Overdose Prevention
The Ross County Health District’s Drug Overdose Prevention Grant was awarded through The Ohio Department of Health. The purpose of this grant is to implement comprehensive sustainable interventions at the local level to prevent drug overuse, misuse and overdose. The grant provides resources for community coalitions and strategic plans, overdose fatality review boards, immediate community response plans and implementation of comprehensive sustainable systems in various settings to screen, identify and link at-risk populations with services. In addition, this grant is intended to integrate the use of data to inform implementation strategies and create sustainability planning to decrease unintentional deaths in Ross County, Ohio.
Frequently Asked Questions
Project Dawn is a community-based opioid education and naloxone distribution program. Program participants receive a take-home naloxone kit and training on:
Recognizing the signs and symptoms of an overdose
- Calling 911
- Rescue Breathing
- Giving Naloxone
- Adverse Reactions
- Preventing Overdose
- Storage and Expiration
Naloxone (also known as Narcan) is a medication that can reverse an overdose caused by an opioid drug (heroin, fentanyl, or prescription pain medications). When given during an overdose, naloxone blocks the effects of opioids on the brain and quickly restores breathing. Naloxone has been used safely by emergency medical professionals for more than 40 years and has only one critical function: to reverse the effects of opioids in order to prevent overdose death. Naloxone has no potential for misuse.
If naloxone is given to a person who is not experiencing an opioid overdose, it is harmless. If naloxone is administered to a person who is dependent on opioids, it will produce withdrawal symptoms. Withdrawal, although uncomfortable, is not life-threatening.
The Ross County Health District will continue to serve our community during the COVID-19 Pandemic. The process for getting your free Project DAWN kit can be done online for a curbside pick-up or we can mail your Project DAWN kit to your home. If you would like a Project DAWN kit, please fill out the survey titled “Order a Project DAWN Kit”.
Fentanyl is a synthetic opioid that is up to 50 times stronger than heroin and 100 times stronger than morphine. It is a major contributor to fatal and nonfatal overdoses in the U.S.
Recognizing the signs of an overdose can save a life.
Here are some things you can look for:
– Small, constricted “pinpoint pupils”
– Falling asleep or losing consciousness
– Breathing is slow, irregular or stopped
– Snoring, choking or gurgling sounds
– Limp body
– Pale and/or clammy skin
– Nail and lips are blue or purplish black
Steps of Change – candlelight vigil
Community Outreach
