Drug Intervention Institute to Host Regional Law Enforcement Consortium on Overdose Response and Prevention in Nashville

NASHVILLE, TN, UNITED STATES, September 30, 2024 /EINPresswire.com/ -- The Drug Intervention Institute is hosting a day-long law enforcement consortium in Nashville on October 2, 2024. This one-of-a-kind, invitation-only event aims to bring law enforcement and community leaders from 10 communities and six states—Michigan, North Carolina, South Carolina, Florida, Tennessee, and West Virginia—together to discuss evidenced-based and innovative practices to overdose prevention and response.

Nashville’s own, Sergeant Mike Hotz and the Nashville Metro Police Department (NMPD) will be featured for their efforts with overdose prevention, education, and response including distribution of ONEbox™ opioid naloxone emergency kits throughout the Music City in live music venues, which has been supported by Nashville City Council and Gibson Gives. The work of the NMPD serves as a model for communities throughout Appalachia and the country. The community of Wilson County, North Carolina will also be featured so that attendees will leave with resources and an action plan using innovative strategies (including the ONEbox™) and evidence-based practices for their respective communities.

The ONEbox™ is distributed by the Drug Intervention Institute (DII). The ONEbox™ is an innovative and compact, one-of-a-kind, emergency response kit designed to address overdose situations promptly and effectively. The box is intended to hold two doses of intranasal naloxone used to reverse overdose. The ONEbox™ provides on-demand, one minute emergency video instruction, in both English and Spanish, that guides responders and laypersons through bystander intervention for naloxone administration and overdose response. Additionally, the ONEbox™ offers the capability to train individuals or large groups on naloxone administration through a five-minute video also contained within the box. The ONEbox™ was invented by Joe Murphy, a West Virginia native, after seeing the devastation the opioid crisis caused in his hometown. To date over 13,000 ONEboxes have been deployed across all 50 states, with over 200 confirmed lives saved.

Distribution of the ONEbox™ allows for naloxone to be placed in proximity of where overdoses are occurring and provides confidence for those responding during an emergency via the emergency training video. Having the confidence that the steps being taken are correct can be the reassurance someone needs to respond in an emergency.

Event speakers and special guests will include:

-ONEbox™ inventor, Joe Murphy
-Former acting administrator for the Drug Enforcement Agency, Uttam Dhillon
-Former National Director of the White House Office of Drug Control Policy, James “Jim” Carroll
-Jan Rader, Director of the Mayor’s Office of Drug Control Policy and Public Health in Huntington, WV and one of Time Magazine’s 100 Most Influential Persons (2018)
-Tennessean, Dr. Stephen Lloyd who was recently appointed Director of the West Virginia Office of Drug Control Policy.

The event schedule, program, and details can be found at: www.wvdii.org/nashville2024. Press should contact Institute President, Dr. Susan Margaret Murphy, 304-941-4182.

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About the West Virginia Drug Intervention Institute
Located in Charleston, WV, the mission of the Drug Intervention Institute is to reduce opioid and drug-related deaths in Appalachia and the nation by (a) preventing substance use through education (b) reducing overdose through training and distribution related to naloxone and other opioid reversal agents, and (c) supporting harm reduction and other drug-response efforts.

Dr. Susan Murphy
Drug Intervention Institute
+1 681-205-2287
email us here