HILLSBORO, Ohio — The Highland County Health Department is reminding residents that free naloxone, the opioid-overdose reversal medication sold under the brand name Narcan, is available at its office through Project DAWN, a statewide program funded by the Ohio Department of Health.
Naloxone can reverse an overdose caused by opioids such as heroin, illicit fentanyl or prescription pain medications, the health department said. Residents seeking the medication can call the department at 937-393-1941 or stop in during business hours.
Project DAWN — an acronym for Deaths Avoided With Naloxone — is a network of overdose education and naloxone distribution sites coordinated by the Ohio Department of Health. The program is named in memory of Leslie Dawn Cooper, who died of a witnessed opioid overdose in 2009; the first Project DAWN site opened in Portsmouth in 2012 and the network has since grown to cover the large majority of Ohio’s 88 counties, distributing naloxone through health departments, syringe service programs, emergency departments and other community partners.
The health department also pointed residents to highlandhelps.org, a local resource directory covering substance use disorder treatment, housing, mental health services and domestic violence support in and around Highland County.
The information contained in this story was obtained from the Highland County Health Department.
