The Growing Opioid Epidemic: Preventing Overdose

Preventing Opioid Overdose

When the U.S. Surgeon General published a recent health advisory – the first such alert in the last decade – asking for the public’s assistance in tackling the nation’s growing opioid epidemic, Dr. Scott Walters from the UNTHSC School of Public Health made plans to do his part.

“Be prepared. Get naloxone. Save a Life,” the Surgeon General said. “For patients currently taking high doses of opioids as prescribed for pain, individuals misusing prescription opioids and individuals using illicit opioids such as heroin or fentanyl, health care practitioners, family and friends of people who have an opioid use disorder, and community members who come into contact with people at risk for opioid overdose, knowing how to use naloxone and keeping it within reach can save a life.”

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