Greenfield Recorder – Franklin County cities expand access to medications to treat opioid overdose

Outdoor naloxone cabinets are being set up in more and more Franklin County cities to improve access to the life-saving drug designed to quickly reverse an opioid overdose.

The Franklin Regional Council of Governments (FRCOG), through its Cooperative Public Health Service, launched the Rural Communities Naloxone Cabinet Initiative this year to install naloxone cabinets in 15 towns.

Forty-three cabinets have already been installed in Franklin and Worcester counties, including Greenfield, Montague, Orange and Athol. Funding comes from the Franklin County and North Quabbin Region Opioid Task Force. Other organizations such as Tapestry Health and the North Quabbin Community Coalition have played a major role in installing and maintaining these cabinets in the North Quabbin towns.

“There was a tremendous push to understand the importance of this life-saving drug,” said Maureen O'Reilly, FRCOG health educator and epidemiologist. “The member health departments of this health district … decided they wanted to set up cabinets as well and received additional grants to do so.”

Phoebe Walker, FRCOG's director of public health, noted that the Opioid Task Force and the Cooperative Public Health Service receive different types of federal and state funding to stock the cabinets, so it's important to work together to understand where naloxone is most needed and what funding is available to address the problem.

“Public health knows no borders, but our daily work does. So working on many of these projects requires putting pieces of the puzzle together to achieve the desired outcome on the ground,” Walker said of the collaboration.

Debra McLaughlin, coordinator of the Opioid Task Force, said the introduction of outdoor cabinets in cities means expanding the availability of an important tool.

“It was really exciting to see how this effort was embraced by our community to make this life-saving medication available, similar to how an EpiPen would be available or a [automated external defibrillator] device,” McLaughlin said.

McLaughlin explained that the Opioid Task Force receives overdose data. In 2021, Franklin County and Athol saw an increase in opioid-related overdose deaths, and the 2022 and 2023 data show a decrease. This data can serve as a basis for the organization's work.

“We contribute [the reduction] “We need to use a range of strategies, not just the widespread distribution of Narcan,” McLaughlin said, referring to the common brand name of a drug containing naloxone as the active ingredient. “Since we began actively distributing Narcan and the naloxone box strategy over the last year and a half, we have distributed nearly 3,500 kits over a three-year period.”

The health departments involved in the Cooperative Public Health Service area, including Monroe, Charlemont and Ashfield, have approved the installation process. Colrain and Buckland expect approval in the coming weeks. On August 21, Bernardston's Selectboard approved the installation of outdoor naloxone cabinets, and Gill approved the installations at a Selectboard meeting on August 12.

Bernardston Health Committee Chair Barbara Killeen spoke to Bernardston Selectboard members, who agreed that Killeen should begin coordinating with the Bernardston Fire Department and Police Department regarding the placement of two outdoor access lockers on city property.

At a Gill Selectboard meeting, the Gill Board of Health was also given approval to install two cabinets. Randy Crochier, Gill Selectboard member and FRCOG regional health officer, explained that the cabinets will be installed at a local business in Gill and at City Hall.

Crochier said the naloxone boxes served as an access point for harm reduction within the community and could have a destigmatizing effect on the drug itself.

“Unfortunately, there are opioids, there are fentanyl, and you don't know who's going to be affected,” Crochier said. “This provides a place for people to get Narcan discreetly in their home when they need it, without necessarily having to suffer the stigma.”

Crochier pointed out that naloxone is not just for people with addiction issues. It can also be helpful for people on prescription opioids, in the event of accidental ingestion or exposure to fentanyl. He believes it should be normalized as a tool that can be helpful for those who need it.

“I think we're just trying to normalize the fact that nobody cares if there's a fire alarm in a commercial building. So let's try to normalize it a little bit,” he said.

For overdose recognition and information on naloxone, visit the Opioid Task Force website at opioidtaskforce.org/get-information. A Zoom information session on Thursday, September 26 at 2 p.m. on public access to naloxone is available for registration at tinyurl.com/ysvpy4uf.

Erin Leigh-Hoffman can be reached at [email protected].