Most St. Louis city and county health centers offer free Naloxone, an opioid overdose reversal medication also referred to as Narcan.
However, a new initiative at five Affinia Healthcare facilities also offer the medication in bins right outside of the health centers. Kenyatta Johnson, Director of Pharmacy with Affinia Healthcare, said the initiative is another way to expand access to the quick-acting drug.
"We have them for free also inside of the clinics but there's a stigma that's attached sometimes to people coming in to actually asked for the Naloxone," Johnson said. "So this way they're able to access Naloxone with no questions asked."
Naloxone is now being offered in bins outside four Affinia Healthcare locations in the city... Biddle Street, North Florissant, Lemp Avenue and South Broadway. As for the county, a free bin is located outside the Ferguson Health Center in Ferguson. That bin was placed earlier this year, while the city locations were implemented last month.
Johnson said the medication runs out a lot quicker in the city than in Ferguson.
"In Ferguson, we [go through] about five to 10 per week, but we have noticed that with the Affinia locations in the city, we're actually restocking those one to two times a week," Johnson said. "So, I'd say for those, between 10 to 20 per week."
Learn more about the initiative at the podcast above.
The opioid overdose reversal medication is now available outside of five St. Louis health centers.
The opioid overdose reversal medication is now available outside of five St. Louis health centers.
