Overdose deaths in KC metro down as Narcan becomes more widely available
by: Hannah King
KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Outside of First Call on Stateline Road in Kansas City, Missouri, there’s a display of yard stakes – one for each life lost to an overdose.
“Last year, we had 443 yard stakes,” Emily Hage, president and CEO of First Call, said Monday. “This year, there are 400 stakes.”
Hage is referring to a decline in overdose deaths. She and her staff also work to make sure resources and tools are available to the public to help prevent overdoses.
“If someone is overdosing on an opioid, if they have this medication, it will save their life,” Hage said about Narcan.
She also praised local health departments for their work in the fight, too, over the past few years.
“When we talk about addiction, we have to talk about and acknowledge the presence of stigma,” Hage said. “So the more that we have public health officials acknowledging that these overdose deaths are preventable deaths [and] that they are happening in our community.
“We want people to know that addiction is not a moral failing; it’s a brain disease. So, the more that we can frame it as a public health issue, I think that’s really, really, helpful.”
Hage said the drug supply now has never been more dangerous.
You can learn more about First Call and its services to fight addiction here.