Brooke County Libraries are increasing training and access to naloxone by installing the ONEbox at all their locations. Through partnership with The West Virginia Drug Intervention Institute (WVDII), Brooke County Libraries have the ONEbox available for training purposes and use in an emergency. The ONEbox is an emergency opioid reversal kit designed to promote safety by assuring that individuals have the on-demand training needed to respond to an overdose emergency through bystander intervention. Library staff and patrons can receive training on naloxone administration via the ONEbox and additional training opportunities related to substance use disorder and being an ally to those in recovery are available to library staff as well.
“We are proud to partner with West Virginia Libraries through funding received from the WVDHHR to provide increased access to naloxone training and availability throughout the state. We know that overdose can happen anytime, anywhere, and to anyone.,” said Institute president, Dr. Susan Bissett. “Librarians and library staff are front line community workers, and they interact with all walks of life, and people who suffer from substance use disorder visit libraries. So, the more ONEboxes we have available to anyone, and more people trained and willing to step up to save a life, we’re better off. We are grateful to Brooke County for their participation and involvement in this project which shows their commitment to helping reduce fatal overdoses in West Virginia.”
Brooke County Library Director Alexandra Schneider says, “After discussion with my board at a monthly meeting regarding the current state of our communities and things that libraries have had to do to help combat this issue in our state and nationally as well, we felt it was a correct step in the right direction by offering something that was freely offered to help us provide assistance at our facilities. Both locations have an AED machine, and now thanks to this initiative, both locations have WV OneBoxes beside them as well.”
Through this project, the WVDII has distributed 70 ONEboxes and 140 doses of naloxone to libraries in 30 counties throughout West Virginia. All West Virginia libraries are invited to participate in this program at no cost to them. Please contact Heather McDaniel, Institute Vice President, at [email protected] for additional information.
About the WV Drug Intervention Institute
Located in Charleston, WV, the mission of the WV Drug Intervention Institute is to reduce opioid and drug-related deaths in Appalachia and the nation by (a) preventing substance use through education (b) reducing overdose through training and distribution related to naloxone and other opioid reversal agents, and (c) supporting harm reduction and other drug-response efforts.