In line with national trends, opioid overdose deaths have been on the rise across Monroe County — with 59 overdoses in January alone. According to research conducted on existing opioid overdose knowledge among college students, fatal overdoses have seen a substantial rise.
Naloxone — a drug sold under the brand name Narcan — can reverse the effects of an opioid overdose on the body. UR’s University Health Service (UHS) Health Promotion Office is working to make naloxone more available for students on campus.
The Health Promotion Office has taken a proactive role to reduce overdoses on campus. In conjunction with the school’s Environmental Health and Safety Department, they have installed over 170 automated external defibrillator (AED) boxes on campus. Each box contains a “Stop the Bleed” kit, as well as a dose of naloxone, which can be administered nasally.
“We do a lot of preventive and harm reduction work,” Health Promotion Specialist of Alcohol and Other Drugs Education, Danielle D’Onofrio, said in an interview with the Campus Times. “[It is important] to make sure that students have access [to life saving equipment] before it becomes a[n] issue.”
D’Onofrio explained that the Health Promotion Office is working on installing dedicated boxes around campus where students can discreetly access the lifesaving drug.
“We have [naloxone] boxes in [the UHS building] vestibule and the new one in Wilson Commons, which is our bigger one,” she said.
Over winter break, a naloxone box was installed in the entryway to Wilson Commons. The wall-mounted dispenser holds between 35 to 40 individual boxes, each of which contains two doses. The dispenser is the second of three to come.
D’Onofrio said that the Health Promotion Office is currently working with University Facilities on the installation of three more boxes: one in the lobby of the Goergen Athletic Center and two in the Rush Rhees Library.
D’Onofrio added that none of the boxes are alarmed, emphasizing that the use of these boxes is meant to be discreet and that UHS does not keep track of who is using the service, or when it is being used.
When asked whether these services will be available to students at Eastman, D’Onofrio explained that “[The UHS office is working] with Eastman right now to figure out what works best for them. […] Their campus is a little bit different from River Campus, so we want to make sure that we are supplying what’s needed to them in a way that works for them.”
The Health Promotion Office hosts two events per semester dedicated to increasing awareness of opioid overdoses and the use of naloxone. The next event will occur in February, with the date and time to be released soon.
