THE MALDEN ADVOCATE–Friday, January 17, 2025 Page 3 Middlesex Sheriff’s Office first to install a naloxone vending machine Dispenses free overdose reversal medication R ecently, Sheriff Peter J. Koutoujian announced that the Middlesex Sheriff’s Office (MSO) has become the first sheriff’s office in the Commonwealth to install a naloxone vending machine (Link to B-Roll), making the opioid overdose reversal medication available for free to all visitors and staff at the Middlesex Jail & House of Correction. The machine was installed on December 9 at the facility’s visitor center and has already been used 24 times since its launch. Over the past two calendar years, more than 25,000 visits have been processed at the Middlesex Jail & House of Correction. Visitors included family members, friends, attorneys, volunteers and other law enforcement partners. Currently, approximately 2025% of incarcerated individuals in the Middlesex Jail & House of Correction are receiving a U.S. Food and Drug Administration-approved medication for opioid use disorder (OUD). Many of them participate via the Medication Assisted Treatment and Directed Opioid Recovery (MATADOR) program offered at the facility – considered a national best practice by the National Institute of Corrections. “We have always taken a comprogramming, as well as community-based prevention and intervention initiatives along with stakeholders from across Middlesex County. The survey takes less than 30 seconds to complete. In addition to dispensing the The Middlesex Sheriff’s Office has become the first sheriff’s office in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts to install a naloxone vending machine at one of its facilities. The machine was installed on December 9, 2024, at the Middlesex Jail & House of Correction in Billerica, Mass. (Courtesy photo) prehensive, public health-centered approach to supporting those working through recovery,” said Sheriff Peter J. Koutoujian. “Through MATADOR and our Families in Treatment program, we have been at the forefront of implementing commonsense, data-driven initiatives to surround individuals and their families with options for treatment. This new effort builds upon that robust foundation and will help make this life-saving medication more readily available.” Individuals visiting the facility can access the naloxone anonymously, and they will answer a few brief survey questions regarding age, gender, race and zip code. Survey data will be used to help inform future MSO naloxone, the vending machine features a video and graphics with instructions on how to properly administer the medication. Currently, MSO distributes naloxone to loved ones of incarcerated individuals through the Families in Treatment (FIT) training programs. To date, 234 community members have been trained through the FIT program. Access to naloxone and training on how to properly administer it has been proven effective in saving lives across Massachusetts. Earlier this year, data released by the Department of Public Health showed that its distribution of 196,500 naloxone kits through community-level programs resulted in at least 10,206 overdose reversals since the beginning of 2023. The Middlesex Sheriff’s Office is using funding from a Comprehensive Opioid, Stimulant, and Substance Abuse Sitebased Program (COSSAP) grant to support this groundbreaking initiative. RON’S OIL Call For PRICE MELROSE, MA 02176 NEW CUSTOMER’S WELCOME ACCEPTING VISA, MASTERCARD & DISCOVER (781) 397-1930 OR (781) 662-8884 100 GALLON MINIMUM Advocate Call now! 617-387-2200 advertise on the web at www.advocatenews.net CLASSIFIED ADVERTISING
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