South Dakota Businesses Can Now Keep Overdose Medication On-Site
Businesses in South Dakota have a new tool available to prevent opioid overdoses in the workplace.
The South Dakota Department of Health has developed a program to allow businesses statewide to keep Naloxone on-site to reverse overdoses.
According to the National Institute on Drug Abuse:
'Naloxone is an opioid antagonist. This means that it attaches to opioid receptors and reverses and blocks the effects of other opioids. Naloxone can quickly restore normal breathing to a person if their breathing has slowed or stopped because of an opioid overdose.'
Naloxone has been proven effective in reversing overdoses for drugs like heroin, fentanyl, oxycodone, hydrocodone, codeine, and morphine.
The move to allow businesses to stock Naloxone comes after the 2023 South Dakota Legislature passed House Bill 1162 into law. It allows employers to acquire the drug and make it available to be administered by authorized personnel.
Naloxone boxes function like an automated external defibrillator wall-mounted box.
The Department of Health is partnering with the South Dakota Department of Social Services to provide training for businesses as part of this program, as well as developing policies and protocols to have Naloxone on-premise.
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