Stony Brook Eastern Long Island Hospital saves lives with Narcan Rescue Stations
Healthcare providers are confronting the sharp rise in opioid overdose fatalities that plague communities across New York state. Stony Brook Eastern Long Island Hospital’s Narcan Rescue Station Life Saving Program is a vital community health initiative that is the first of its kind on Long Island.
ELIH established Narcan Rescue Stations across Long Island’s East End community through local businesses and establishments to prevent potential opioid overdoses. It aligns with the New York State Prevention Agenda priority area to promote well-being and address mental health and substance use disorders with a goal to prevent opioid and other substance misuse and deaths.
Narcan Rescue Stations are a tool to save lives, like an automated external defibrillator. The stations come with multiple doses of naloxone, the life-saving drug that prevents death from opioid overdose, along with detailed administering instructions and fentanyl testing strips. Free training is provided to any business. The Narcan Rescue Stations come at no cost to participating establishments as the program is underwritten by the initiative partners.
Stony Brook partnered with community organizations including Greenport Harbor Brewing Co., Greenport Village Business Improvement District and Community Action for Social Justice. An important component of the joint program is increasing public education and discussion around opioid use and treatment to decrease stigma and promote the use of the Narcan stations.
Seventeen Narcan Rescue Stations were installed at local businesses, 20 were installed in local park districts and 50 were installed in local schools. The program is also expanding its services to the South Fork of Long Island.
For more information, contact Linda Sweeney, vice president, public relations, at linda.sweeney2@stonybrookmedicine.edu or 631.477.5498
