City, State and County Partner on Overdose Prevention Programs at Cook County Jail

Lawndale News Chicago's Bilingual Newspaper - Health

The Chicago Department of Public Health (CDPH) and the Illinois Department of Human Services Division of Substance Use Prevention and Recovery (IDHS/SUPR) are partnering with the Cook County Sheriff’s Office (CCSO) to scale up and expand distribution of harm reduction kits to everyone leaving Cook County Jail. Under the expansion, Narcan nasal spray will be offered universally, and fentanyl test strips will be newly available. The program will offer direct referrals to medication treatment for opioid use disorder and add three care coordinators to work in the re-entry center to provide this support to all people being released from Cook County Jail. The partnership comes as the city, state and nation continue to see record-breaking opioid overdose deaths, due in large part to the presence of fentanyl, an extremely powerful synthetic opioid, in more substances. The U.S. surpassed 107,000 deaths from drug overdoses in 2021, an all-time high and a 15 percent increase from the previous record set in 2020. There were more than 1,400 fatal opioid overdoses in Chicago in 2021, the highest number ever recorded in the City and more than three times the number of fatal overdoses recorded in 2015. More than 85 percent of these local deaths involved fentanyl. To request Narcan or fentanyl test strips from CDPH, email osu.cdph@cityofchicago.org To register with IDHS/SUPR to become a Drug Overdose Prevention Program: https://www.dhs.state.il.us/page.aspx?item=58142

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