Fentanyl overdose has surpassed COVID-19, suicide and car accidents, by becoming the number one cause of death in adults ages 18 to 45 across the United States, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
In an effort to combat those statistics, Monroe County has partnered with other local health and community leaders to push a new campaign that will help combat the opioid and fentanyl crisis and save lives.
“One powerful tool we have in this fight to save lives is naloxone,” County Executive Adam Bello said. This overdose reversal medicine is a generic form of Narcan that, when used correctly, stops the effects of fentanyl and opioids to restore a person's breathing.
More than 3,500 doses of naloxone have been distributed out to the community. The campaign will ensure that about 50 naloxone emergency cases will be placed in areas that have seen increased incidence of opioid overdoses including motels, gas stations and small retail businesses.
“It's vitally important that naloxone is more readily available,” Bello said.
The campaign also includes a new hotline where individuals suffering with substance
abuse, and their families, can call for help and support. Bello said opioid and fentanyl addiction is a family disease, and it affects more than just that individual who's using drugs.
“The families of individuals caught in opioid addiction they struggle to and they need support services and information,” he said, “Now they can get that by calling that hotline.”
The hotline number is (585) 753-5300.
