24 Lives Saved in First Year of Waukesha County's Plan to Fight Opioids Crisis

Today, Waukesha County officials are announcing more than twenty lives reported saved and hundreds trained in the first year since the county kicked off a four-tiered opioids overdose prevention plan. The announcement coincides with National Prevention Week, which includes education and training events across Waukesha County.

“In just one year, our work plan has helped mobilize members of the community to take the fight against opioids to the next level,” said Waukesha County Executive Paul Farrow. “This plan uses data to help deliver targeted education, training and outreach, and it’s showing results.”

Since Waukesha County kicked off its plan in May 2017, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has:

• Saved 24 lives, according to reports to HHS from individuals who had participated in the Opioid Overdose Education Trainings and received Naloxone kits
• Conducted 162 Opioid Overdose Education Trainings for 1,998 people, and has distributed 1,851 Naloxone (brand name: Narcan) kits free of charge
• Trained 378 police officers in 9 municipal police departments
• Conducted 16 educational sessions for 979 people, without Naloxone distribution
• Provided direct outreach to 145 individuals who have recently experienced an opioid overdose

About Waukesha County’s Plan to Fight the Opioids Crisis

Waukesha County’s plan is funded by the state’s participation in the Wisconsin Prescription Drug/Opioid Overdose-Related Deaths Prevention Project (WI-PDO), a federal grant from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA). The County’s plan trains first responders and other key community sectors using four main prevention and treatment strategies:

• A county-wide environmental scan to identify risk and protective factors
• Free community-level trainings on the administration of the opiate reversal agent Naloxone (Narcan) and distribute free kits containing Naloxone
• opiate overdose prevention education sessions in the county
• County Crisis Worker outreach to users who have experienced an overdose

More information about the WI-PDO grant is available at www.samhsa.gov. More training and event information is online at www.waukeshacounty.gov/overdoseprevention.  

About the Waukesha County Department of Health and Human Services (HHS)

HHS provides, purchases, and coordinates a wide range of high quality prevention, intervention, and protective services in response to public need and mandates. We are committed to making the best use of resources to promote health, self-sufficiency, and an improved quality of life.

For more information, go to www.waukeshacounty.gov/HHS, or follow us on Twitter at @WaukeshaCoHHS.