By Bill Carey
EMS1
AUSTIN, Texas — Two weeks following Austin’s largest opioid overdose outbreak in nearly a decade, the city is boosting its supply of overdose response kits.
Austin-Travis County EMS emphasized the need to educate the public on recognizing and responding to overdoses, CBS Austin reported.
The kits will be distributed to city departments, community organizations and businesses, according to a city press release.
“These kits are lifesaving tools that will save family members and friends from the heartbreak that all too many of us know,” Austin-Travis County Health Authority Dr. Desmar Walkes said. “Anyone can be a victim of an overdose. It is important that we all take time to recognize the signs and get help for those who need it.”
Funding for the kits was made possible through Congressman Lloyd Doggett’s office, administering $2,000,420 through the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration.