The Department of Health and Social Services (DHSS) of Alaska will launch a new initiative called Project Gabe this summer to provide industrial workers with resources for awareness, education and prevention of opioid misuse.
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Project Gabe is named after Gabe Johnston, the son of Sitka public health nurse Denise Ewing, who died of opioid overdose in January.
Project Gabe is using the existing DHSS program, Project HOPE, to work on naloxone, a drug that can undo opioid overdose, and a fentanyl test strip that can test for the presence of fentanyl in the drug. Distribute to Alaskan people.
This program is the first public health nursing program to be implemented in Southeast Alaska fishing in collaboration with the Department of Abuse and Poisoning Prevention and Fisheries.
Over time, the project will expand to include other industries and geographic regions.
Birgland, plant production manager for Sitka Sound Seafood, said: “We care about people and are grateful to have the tools to do something about it in an emergency.”
Project Gabe provides education and naloxone free of charge through four main methods:
- Install opioid emergency boxes in common rooms in processing facilities, bunhouses, and offices
- Distribute water resistant bags containing naloxone to fishing vessels
- Provide an individual with an opioid overdose kit and keep it handy everywhere
- Partnering with the industry to educate Alaskan workers about the risk of opioid and substance misuse
“This project is based on work already being done throughout the state by delivering important messages directly to Alaskan people working through the workplace,” said Dr. Anzink, Alaska’s Chief Medical Officer. “Naloxone is safe to use and easy to manage. Project Gabe is even more accessible because time is important for overdose. Naloxone can save lives when used immediately and everything in Alaska. It needs to be widely available on ships, all processors, and all workplaces. Project Gabe is an important step in that direction, and sadly, I remember the young man being too early. ”
Ewing said the project would provide a way to help others when she is saddened to lose her son.
“Gave was bright, witty, opinionative, adventurous, and full of creative energy,” Ewing said. “He loved hunting, camping, fishing, and the outdoors. He was first introduced to medicine during his teens by a friend whose father was prescribed painkillers. Unfortunately, Gabe After one tablet, he became addicted, leading to over 14 years of multidrug abuse. “
This press release was provided by the Alaska Department of Health and Social Services.
