Baltimore's 'Staying Alive' program found to be successful in combating overdoses By Carley Milligan – Digital Editor, Baltimore Business Journal Aug 22, 2018, 12:59pm The number of overdose reversal drug kits distributed and overdose reversals reported in Baltimore both increased between 2015 and 2017, according to data from the city's health department. A city audit of the department presented Wednesday found the Staying Alive Drug Overdose Prevention and Response Plan has been successful in its goal to reduce the rate of deaths from opiate-related overdoses in Baltimore. Self-reported data from the Baltimore City Health Department showed 13,151 naloxone kits, a medication that reverses the effect of an opioid overdose, were given out between 2015 and 2017. In each year, the number of kits distributed increased, starting with 1,909 in 2015, 4,721 in 2016 and 6,521 in 2017. Determining the exact number of successful overdose reversals is more difficult, the audit found, because some individuals do not report reversals due to stigma, lack of treatment or other reasons. The available data comes from the health departments and its teams throughout the city, showing that 1,439 reversals were reported in 2016 and 2017. Nearly 70 percent, or 979, took place in 2017. In an email, Baltimore City Health Commission Dr. Leana Wen called the figures "conservative" because it does not include reversals administered by Emergency Medical Services, the Baltimore City Police Department and unreported reversals by residents.
"Reporting accurate data is important, but even more so is getting naloxone into the hands of our residents to save lives," Wen said. Malcolm Green-Haynes, chief of finance and administration for the city health department, said the department is revisiting the reporting process for overdose reversals as well as its training protocol for both internal and external organizations providing naloxone kits.
"The "Staying Alive" program consists of several initiatives including the Syringe Exchange Program."
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