Naloxone Distribution Program

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Naloxone, also known by the brand name Narcan®, is a drug that can reverse the effect of an opioid or heroin overdose, and can be life-saving if administered in time. Naloxone can be given to anyone with symptoms of an opioid overdose.

Naloxone distribution program: Local health departments

To increase the amount of naloxone available in communities across Indiana, the Indiana Department of Health (IDOH) has used state and federal funds to provide naloxone to local health departments (LHDs). IDOH has generated several grant opportunities for its naloxone distribution program, in which LHDs were awarded and responsible for distributing the free doses and providing naloxone training within their communities. As of July 2021, six rounds of the distribution program have been completed, with a seventh round in progress. In its first round, the program distributed 3,473 doses of naloxone to 23 LHD participants. Since then, the program has distributed a total of 98,239 doses of naloxone to LHDs with round 6 having the largest number of participants at 54 and round 7 having the largest number of doses distributed at 27,644 (and still growing). The map below shows each county that has been involved in the program, color coded by how many rounds they have been involved. Since 2018, approximately 4.2 million dollars has been spent for the LHDs. Each year the amount of money spent on doses increases, as the need for doses also increases. Approximately $860,000 was spent on kits in the entirety of the 2018 calendar year, while approximately $1,400,000 has been spent in only half of the 2021 calendar year.

If you are a lay responder, i.e. a non-medical personnel who acts in an emergency, and would like to find out where to get naloxone naloxone, please visit optin.IN.gov and type in your zip code to find an entity near you.

Naloxone distribution program: First responders

To complement the distribution program, IDOH is targeting 49 rural counties that represent 1.47 million Indiana residents (22.3% of the total population). These counties have high rates of non-fatal emergency department visits due to opioid overdose and a lower reported use of naloxone by first responders. As part of this effort, the IDOH is also expanding the Indiana Recovery and Peer Support Initiative for referral to treatment.

Since the opening of the grant opportunity, 449 first responder agencies serving 45 rural counties were awarded a total of around 16,000 naloxone kits. Several more grant rounds will be opened in the future. Training is also offered for grantees through IDOH.

The 49 rural counties that are eligible to receive naloxone kits are listed below.