News
Project DAWN Aims At Saving Lives
By: Kaitlyn Roman
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Athens City-Council Health Department offically launched Project DAWN on Thursday.
Ohio is facing an opiod overdose epidemic, and in the last 10 years in Athens county, there have been an average of about 10 deaths annually due to opiod overdose.
Dr. James Gaskell, Athens city-county health commissioner spoke about Project DAWN which stands for "Deaths Avoided With Naloxone."
Naloxone, which is also known as a narcan, is a medication that can reverse an overdose that is caused by an opiod drug.
The Athens City-County Health Department is partnering with the 317 Board which is supplying funding to initiate Project Dawn in the southeastern Ohio region.
To begin the program, family and friends of opiod users should call the Heath Department at 740-592-4431 to make an appointment with a public health nurse.
At the health department visit, family and friends will participate in a short educational program about overdose prevention and response.
They will then be supplied with an overdose prevention kit which contains naloxone in a prefilled syringe, nasal adaptors, educational DVDs, face shield for rescue breathing, and a quick reference guide for rapid review of procedures.
Officials are confident and optimistic that the project will prevent deaths locally due to opiod overdoses.