CHARLESTON, W.Va. — Health officials say they hope the installation of new rescue response kits on college campuses and treatment facilities will help reduce opioid overdoses in West Virginia.
ONEbox is a one-of-a-kind, technology-enabled opioid overdose rescue response kit intended to contain two doses of the opioid reversal drug naloxone along with personal protective equipment.
The box also contains video instructions that are activated when ONEbox is opened.
“We know that overdoses can happen to anyone at any time anywhere and so having this medication readily available, it is the only medication that can reverse an overdose, is so crucial and important,” Dr. Susan Bissett, president of the West Virginia Drug Intervention Institute, told MetroNews.
All West Virginia public and private four-year colleges and universities, and the state’s community and technical colleges, either already have the ONEbox on campus, or are committed to the installation of the boxes prior to 2023. The boxes have been provided at no cost to schools through grant funds.
“We also have plans for libraries across the state, as well as schools, health centers and in places where the public is likely to gather in large numbers, so music venues, anywhere there’s large sporting events,” Bissett said.
The WV Drug Intervention Institute, the West Virginia Collegiate Recovery Network (WVCRN) and Marshall University recently launched a new overdose prevention initiative on West Virginia’s college and university campuses titled “Be The One.”
OVP Health, a Huntington-based provider of emergency department, hospitalist, primary care, and substance use disorder treatment services, is placing ONEbox in all 28 of its outpatient treatment facilities and corporate offices in West Virginia, Kentucky, Ohio, South Carolina and Virginia.
To learn more about the ONEbox and the West Virginia Drug Intervention Institute, CLICK HERE or call 681-205-2287.