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Naloxone Resource Guide for Local Health Departments
This resource guide was created by the Indiana State Department of Health (ISDH) Division of Trauma and Injury Prevention as a resource for local health departments (LHDs) who have been awarded the Naloxone Rescue Kit Grant by ISDH. The guide aims to provide guidance for LHDs to successfully distribute naloxone kits to high-need individuals in their counties. A special thank you goes to staff from the Hamilton, Hendricks and Howard county health departments for helping to compile this guide.
Services co-offered with naloxone training
Local health departments are required to offer a number of resources and services when providing naloxone training to laypersons (I.C. 16-42-27). This includes education on how to administer naloxone and a list of drug addiction treatment resources, such as centers that offer medication assisted treatment and referrals to these facilities. In addition, LHDs are encouraged, though not required, to provide a variety of other resources to trainees. Some of these resources can include:
Educational resources
- Important information about naloxone that includes signs and symptoms of an opioid overdose
- Educational sheet about common opioid drugs that also describes signs and symptoms of an opioid overdose
- FAQs about syringe exchange and harm reduction programs
- Syringe service fact sheet
- Pamphlet about commonly abused drugs (great for school staff)
- Naloxone myths debunked fact sheet
- What parents need to know fact sheet
- The Harm Reduction Coalition’s overdose prevention resource page
- Check out the printable resources page for more fact sheets
Services offered
- List of treatment resources in LHD county (required)
- The Indiana Criminal Justice Institute and the Indiana State Police have compiled a list of treatment centers
- Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) has created a search engine that allows users to type in a zip code and find nearby treatment centers
- Family and Social Services Administration (FSSA) has compiled a list of Community Mental Health Centers in Central Indiana
- ISDH has compiled a list Treatment Centers (residential and outpatient)
- The Hendricks County Health Partnership and the Hendricks County Health Department have compiled the Central Indiana Substance Abuse Treatment Resource Guide
- List of other naloxone providers in the county (check optIN)
- Information about unused drug disposal in the county
- Referrals to the local Parents of Addicted Loved Ones
- Information about syringe exchange programs and safe sharps disposal in the county and surrounding counties
- Information about STD testing in the county
- Information about HIV and Hepatitis C testing in the county
- Information about the immunization clinic in the LHD (if those services are offered)
- Support for family members through education materials and referrals to local community resources
- CPR training may be offered in addition to naloxone training
Other
- Heart health and the opioid epidemic from the American Heart Association
Stakeholder partnerships
To best combat the opioid epidemic, partnerships need to be formed among a variety of stakeholders. This applies to the naloxone distribution program as well, where collaborating with different community partners can help make the distribution program a success. Below is a list of agencies that local health departments can provide with naloxone to use in case of an emergency. These agencies can also provide naloxone kits to community members and help spread the word about the program.
- Local clinics and primary care practices
- Local hospitals (especially emergency departments)
- Health department’s nursing clinic
- Syringe Services Program in the community
- Substance abuse and counseling centers
- Substance abuse work groups (if such groups exist)
- Schools (train school nurses, administrators and maintenance staff)
- Law enforcement
- Fire departments
- EMS (provide naloxone training to EMS staff and/or solicit information as to where they frequently encounter opioid overdoses so you can target those areas)
- Local libraries
- Overdose Lifeline
- Any other agency or organization that works with high-risk individuals
Ways to spread the word about the naloxone program
Below is a list of potential outreach methods local health departments can employ to spread the news about the naloxone distribution program.
Create flyers advertising the naloxone distribution program. A sample copy of such a flyer is located here (courtesy of Howard County Health Department). Flyers can be distributed in:
- Substance abuse treatment centers
- Offices of mental health service providers
- Food pantries
- Primary care physician clinics
- Clinics that provide free health services
- Gas stations
- Motels
- Schools (the best initial point of contact will likely be a school nurse)
- Shelters
- Local government agencies (transportation office, social services office, etc.)
- Any other agency or not-for-profit that works with high-risk individuals
- Develop small cards with contact information for the naloxone distribution program. The Howard County Health Department uses brightly colored cards that are the size of business cards
- Partner with the community drug task force (if one exists) or the local coordinating committee and ask them to distribute flyers and spread the word
- Set up focus groups with recently-released inmates to determine the best paths for reaching out to members of the community who are at risk or connected to someone at risk
- Post on social media, including Twitter, Facebook and Instagram
- Contact local news stations, radio stations and newspapers and ask them to do a story on the program
- Indiana 211 – ensure that your health department is listed on their website as offering free naloxone training and kits
- Update the health department’s website to include information about this program. Encourage partners in your communities to include information on their websites as well (including law enforcement agencies)
- Word of mouth – encourage community members who come in for a naloxone training to let their contacts know about the program. This can also be accomplished by speaking at community meetings/events
- Nextdoor app – a free, private social network that serves as a popular way for people to find out what is happening in their local communities
- Send e-mails to your listserv if you have one
- Ask other agencies and organizations in the county to send out e-mails to their listserv as well
- Set up a booth at community events, which could include town hall meetings, conferences, school events and others
Other useful resources for the naloxone distribution program
Consent form – Create a consent form that all laypersons can sign before receiving a naloxone training and kit. Here is a sample consent form, courtesy of the Hendricks County Health Department.
Flyers – Create flyers to advertise your naloxone distribution program. Sample copies of such flyers are located here (courtesy of Howard County Health Department) and here (courtesy of Hendricks County Health Department).
Policies and procedures – Create an internal document that outlines the policies and procedures set forth by your health department regarding the naloxone distribution program.
- Hendricks County Health Department has provided a copy of its policies and procedures. This document lays out the procedure for who is allowed to train laypersons and how they are to proceed with training (both in an individual and group setting)
- Howard County Health Department has also provided a copy of their policies and procedures, which outlines how the naloxone training should proceed
Kit stickers – When putting together naloxone kits, it is useful to have these stickers on the kit to remind laypersons that they are required to call 911 either immediately before or after administering naloxone per I.C. 16-42-27 and to remind them to fill out the pre- and post- cards.
Educational document about the program - The Hendricks County Health Department created a document explaining the naloxone distribution program, specifically written for agencies and businesses inquiring about the program. Feel free to edit and customize it as needed.
Educational document for schools - The Hendricks County Health Department created a document that explains why naloxone is important in schools. You can use this document to get the school officials in your county on board with your naloxone distribution program.
A reminder about requirements
As a reminder, LHDs that have been awarded the naloxone distribution grant are required to do the following:
- Must provide adequate education when distributing naloxone kits in a manner consistent with I.C. 16-42-27 and provide documentation thereof
- Must provide treatment program contact information for the community when distributing naloxone kits
- Must register with optIN
- If the awardee’s point-of-contact changes anytime during the naloxone kit distribution or reporting period, the awardee must notify the ISDH within five business days after the change and provide the contact information for the new contact
- Must not charge the recipients of the naloxone kits and must ensure that naloxone kits are not resold after distribution
- Must submit scheduled reports. If you need help filling out the report, please contact ISDH's Naloxone Program Manager.
Contact Information:
Cassidy Johnson
Naloxone Program Manager
CasJohnson@isdh.in.gov
317-234-6425
Page last updated 03/25/20