28TH ANNUAL CRIME PREVENTION GUIDE 44 Plan will include tracking the number of opioid overdoses and deaths in P.E.I. Originally published on August 10, 2017 byTom Steepe, CBC News The province is putting together a plan to try to prevent Islanders from dying from drug overdoses. Health officials will soon start tracking how many Islanders are overdosing, so they can get them the treatment they need. "Opioid situation touches not only individuals, but affects families and there's a huge ripple effect," said Chief Public Health Officer Dr. Heather Morrison. 'Keep Islanders safe' "It's a long term work ahead of us, but I think right now this action plan is really trying to respond to what was going on in the rest of the country, so that we could look at what we could do here in P.E.I. to keep islanders safe and to prevent opioid overdoses and deaths. The surveillance, which is really keeping track in a better way of our opioid overdoses and deaths, so we've been working with coroners, with our emergency departments to try to collect that information," said Morrison. "I think communications and education will be important, collaboration of opioid supply and that would be involving the area of prescription monitoring in particular, and then emergency really response." All medical first responders on P.E.I. are going to be equipped with naloxone kits. Kits have been sent home with Islanders using the needle exchange program, and they'll soon be available in jails and addiction programs. www.cbc.ca WE NEEDTO BE PREPARED: PROVINCE SETTO LAUNCH NALOXONE PLAN Naloxone kits (Tom Steepe/CBC) The emergency response to opioid overdoses has been Naloxone. (Ben Silcox/CBC) Where is Naloxone available? Naloxone kits are available for free to people who are at high risk of opioid-related overdoses. Needle Exchange Program - free kits for clients Provincial AddictionsTreatment Facility - free kits for clients Hospitals, emergency departments, provincial correctional facilities, opioid replacement clinics, EMS and police are all equipped with Naloxone. Anyone can purchase a naloxone kit without a prescription (cost is approximately $50) at most PEI pharmacies.
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