Marion County Public Health held their monthly providers meeting on Monday

The meeting provides healthcare and community organizations an opportunity to inform the public of updates within their respective organizations. A large group of community healthcare organizations and others showed up at this week’s meeting to share information. There is also a presenter at each meeting, and on Monday, Rachel with Employee and Family Resources talked about substance use and overdose prevention by being trained to use Narcan. Narcan is a life saving medicine administered through the nostrils that can revive someone who has stopped breathing due to an opioid overdose. Narcan is now available over-the-counter and is starting to become more accessible nationwide. Del Bennett with Marion County Public Health says it is important to always be prepared to save a life.

“There is such an uptick in the use of opioids. We just don’t know anymore. Just like any other first aid it’s important we try and save everyone’s life. Not just if it’s a heart attack, or a diabetic issue, or a heart issue, we want to make sure we are prepared for all emergencies.”

Hear more from Bennett on an upcoming Let’s Talk Knoxville.