WARWICK – Access to naloxone is the key to the rescue pillar of the Rhode Island Overdose Prevention and Intervention Task Force’s action plan to mitigate the harm of risky opioid use in the state, and about 520 Thundermist Health Center employees will soon be equipped to administer it during work and within the community, making the health center the first in the state to commit to training its entire staff to use the lifesaving medication.
Opioid overdose, the leading cause of accidental death in Rhode Island, has disproportionately affected the communities Thundermist serves, noted Amanda Barney, assistant vice president of communications and development at Thundermist. In 2016, Woonsocket had the highest overdose death rate in the state, with 29 deaths, or 70 per 100,000 people, nearly twice the state average. West Warwick was also disproportionately impacted with the fifth-highest rate with 11 deaths in 2016, or 37.7 per 100,000. In South County, more than 30 people died from overdose.
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Trained individuals know how to recognize the signs of an overdose and how to respond, Barney said. Thundermist will also provide naloxone to employees, who often live and spend time in the communities Thundermist serves, free of charge.
“They will be able to use it in the community if they come across someone who needs it,” she said.
That scenario has already occurred with one staff member, said Thundermist clinical pharmacist Chris Durigan. He said the person, who attended a training session he held for interested employees earlier this year, used naloxone to aid someone suffering an overdose. The employee has not consented to making his name public, Barney said.
Barney said the training takes about an hour. Thundermist’s entire staff should have attended one of five sessions set up for employees in the next few weeks, and they expect everyone to receive the training by early April.
Durigan said the training will probably come in handy throughout Thundermist’s service area.
“Unfortunately, it’s fairly likely that some of our staff will use this training,” Durigan said.
Durigan said he’s glad Thundermist has committed to addressing the opioid-overdose problem proactively.
“It’s important to me just how serious and how committed Thundermist is to this problem,” he said.
Durigan said that while naloxone availability and use is part of the solution, “it’s not the be-all and end-all.” Once the immediate danger of overdose is addressed, he said, people addicted to opioids need therapy and medication-assisted treatment services, which Thundermist also provides.
“Our communities are in a crisis,” said Jeanne LaChance, president and CEO at Thundermist. “Thundermist recognizes our responsibility to make an impact inside and outside of the exam room. Increasing the availability of naloxone, and training individuals on appropriate administration, will help to save lives. We want to provide our employees – clinical and nonclinical staff – with the tools and education needed to act. Staff will use this knowledge throughout our community in their roles as health care professionals and neighbors.”
Rob Borkowski is a PBN staff writer. Email him at Borkowski@PBN.com.
