AUSTIN — Gov. Greg Abbott last week announced the launch of an online interactive map by the Texas Department of State Health Services (DSHS) that pinpoints where Texans can acquire for free or purchase life-saving Naloxone (NARCAN) as part of the statewide “One Pill Kills” campaign.
This new tool will help Texans locate over-the-counter NARCAN to prevent fentanyl poisonings and help save lives, according to the governor’s office.
“Texas’ statewide efforts to combat the fentanyl crisis have saved countless lives,” Abbott said March 26. “Texas must continue to do more until the scourge of fentanyl is completely eradicated from our communities.”
The new interactive map will help Texans easily find nearby locations that can provide NARCAN by typing in an address or zip code — “an invaluable tool to ensure that Texans have life-saving medication to protect more innocent lives from being lost to deadly fentanyl,” Abbott said.
Maintained by DSHS’s Texas Overdose Data to Action program, the map includes a search bar where visitors can type in an address or zip code to see nearby Naloxone locations.
Information displayed for each location includes the type of site (e.g like community health clinics, recovery support services, vending machines), their hours, phone number, website, and more.
“I thank the DSHS for their work to create this new tool in our toolbox as we continue our fight against the nationwide fentanyl crisis,” the governor said. “Working together, we will keep fighting back to save even more innocent lives from this deadly threat.”
If a person is poisoned by an opioid like fentanyl, their breathing may slow or stop altogether. Other symptoms may include faint heartbeat, small pupils, unconsciousness, vomiting, purple lips and fingernails, and pale or clammy skin.
When administered, Naloxone attaches to opioid receptors in the brain and blocks the effects of opioids, allowing the victim’s breathing to be safely restored.
Naloxone is also safe if administered to someone who did not use opioids but may have shown symptoms of an opioid emergency.
“This NARCAN locator map is another tool in our fight against fentanyl-related poisonings that have affected Americans in such a devastating way,” said DSHS Commissioner Jennifer Shuford, MD, MPH.
“Health care providers, first responders, and members of the public can pick up and have this life-saving medication on hand and ready for use for when an opioid overdose emergency occurs,” Shuford added.
The Texas Overdose Data to Action program partners with the Texas Health and Human Services Commission to identify and update the NARCAN distribution locations on the locator map.
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