Borough president and city to host naloxone training

A total of 1,444 people died from unintentional drug overdoses in New York City in 2018, according to the Department of Health and Mental Hygiene. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke).

By David Brand

Borough President Melinda Katz and New York City Health + Hospitals will co-sponsor a naloxone training workshop in Jamaica to equip Queens residents with the tools to reverse opioid overdoses on Dec. 5.

The training will take place at NYC Health + Hospitals/Queens at 82-68 164th Street. Attendees will learn how to administer naloxone medication, commonly known by its brand name Narcan, to temporarily reverse overdoses from heroin, oxycontin, fentanyl and other drugs. 

“The use of opioids has led to a crisis in which drug overdoses kill more than 1,400 New Yorkers annually,” said Borough President Melinda Katz. “We can help stop this overdose epidemic by spreading the word on how naloxone can be safely and easily used to save the lives of those overdosing on opioids.

A total of 1,444 people died from unintentional drug overdoses in New York City in 2018, according to the Department of Health and Mental Hygiene. Across the nation, opioid use was responsible for more than two-thirds of the 70,237 people killed by drug overdoses in 2017, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

At least 96 Queens residents died of opioid overdoses in the first six months of 2019, according to city statistics.