When a person is experiencing an opioid overdose, essential functions in their body shut down. But just one dose of Narcan can reverse those effects, saving that person’s life almost instantly.
That’s why Smokey Point Behavioral Hospital is donating Narcan (also known as Naloxone) to local first responders, to help save local lives.
“Narcan kits are expensive — each dose costs $130 to $140 — so we wanted to help defray those costs and make it easier for our first responders to save lives,” says Julian Thompson BSN RN MHP, Director of Business Development Referral Relations at Smokey Point.
Smokey Point Behavioral Hospital delivered the kits to the Arlington/Marysville Police Department earlier this March, giving them another valuable tool in their emergency response kits when helping local residents.
“Washington State is among the highest-ranked for opioid misuse in the United States. We’re in the middle of two health emergencies right now — the COVID-19 pandemic and the opioid epidemic — and both need urgent attention,” Thompson says. “The kits we donated to the Arlington/Marysville Police Department are easy to use — there’s no fiddling with vials or measuring out doses. When someone is overdosing every second counts, so we wanted to provide something fast and easy-to-use.”
“At times, we have to use a few Narcan Kits on one person to revive them from an overdose and these are not cheap, so having Smokey Point donate these kits is extremely helpful in getting someone out of an overdose. We’re very grateful,” says Rochelle Long, LMHC, Embedded Social Worker at Arlington/Marysville Police Department.
Mental health and substance abuse treatment at Smokey Point Behavioral Hospital
Narcan solves the immediate crisis by saving lives in emergency situations, but ending the opioid epidemic requires long-term, evidence-based prevention and response strategies. Smokey Point Behavioral Hospital helps with that too.
The hospital offers Intensive Inpatient and Intensive Outpatient programs to help people facing mental health and substance abuse issues. Using a multidisciplinary approach including psychiatrists, licensed therapists, registered nurses, as well as substance abuse and mental health professionals, patients receive a custom treatment plan designed to encourage lasting change.
“Substance abuse and mental health issues often occur at the same time, so we offer programs to help patients address both. We want to give individuals the opportunity to sustain recovery, and develop healthy coping skills,” Thompson says.
The Smokey Point Behavioral Hospital intake department is staffed with certified Mental Health Professionals 24 hours a day, 7 days a week at 844-202-5555. Learn more at smokeypointbehavioralhospital.com or follow them on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
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