DUBLIN, Ohio,
April 4, 2018
/PRNewswire/ -- Today, as part of its Opioid Action Program,
Cardinal Health began its donation of more than 80,000 doses of
Narcan®, (naloxone HCI) Nasal Spray 4mg, to community organizations
who will distribute the life-saving overdose-reversal medication to
first responders and law enforcement across Ohio, Kentucky, Tennessee and West
Virginia.
Cardinal Health is committed to helping communities fight
the opioid epidemic. Today's donation of Narcan® will help
organizations and first responders keep their community members
safe from fatal opioid overdoses and bolster their efforts to curb
opioid misuse.
"As part of the frontline response to the opioid crisis,
first responders know the importance of Narcan in helping reverse
overdoses and save lives," said Chris
Wilhite, assistant chief of emergency services for
Jessamine County, Kentucky.
"Today's donation from Cardinal Health will help Jessamine County
EMS crews save lives."
Narcan® Nasal Spray is the only FDA-approved nasal
naloxone that does not require assembly or any specialized medical
training to use. Adapt Pharma, the manufacturer of Narcan®, is
supporting Cardinal Health's effort as part of its overall push to
help save the lives of those battling addiction. The National
Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and
Medicine1 and the President's
Commission on Combating Drug Addiction and the Opioid
Crisis2 both urge expanding
access to life-saving medications.
This donation is part of Cardinal Health's Opioid Action
Program, a multi-million dollar, four-state pilot initiative
launched last year designed to help some of the nation's
hardest-hit areas fight the opioid epidemic. The program has
delivered front-line tools to help prevent opioid abuse and support
communities, schools and first responders in Ohio, Kentucky, Tennessee and West
Virginia.
Following the launch of the Opioid Action Program,
Cardinal Health initiated a thorough review process of applications
submitted by interested and qualified entities in the four pilot
states who provide Narcan® for first responders and law
enforcement. The initial donation announced today to 27
organizations will be followed by additional donations to qualified
organizations in the four states in coming weeks.
The Opioid Action Program builds on Cardinal Health's
decade-long efforts to combat opioid abuse and addiction. In 2009,
the Cardinal Health Foundation partnered with The Ohio State University College of Pharmacy to create
the Generation Rx educational program to raise awareness and
knowledge about the dangers of prescription drug misuse. The
Cardinal Health Foundation has invested millions of dollars over
the last decade and reached over one million people through
partnerships and grants with non-profits across the country. The
Opioid Action Program represents an important next step in
combatting this tragic epidemic.
About the Opioid Action Program
In
2017, Cardinal Health launched the Opioid Action Program, a
pilot program aimed at helping communities in across the
Appalachian region, including in Ohio, Kentucky, Tennessee and West
Virginia, four of the nation's hardest-hit states. The
program delivers much needed front-line tools to help prevent
opioid abuse and support communities, schools and first responders.
The Opioid Action Program also builds on Generation Rx, the
prescription drug misuse prevention program created in 2009 through
a partnership of the Cardinal Health Foundation and the
Ohio State University College of
Pharmacy. For more information, please visit
www.cardinalhealth.com/opioidactionprogram.
About Cardinal Health
Cardinal
Health, Inc. (NYSE: CAH) is a global, integrated healthcare
services and products company, providing customized solutions for
hospitals, healthcare systems, pharmacies, ambulatory surgery
centers, clinical laboratories and physician offices worldwide. The
company provides clinically proven medical products,
pharmaceuticals and cost-effective solutions that enhance supply
chain efficiency from hospital to home. Cardinal Health
connects patients, providers, payers, pharmacists and
manufacturers for integrated care coordination and better patient
management. To help combat prescription drug abuse, the company and
its education partners created Generation Rx, a national drug
education and awareness program. Backed by nearly 100 years of
experience, with approximately 50,000 employees in nearly 60
countries, Cardinal Health ranks #15 on the Fortune 500. For
more information, visit
cardinalhealth.com, follow
@CardinalHealth on Twitter,
@cardinalhealthwings on Facebook and connect on
LinkedIn at linkedin.com/
company/cardinal-health.
1 The National Academies of
Sciences, Engineering and Medicine, Pain Management and the Opioid
Epidemic: Balancing Societal and Individual Benefits and Risks of
Prescription Opioid Use. Available online
at: https://www.nap.edu/catalog/24781/pain-management-and-the-opioid-epidemic-balancing-societal-and-individual
2 The President's Commission
on Combating Drug Addiction and the Opioid Crisis, Draft Interim
Report. Available online
at: https://www.whitehouse.gov/ondcp/presidents-commission
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SOURCE Cardinal Health