By the Numers: 25 November 2019
200,000
The number of Veterans to whom the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs’ (VA) Opioid Overdose Education and Naloxone Distribution (OEND) program issued naloxone ("a medication used to block the effects of a potentially fatal opioid overdose") from May 2014 to September 2019, according to a recent press release from the VA.
“Veterans are twice as likely to die from accidental overdose compared to the general U.S. population,” said VA Secretary Robert Wilkie. “Given the opioid crisis, it is our duty to do everything we can to help Veterans avoid opioid overdose and thanks to the Comprehensive Addiction and Recovery Act of 2016, naloxone education and naloxone prescriptions are free to Veterans enrolled for VA care who may be at-risk of opioid overdose.”
According to the press release, "VA is a leader in naloxone distribution to health care patients and has documented more than 700 successful opioid overdose reversals resulting from its use."
200,000
The number of Veterans to whom the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs’ (VA) Opioid Overdose Education and Naloxone Distribution (OEND) program issued naloxone ("a medication used to block the effects of a potentially fatal opioid overdose") from May 2014 to September 2019, according to a recent press release from the VA.
“Veterans are twice as likely to die from accidental overdose compared to the general U.S. population,” said VA Secretary Robert Wilkie. “Given the opioid crisis, it is our duty to do everything we can to help Veterans avoid opioid overdose and thanks to the Comprehensive Addiction and Recovery Act of 2016, naloxone education and naloxone prescriptions are free to Veterans enrolled for VA care who may be at-risk of opioid overdose.”
According to the press release, "VA is a leader in naloxone distribution to health care patients and has documented more than 700 successful opioid overdose reversals resulting from its use."