Will County Health Department adds Narcan distribution box to reach veterans

Will County — The Will County Health Department announced this week that it is expanding its efforts to make the overdose-reducing drug Naloxone, also known as Narcan, more accessible by installing a red distribution box at the Veterans Assistance Commission of Will County.

The box will sit just outside the office at 2400 Glenwood Ave., Suite 110, in Joliet.

As explained in the health department announcement, naloxone is “designed to rapidly reverse an opioid overdose by binding to opioid receptors in the brain to reverse and block the effects of opioids.” If applied properly, it can take effect within minutes, restoring the ability to breathe and consciousness to people who have overdosed, potentially saving their lives.

The distribution box, or red box, at the Veterans Assistance Commission will be the 10th red box installed by the health department since the program started this year. The medication is provided through the Illinois Department of Human Services/Substance Use Prevention & Recovery Access Narcan program and can be accessed by anyone free of charge, no questions asked.

The boxes are provided through Save My Life, an Illinois-based nonprofit organization founded by Tanya Griffin.

According to Will County Health Department’s Program coordinator for Substance Use Initiatives Dr. Kathleen Burke, Griffin partnered with the health department to combat overdoses as part of her license agreement to operate a cannabis dispensary.

“Companies who receive a license to open a dispensary in Illinois are also required to give back to the community,” Burke said. “I worked with Ms. Griffin to create a program that would be beneficial to the community and reduce opioid overdose deaths. Access to naloxone is one of the most important strategies in reducing overdose deaths, particularly with fentanyl in the drug stream.”

Save My Life continuously fundraises to support the purchase of additional red boxes for Will County.

Reaching at-risk populations

Burke said that the decision to add the box at the Veterans Assistance Commission was reached after the organization specifically requested it for the facility, noting that “we both felt it would be an important resource for veterans and easily accessible.”

Many veterans are at an increased risk for opioid addiction due to PTSD and their increased likelihood of being prescribed painkillers for service injuries, which can become addictive and lead to misuse or illicit drug use, according to VeteranAddiction.org.

While the red boxes are a valuable resource for people who use prescription or illicit opioid drugs, the health department emphasized that naloxone is a useful first-aid supply for anyone and aims to take the stigma away from it by making it easier to obtain.

“We want the community to understand that many of the utilizers of these boxes are people who are not using opioids, but they want to be able to assist in an emergency situation or perhaps they have a family member or friend who is struggling with a substance use disorder, and they want to be prepared,” Burke said. “I encourage everyone to keep naloxone with you, in your home, and in first-aid kits as it’s a lifesaving medication to use in a rescue situation, and minutes count in an overdose situation.”

Distribution boxes resemble newspaper boxes and are open whenever their host facilities are open. According to health department Media Services manager Kevin Juday, each distribution box contains about 60 boxes of Narcan, each containing two doses. Most distribution boxes are checked and refilled weekly by the Health Department Rapid Response Team, although Juday noted that the two boxes at the Will County Courthouse are refilled twice a week, as they are the most used pickup spots.

In addition to the Veterans Assistance Commission and the Will County Courthouse, distribution boxes can be found at The Will County Health Department Main Office in Joliet, The Will County Community Health Center, The Will County Health Department Northern Branch Office in Bolingbrook, the Will County Office Building and the White Oak Library District’s branches in Crest Hill, Lockport and Romeoville.

Overdoses declining

In announcing the new box, the health department reported that there were 95 opioid overdose deaths in Will County in 2023, down from 112 in 2022. In the same year, at least 103 overdoses were reversed with naloxone, which was more than double the number in 2022, although Juday said official reversal numbers may be low because individuals who do not seek further medical treatment after reversing an overdose may not report the incidents to authorities.

“Without Saved My Life’s donation to the Health Department, we would not have been able to purchase distribution boxes and increase Narcan access so dramatically,” Burke said. “Last year, we distributed 11,688 boxes of Narcan and reduced the overdose death rate by 16% in Will County. With the addition of the red boxes, we have already increased access to 2,050 boxes of Narcan.”

All Will County residents are encouraged to make use of the red distribution boxes to obtain naloxone. Residents can receive free boxes of the medication and training for its use through the health department by emailing sui@willcountyhealth.org.