Ind. launches grant program to fund naloxone distribution

INDIANAPOLIS — At the sixth-annual Indiana Prescription Drug Abuse Symposium Oct. 30, Attorney General Greg Zoeller focused on the importance of expanding access to and use of the opioid overdose antidote naloxone as a response to rising overdose deaths in the state.

The two-day symposium is the pinnacle event for the Indiana Prescription Drug Abuse Prevention Task Force, which Zoeller founded in 2012 and which he currently co-chairs.

At the symposium, Zoeller announced a new grant program to fund a surge in naloxone distribution, with the goal of ensuring all first responders are equipped with the lifesaving treatment and trained to administer it. He also presented six awards to law enforcement officers and medical professionals in the state who have helped save lives by administering naloxone or training individuals to do so.

According to a 2015 Indiana State Department of Health (ISDH) report, the number of heroin overdoses in Indiana more than doubled from 2011 to 2013. Three out of four new heroin users report having abused prescription opioids prior to using heroin.

On behalf of his Task Force, Zoeller has advocated for expanded availability and use of naloxone. In 2014, the Indiana General Assembly passed legislation that provides immunity from civil lawsuits to law enforcement and other first responders who administer naloxone to overdose victims in the course of their duties. In 2015, further legislation was passed that allows medical professionals to prescribe naloxone to family members and others who provide care or services to those at risk of overdose.

To date, 55 law enforcement agencies across the state have been trained and equipped with naloxone, including county sheriffs’ departments, municipal police departments and campus police departments. At least 165 lives have been saved by law enforcement administering naloxone in Indiana.

Naloxone grant program

Beginning Oct. 30, nonprofits registered with ISDH to distribute naloxone kits and provide training on the use of naloxone to law enforcement and other first responders can apply for grant funding from the Attorney General’s Office.

The new grant program is funded by a recent pharmaceutical settlement reached between the Attorney General’s Office and Amgen for deceptive drug promotion. The initial wave of available funding is set at $100,000.

"We cannot sit by as more and more people die from opioid overdoses," Zoeller said. "The Task Force, Legislature and other leaders on this issue have paved the way for greater availability of naloxone, but these efforts are meaningless without the boots-on-the-ground response to get this antidote into police cars, EMS trucks and addiction treatment facilities where naloxone can be administered immediately to overdose patients to save lives. This is a public health emergency and demands an immediate response."

To apply for a grant, eligible nonprofits must submit a plan to the Attorney General’s Office detailing which first responders in their service area are in need of naloxone, whether any jurisdictions in their service area are high risk, whether any jurisdictions have a demonstrated financial need to fund naloxone programs, and an estimated count of naloxone kits needed in the service area. The nonprofits must also detail their plan and timeline for training first responders on naloxone kits.

The individual award amounts will be determined based on the geographic service areas the nonprofit can reach, and the quantity of law enforcement agencies and first responders within that specific area per approved application.

A naloxone kit containing one dose costs approximately $75. The Attorney General’s Office anticipates the first wave of the grant program to fund the distribution of at least 1,000 naloxone kits to first responders. Zoeller said the program may be expanded depending on future need.

The Attorney General’s Office is accepting applications for the grants now through Dec. 1, 2015. Grants will be awarded at the start of 2016.

For more information about the grant program and how to apply, visit www.BitterPill.in.gov and click on "Harm Reduction – Naloxone Training for First Responders."