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QUEENS WEEKLY, SEPTEMBER 15, 2019 QNS.COM
Learn how to help battle the opioid crisis in Queens
Special training session in Elmhurst educates public on how to save users from overdoses, Katz says
BY BILL PARRY
Queens residents will
have a chance to join the
fight against the nation’s
ongoing opioid crisis with
a special training session
in Elmhurst on Sept. 26.
As part of National Recovery
Month, Borough
President Melinda Katz
will join NYC Health +
Hospitals and the city’s
Department of Health
in sponsoring an event
to educate members of
the public on how they
can save the lives of
people suffering from
opioid overdoses.
“We are in the middle
of an opioid epidemic that
has claimed the lives of
nearly 3,000 people in New
York City in the past two
years alone,” Katz said.
“We can help address
this crisis by learning
how to administer potentially
lifesaving naloxone
to those overdosing
on opioids, empowering
family members, friends
and neighbors with the
information to assist.”
Participants will learn
how to recognize an opioid
overdose and how to properly
and safely administer
naloxone medication to
reverse it. The free training
session will be held in
the auditorium, Room A1-
22, at NYC Health + Hospitals/
Elmhurst, located
at 79-01 Broadway, from
10 a.m. to noon.
Naloxone is an “opioid
antagonist” that counteracts
the life-threatening
depression of the central
nervous and respiratory
systems suffered during
an opioid overdose.
Administration of naloxone
can quickly restore
normal breathing and
save the life of a person
overdosing on opioids.
It is a safe medication
widely used by emergency
medical personnel and
other first responders to
prevent opioid overdose.
“NYC Health + Hospitals/
Elmhurst is pleased
to partner with Queens
Borough President
Melinda Katz and the
NYC Health Department
to host this critical program
about how to assist
those at risk for opioid
overdose,” said Israel
Rocha, vice president on
NYC Health + Hospitals
and CEO of NYC Health
+ Hospitals/Elmhurst.
“Giving the general public
free training on how
to use naloxone can empower
Queens residents
to save lives and prevent
further overdose deaths.”
Naloxone kits will be
provided to the participants
in the training session.
The effort is part of
HealingNYC, a citywide
initiative to prevent opioid
overdoses that helped
the city achieve a 3 percent
reduction last year
in its annual number
of unintentional drug
overdose deaths, its first
annual reduction in
eight years.
The reduction was especially
sharp in Queens,
which saw its number
of overdose deaths drop
from 270 in 2017 to 215
in 2018.
“Naloxone saves lives
and is helping us turn the
tide on the overdose epidemic,”
Health Commissioner
Dr. Oxiris Barbot
said. “If you or someone
you know uses drugs,
it is essential to have
a naloxone kit on hand
in case of an overdose.
This course will teach
you the steps in responding
to opioid overdose
and provide access to a
free kit.”
National Recovery
Month is sponsored each
September by the federal
Substance Abuse
and Mental Health Services
Administration to
increase awareness and
understanding about
mental and substance use
disorders and to celebrate
the people who recover
from them.
Reach reporter Bill
Parry by email at bparry@
schnepsmedia.com or by
phone at (718) 260–4538.
Queens Borough President Melinda Katz announces a free
opioid overdose response training session will be held in
Elmhurst this month. Courtesy of Borough Hall
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