Project DAWN reduces Opioid overdoses and drug-related deaths

Since 2014, Project DAWN programs have distributed 346,160 Naloxone kits, trained 239,791 individuals and reversed a total of 50,037 known overdoses, according to the Ohio Department of Health.

Project DAWN (Deaths Avoided With Naloxone) is a community-based drug overdose education network and Naloxone distribution and education program.

Naloxone (NARCAN) is a medication that can reverse an overdose caused by an opioid drug (heroin, illicit fentanyl, or prescription pain medications).

In 2021 alone, Project DAWN efforts in Ohio reported distributing 145,645 Naloxone kits, training 80,896 people on how to administer the Naloxone and reversed 19,760 overdoses.

“The Ohio Department of Health (ODH), along with our partner state agencies the Department of Mental Health and Addiction Services and Recovery Ohio, has invested much time and effort into combating drug addiction and the overdose issues,” said Ken Gordon, the ODH public information officer.

5,083 Ohio residents died of accidental drug overdoses in 2021.

This number breaks the previous record of 5,017 deaths in 2020. The worst year before the Covid pandemic had been 2017 when 4,854 Ohioans died in an overdose death surge driven by introduction of carfentanil, the most powerful and dangerous fentanyl analog, into Ohio’s drug supply.

Overdose deaths rose by 33% in Portage County, from 33 deaths in 2019 to 44 deaths from 2020. Nationally, overdoses rose by 29%.

The percentage of Ohio unintentional drug overdose deaths that involve fentanyl have continued to increase.

Through Project DAWN, Naloxone is used safely by emergency medical professionals and has one crucial purpose, to counteract an overdose death by reversing the impacts on opioids on a human body. This form of a lifesaving nasal injection has been used for more than 40 years, is safe and has no potential for addictive abuse.

Gordon says one major area of emphasis has been to increase availability of Naloxone in general, and the expansion of the Project DAWN program in particular.

In the case where Naloxone is administered to a person who is actually not experiencing an opioid overdose, it will be harmless. However, if dispensed to an individual who is dependent on drugs, they will go through a series of non-life-threatening symptoms.

According to data from the National Institute on Drug Abuse, effects of Naloxone can last anywhere from 30-90 minutes and may require multiple doses in order for that person not to fall back into an overdose or result in fatality.

Naloxone can be administered in three ways:

• Intranasal spray (NARCAN)
• Intravenous injection
• Intramuscular/subcutaneous (Evzio)

Trained individuals, such as medical professionals, friends, family members or other bystanders that witness an active overdose may administer said medications.

Veronica Diaz, a junior medical student at Kent State, says she has plans to visit Townhall II, one of two Project DAWN program locations in Portage County, to begin training and receive her Naloxone kit.

“I have heard stories from family members and even friends of people dying from a drug overdose. As a med student in training and just a passionate person who likes to serve others, I want to learn how to administer Naloxone so that one day I might be able to save someone’s life,” said Diaz.

In Portage County, where Diaz resides, 404 Naloxone kits were distributed in 2021 alone.

Participants of the Project DAWN class will be given a Project DAWN kit which contains:

• 2 needleless syringes containing Naloxone (Narcan)
• 1 face shield for rescue breathing
• Instructions
• Portage County referral information

Interested in registering for Naloxone training and to receive your Project DAWN kit?

The first Project DAWN site was established in 2012 in Portsmouth, Ohio – the hometown of Leslie Dawn Cooper.

On October 3, 2009, Cooper died of a drug overdose after years of struggling with a substance disorder. This program was named in her memory.

For the past decade, Project DAWN has expanded to more than 380 naloxone distribution sites that cover around 75 of Ohio’s 88 counties.

As of October 2022, 137 Project DAWN programs have been registered in Ohio.

In 2021, Project DAWN efforts in Ohio reported: 145,645 Naloxone (NARCAN) kits were distributed, 80,896 people trained on how to administer the Naloxone and reversed 19,760 overdoses, according to @OHdeptofhealth #NaloxoneHelps #ProjectDAWN #OverdoseReversal

— Julianna Garganta (@J_Garge22) December 16, 2022