nasal spray.
Georgia’s 9-1-1 Medical Amnesty Law allows physicians to prescribe naloxone to first responders and others who are in a position to assist a person who is at risk of an opioid overdose. It can be delivered on an intranasal or intramuscular basis. Opioids include drugs like hydrocodone, oxycodone and methadone.
“Drug overdose victims who receive naloxone in a timely way are less likely to die or suffer long-term brain or tissue damage,” says MAG Foundation President Jack M. Chapman Jr. M.D. “And ensuring that our first responders know how to administer naloxone gives the overdose victims a better chance to survive.”
The foundation has conducted training for first responders Hall, Dawson, Lumpkin, Habersham, Stephens, Barrow, Jackson and Gordon counties, and police departments in Gainesville, Winder and Savannah.
