2 Advocate hospitals give naloxone kits to overdose patients upon discharge

Harrison Cook -

Oak Lawn, Ill.-based Advocate Christ Medical Center's pharmacy now provides certain emergency department patients with a free naloxone kit before discharge, making Downers Grove, Ill.-based Advocate Health Care the first system in the Chicago area to offer this service, the health system announced Oct. 16.

Every patient who comes to the ED at Advocate Christ or Advocate Children's Hospital-Oak Lawn seeking treatment for opioid use disorder or an overdose receive the kits upon discharge. Any registered patient can also ask for a naloxone discharge kit. However, the patient or a family member must watch an educational video on naloxone before receiving the kit.

The naloxone emergency overdose response kit includes three naloxone vials, three intramuscular syringes, dosing instructions and a community outreach card outlining additional resources.

Advocate Health Care launched the pilot program in partnership with the Chicago Recovery Alliance, which is donating the naloxone discharge kits, along with educational materials on how to inject the opioid overdose antidote.

"While this program is not designed to serve as a substitute for rehabilitation for patients, it will allow a person experiencing an opioid overdose to live another day and hopefully to find the help they need," Diana Bottari, MD, chair of Advocate Health Care's opioid task force, said in a press release emailed to Becker’s. "If we simply supply an addict or first-time user with a prescription for naloxone, should another overdose event occur, the chances he or she proactively filled that prescription are small. It’s imperative that the patient leaves our hospital with naloxone in hand."

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