DHEC to provide residents Opioid Overdose Safety Kits to help save lives

The South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control (DHEC) announced that Overdose (OD) Safety Kits will now be available in health departments across all 46 counties.

COLUMBIA, S.C. (WOLO)— The South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control (DHEC) announced that Overdose (OD) Safety Kits will now be available in health departments across all 46 counties. The kits are being made available starting this holiday season, a time when the number of drug overdoses increases in SC and nation-wide, say officials.

According to a press release, the OD Safety Kits contain two doses of opioid-antidote medication naloxone, five fentanyl test strips, educational materials on how to use both, and guidance for how to identify an opioid overdose.

The fentanyl test strips can detect the presence of fentanyl in different types of drugs, while the naloxone is a nasal spray that can reverse the effects of an overdose, say health officials.

DHEC says two kits per person will be provided while supplies last.

To find contact information, officials ask that you visit scdhec.gov.