State grants to help Mass. cities buy anti-overdose drug

January 7, 2016 6:14 pm

By: The Associated Press, Rebecca Turco

Email: rturco@abc6.com

FALL RIVER, Mass. – Forty Massachusetts communities are receiving state funds to help stockpile supplies of a drug that can counter opioid overdoses.

Republican Gov. Charlie Baker’s administration on Wednesday announced the $700,000 in grants that will go to many of the state’s larger cities, along with smaller communities that have averaged four or more opioid overdose deaths in recent years.

Police and fire departments can use the money to purchase naloxone, also known by the brand name Narcan, which if administered promptly can reverse the effects of an overdose.

The state last year created a bulk purchasing fund to help make it cheaper for municipalities to access Narcan.

Baker says the grants will help save lives. Massachusetts recorded at least 1,089 overdose deaths in 2014. Full-year statistics for 2015 aren’t yet available.

Fall River, which consistently ranks in the top 5 for overdose deaths in the state, will receive around $29,000. “From the rescuer standpoint, it’s rewarding,” said Timothy Oliveira, director of Fall River EMS. “But once we get [them] into the hospitals, I think the long-term care needs to be increased.”

The money will help cover around 700 Narcan doses, which is roughly the amount first responders administered last year. Except in years past, the funding for the antidote came out of the operating budget.

In Bristol County, five communities are receiving funds, which range from $10,000 to $50,000: Attleboro, Fall River, New Bedford, North Attleboro and Taunton.