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NM Health Care Authority to equip ISD offices with life-saving naloxone
Boxes of naloxone, an emergency treatment for opioid overdose, were given out to those who attended a fentanyl awareness candlelight vigil at Civic Plaza in October 2023. The life-saving drug is now being stocked in state Income Support Division offices.
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The Health Care Authority announced Tuesday that it would stock all Income Support Division offices with naloxone and train staff members to use the life-saving drug.
Naloxone, also known under the brand name Narcan, is an emergency drug used to reverse the effects of overdoses of fentanyl, heroin, morphine and oxycodone within minutes. The New Mexico Department of Health attributes about 46.3 deaths per 100,000 people to opioid overdoses, a rate that’s decreased each of the last two years but remains well above the national average.
“This initiative is about saving lives,” Kari Armijo, secretary of the Health Care Authority, said in a statement. “No one should die from an overdose when we have the tools to prevent it.”
The state department said it would train staff to recognize and respond to opioid overdoses. HCA said it would also deploy 20 naloxone vending machines to Crisis Triage Centers and high-traffic ISD offices in the next three months.
ISD is a poverty alleviation program with offices across the state. The naloxone vending machines will be placed in 16 of those offices.
“ISD offices help people across New Mexico, including those and their loved ones who may be at risk of an opioid overdose,” Armijo said.
When administered, naloxone blocks the effects of opioids and restores a person’s breathing. It’s only effective when the person has opioids in their system and does not provide any euphoric effects. People cannot get high on naloxone.
The federal Food and Drug Administration approved naloxone as an over-the-counter drug in March 2023. Police in New Mexico have been required by law to carry Naloxone since 2017.
