Muskoka Algonquin Healthcare has started up a new naloxone kit program.
They’ll be given to patients who come to the Bracebridge or Huntsville hospital with an opioid-related emergency. Naloxone is used to reverse overdoses.
MAHC says it joined the Ontario Naloxone Program because of the rising cases of opioid overdoses across the province, including in the Muskoka and North Simcoe areas. The Bracebridge and Huntsville hospitals are the first in Simcoe-Muskoka to offer this program.
“We are glad to participate in intervention strategies that strengthen the response to opioid misuse and potential overdose for opioid-related Emergency Department visits,” says Chief Executive Officer Natalie Bubela. “The program is part of the Ontario government’s plan to make lifesaving naloxone available free of charge in hundreds of towns and cities.”
When a kit is given to a patient by MAHC staff, they also demonstrate how to administer the drug safely, and educate patients and family in identifying the signs and symptoms of overdose and calling 911. Earlier this year, Emergency Department staff at both MAHC sites was trained by a Public Health Nurse from the Substance Use and Injury Prevention Program at the Simcoe Muskoka District Health Unit.
“We have always administered Naloxone to patients who come to the Emergency Department for treatment during an overdose,” explains Dr. John Simpson, Emergency Dept. Medical Director. “Now we can also support these patients at risk of re-overdose to avoid future overdose after they leave the hospital. The take-home kits buy them some time to call 911 for professional emergency medical treatment. It’s about giving them what they need to survive the next potential overdose.”
“We are very pleased to have MAHC come onto the Ontario Naloxone Program, to ensure people leaving the hospital have the lifesaving medication necessary to respond to an opioid overdose in the community,” adds Dr. Lisa Simon, Associate Medical Officer of Health with SMDHU.
In the first six weeks of the program, MAHC has dispensed a handful of kits from each hospital. There are also pharmacies and SMDHU offices across the region where the community can access to the lifesaving opioid antidote free of charge.
