AG Zoeller announces grant program to fund surge in naloxone distribution

Zoeller also recognizes first responders who have saved lives with naloxone

INDIANAPOLIS – At the sixth-annual Indiana Prescription Drug Abuse Symposium today, Attorney General Greg Zoeller focused on the importance of expanding access to and use of the opioid overdose antidote naloxone as a response to rising overdose deaths in the state. The two-day symposium is the pinnacle event for the Indiana Prescription Drug Abuse Prevention Task Force, which Zoeller founded in 2012 and which he currently co-chairs.

At the symposium today, Zoeller announced a new grant program to fund a surge in naloxone distribution, with the goal of ensuring all first responders are equipped with the life-saving treatment and trained to administer it. He also presented six awards to law enforcement officers and medical professionals in the state who have helped save lives by administering naloxone or training individuals to do so.

Naloxone, usually in the form of a nasal spray, works by counteracting the effects of an overdose of heroin or other opiate, and that in turn gives first responders additional time to get the unconscious patient to a hospital.

According to a 2015 Indiana State Department of Health (ISDH) report, the number of heroin overdoses in Indiana more than doubled from 2011 to 2013. Three out of four new heroin users report having abused prescription opioids prior to using heroin.

On behalf of his Task Force, Zoeller has advocated for expanded availability and use of naloxone. In 2014, the Indiana General Assembly passed legislation that provides immunity from civil lawsuits to law enforcement and other first responders who administer naloxone to overdose victims in the course of their duties. In 2015, further legislation was passed that allows medical professionals to prescribe naloxone to family members and others who provide care or services to those at risk of overdose.

To date, 55 law enforcement agencies across the state have been trained and equipped with naloxone, including county sheriffs’ departments, municipal police departments and campus police departments. At least 165 lives have been saved by law enforcement administering naloxone in Indiana.

Naloxone grant program

Beginning today, nonprofits registered with ISDH to distribute naloxone kits and provide training on the use of naloxone to law enforcement and other first responders can apply for grant funding from the Attorney General’s Office.

The new grant program is funded by a recent pharmaceutical settlement reached between the Attorney General’s Office and Amgen for deceptive drug promotion. The initial wave of available funding is set at $100,000.

“We cannot sit by as more and more people die from opioid overdoses,” Zoeller said. “The Task Force, Legislature and other leaders on this issue have paved the way for greater availability of naloxone, but these efforts are meaningless without the boots-on-the-ground response to get this antidote into police cars, EMS trucks and addiction treatment facilities where naloxone can be administered immediately to overdose patients to save lives. This is a public health emergency and demands an immediate response.”

To apply for a grant, eligible nonprofits must submit a plan to the Attorney General’s Office detailing which first responders in their service area are in need of naloxone, whether any jurisdictions in their service area are high risk, whether any jurisdictions have a demonstrated financial need to fund naloxone programs, and an estimated count of naloxone kits needed in the service area. The nonprofits must also detail their plan and timeline for training first responders on naloxone kits.

The individual award amounts will be determined based on the geographic service areas the nonprofit can reach, and the quantity of law enforcement agencies and first responders within that specific area per approved application.

A naloxone kit containing one dose costs approximately $75. The Attorney General’s Office anticipates the first wave of the grant program to fund the distribution of at least 1,000 naloxone kits to first responders. Zoeller said the program may be expanded depending on future need.

The Attorney General’s Office is accepting applications for the grants now through Dec. 1, 2015. Grants will be awarded at the start of 2016.

For more information about the grant program and how to apply, visit www.BitterPill.in.gov and click on “Harm Reduction – Naloxone Training for First Responders.”

Naloxone award recipients

Also today, Zoeller recognized first responders who have played a key role in equipping law enforcement and first responders with naloxone, training them to administer it to overdose victims and saving lives so that overdose victims can get access to treatment.

“Getting opioid addicts connected with treatment is key to curbing this crisis in Indiana. A treatment opening is of no avail if the addicted person has already died of an overdose,” Zoeller said. “Law enforcement and first responders have stepped up to the plate, and they are saving Hoosier lives.”

Zoeller presented the following individuals with award plaques during a ceremony at the symposium today:

Officers Lauren Carmack and Lona Douglas, IMPD Southwest District. Between the two of them, Carmack and Douglas have saved nine lives using naloxone. In each of the cases, they administered naloxone to individuals who were found unresponsive and unconscious. In a particularly noteworthy case, Douglas entered a home where a woman was calling for help. She found a man unconscious in a bathtub, pulled him out, administered naloxone and saved his life. Both Douglas and Carmack were part of the initial naloxone training for the Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department (IMPD) in March 2014.
Sgt. Jay Frederick, Columbus Police Department. A member of the Task Force, Sgt. Frederick played a critical role in securing legal immunity for law enforcement and first responders who administer naloxone. Recognizing the perceived threat of lawsuits as a barrier to public safety agencies making wider use of naloxone, he presented the idea to the Task Force which led to the recommendation to include it as part of the law in 2014. Largely thanks to Sgt. Frederick, the Columbus Police Department was one of the first law enforcement agencies in Indiana to be trained on naloxone administration. Sgt. Frederick’s high school-aged daughter Emma raised money to fund the kits for the department. Sgt. Frederick has also trained other law enforcement agencies on naloxone, including officers in Scott County responding to the HIV and intravenous opioid abuse crises.
Deputy Chief Bryan Roach, IMPD. Deputy Chief Roach was instrumental in piloting IMPD’s naloxone training and administration program in the Southwest District in March 2014. Since then, nearly all IMPD officers have been trained on the proper use of naloxone, and the department has saved nearly 150 lives. The success of this program in saving lives helped set the stage for passage of the 2015 legislation allowing lay persons access to naloxone as well.
Dr. Daniel O’Donnell, medical director with Indianapolis Emergency Medical Services and Indianapolis Fire Department. Dr. O’Donnell also played a key role in the naloxone pilot program, which provided research and data on lives saved using naloxone. A key data point found that more than 93 percent of IMPD officers involved in the training had been at the scene of an opioid overdose within the past year, and nearly 50 percent had been at such a scene within the past month. Dr. O’Donnell provided information and data to the Legislature to help secure passage of naloxone-related legislation.
Donna Purviance, nurse practitioner. A member of the Task Force, Purviance has studied intranasal naloxone education as part of her Doctorate in Nursing. She has trained four law enforcement agencies, including Indiana State University Campus Police, on her own time and supplied them with naloxone kits.
At the symposium, Zoeller also distributed pins to anyone who has been trained to administer naloxone so that they can wear the designation when responding to emergency situations.

More information on naloxone efforts can be found at www.BitterPill.IN.gov under “Harm Reduction.”

Visit www.BitterPill.IN.gov for more information about the Indiana Prescription Drug Abuse Prevention Task Force and the 2015 Prescription Drug Abuse Symposium.