Through a strong partnership with the Fairfax County Sheriff’s Office, jail-based clinicians from the Fairfax-Falls Church Community Services Board (CSB) are now offering inmates training on how to reverse the impacts of opioid overdose. So far, there have been three classes in which about a dozen inmates have learned how to save lives. Upon release from the Adult Detention Center, the newly trained individual is equipped with a single dose of naloxone (Narcan®), along with a REVIVE information kit, just in case they need it for themselves, their family members or their friends. Naloxone is a fast-acting medication that can reverse opioid overdose.

This new effort is part of an overall Fairfax County effort to train more people how to recognize signs of opiate overdose and increase access to naloxone.

CSB’s Director of Jail-Based Services, Marissa Farina-Morse, said that inmates with opioid or heroin addictions are most at risk during the first weeks after being released from jail. “Someone with a heroin or opioid use disorder who was accustomed to getting high before they were incarcerated may try to use drugs again when they are released. This is devastating and can cause overdose because their tolerance is lower,” she said. “With the new collaborative, we have a window of opportunity to educate and offer high-risk individuals an extra tool they may need to stay alive. Community reentry following incarceration is challenging. We need to eliminate as many barriers as possible for those who are seeking help and who want to try to live drug-free once they are out of jail,” said Farina-Morse. “We urge family members, friends, and colleagues of these individuals to take the training, too. It can absolutely make a difference between life and death. We continue to hear many stories about lives that are saved with this training.”

“One of my top priorities for the Sheriff’s Office is inmate reentry,” said Sheriff Stacey Kincaid. “We offer a variety of educational and life skills programs as a constructive way for inmates to better themselves during their incarceration and prepare them for future success once they are released. Providing health care is also a critical component of incarceration and discharge preparation. Our nurses set up a formal link with community providers, and inmates leave jail with a two-week to 30-day supply of needed medication. Equipping inmates with naloxone and REVIVE training for their release is another step in helping to improve their chances for successful reentry and reduce the recidivism rate,” said Kincaid.

The CSB also offers free one-hour monthly REVIVE training at their Merrifield Center, as well as other community sites.

In the U.S., overall, there were 60,000 overdose deaths in 2017 and more than 100 in Fairfax County.

To learn more about actions underway to educate and combat opioid use disorder in Fairfax County, read the Fairfax County Opioid Task Force Plan.