Iowa's Opioid Deaths Decrease

(July 8, 2019)

Iowa has seen a large drop in opioid deaths in 2018, reports Radio Iowa. Following 206 fatal overdoses in 2017, the state then reported 137 in 2018 (a 33% decrease). Though Iowa already enjoys one of the lowest opioid death rates in the country, Opioid Initiatives director Kevin Gabbert credits the new decrease to the drug Narcan. Narcan reverses the effects of opioid overdoses because of the ingredient naloxone. The state’s Department of Health secured funding to make it more publicly available. But Gabbert also mentions new patient treatment and monitoring: “It’s not enough for us to reverse an overdose if we don’t have opportunities for these individuals to make improvements in their lives — and then that’s where medication-assisted treatment or treatment in general comes into play,” he said.

To learn more about Narcan or naloxone, look here. To find an opioid treatment center or doctor, look here or here.