UH Parma Partners With Parma Police To Save Lives In Opioid Overdoses

A partnership between University Hospitals Parma Medical Center and the Parma Police Department has saved hundreds of lives and helped people struggling with opioid addiction get a second chance.

The pharmacy at UH Parma Medical Center has made the drug Naloxone – which reverses the effects of heroin and fentanyl, reviving people who have overdosed – available to Parma officers around the clock.

“It's a relief to know that our officers can go into the UH pharmacy at any time of the day or night, 365 days a year, and restock on Naloxone," Parma Police Capt. Thomas Siedlecki said. “It's an incredible service to the community, and it has saved lives."

The program began in 2017, when Ohio was among the hardest hit states in an opioid overdose epidemic that kills more than 100,000 people in the United States every year. Paid for by a federal grant, the pharmacy keeps a steady stream of Naloxone (also known by its commercial name, Narcan) on hand.

“We make up small kits for the patrolmen and our EMS coordinators train them on how to use it," said Kevin Zupancic, Manager of Pharmacy Services at UH Parma Medical Center. “We're ready to go with replacements whenever they are needed."

Parma police officers or firefighters dispense the drug through a nasal spray when they are called to an overdose scene. With the hospital and police department located on the same street, officers simply get more Naloxone as needed.

Parma police have on average responded to an overdose every other day since 2017 – the first full year when fentanyl emerged as a threat in Northeast Ohio, according to a recent Case Western Reserve University study. About 10% of those are fatal.

The vast majority of people who overdose and survive are taken to UH Parma Medical Center for treatment, Siedlecki said.

Providing Narcan and fentanyl test strips is just one part of a comprehensive approach UH takes with other community partners to  combat the opioid epidemic, which now claims about 100,000 lives a year across America. A large area of focus – across Northeast Ohio and across the UH System – is educating students and the community at large about the risks, and encouraging them to remain drug free.

Those who overdose meet with counselors at various UH locations, who encourage them to enter drug treatment – and arrange treatment for those who are interested. 

CJ Sheppard

Communications Manager, UH Parma Medical Center

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Volume 16, Issue 10, Posted 10:44 AM, 10.01.2024