ONEboxes unveiled in Otsego County to combat overdoses

Vicky Klukkert, The Daily Star, Oneonta, N.Y.
·4 min read

Jan. 19—The Oneonta Narcan Initiative Team unveiled a new tool — a ONEbox — that will help in the opioid crisis. The Narcan dispensary boxes were presented during a press conference at Foothills Performing Arts and Civic Center on Friday, Jan. 19.

Twenty-one area businesses are the first in the state to receive ONEboxes, which contain four doses of Narcan (naloxone) and provide a 60-second video in English and Spanish describing how to administer it to a person who has overdosed, a media release said.

LEAF Council on Alcoholism and Addictions Executive Director Julie Dostal opened a box, showed the contents of the box, which includes Narcan and personal protection equipment in case mouth-to-mouth resuscitation is needed, and played the 60-second video. The video gives step-by-step instructions and can be replayed. A longer, six-minute training video is also available to view in the box.

"A life can be saved in 60 seconds," Dostal said. "And that is why we are doing this and why we are so very excited to have this come to our community."

The first line of the video is, "Take a deep breath," which appealed to Otsego County representatives Adrienne Martini, D-Oneonta Wards Three and Four and Jill Basile, D-Oneonta Wards Seven and Eight. They both said they believed the boxes will save lives. The county legislature approved purchasing the boxes using funds from opioid settlement money.

Dostal said she became aware of the box at the Appalachian Regional Commission's INSPIRE program. Each box retails for $199, but can be purchased in bulk. The funds received allowed for the purchase of 100 boxes.

The ONEbox was developed in Huntington, West Virginia, which has been described the ground zero of the opioid epidemic, Susan Bissett, West Virginia Drug Intervention Institute president said via Zoom. "Huntington is also the city of solutions, and the fact that this was developed at the epicenter and we're seeing it save lives throughout the country is just phenomenal," she said

Bissett said more than 9,000 boxes have been distributed to 44 states and three countries. The institute has received word that more than 200 lives have been saved through ONEbox use.

The boxes can be found at universities, music venues, health facilities, transportation centers and municipal buildings, Bissett said. "Our goal is to put naloxone in proximity of where overdose might occur, and as Geoffery and Julie and the mayor spoke so clearly that can really be anywhere," she said.

Geoffery Doyle, executive director of Foothills, said the boxes given on Friday to area businesses, including his own, and nonprofits have the potential of saving 240 lives.

Locally, the boxes will be placed at the Otsego County Chamber of Commerce, The Black Oak Tavern, The Freeman's Journal & Hometown Oneonta, Huntington Memorial Library, Dosha, The Greater Oneonta Historical Society, Southside Mall, Sen. Peter Oberacker's Oneonta office, SUNY Oneonta, Hartwick College, LEAF Council, Foothills, Brew U, Roots, Otsego County Community Services, Temple Beth El, Bassett Healthcare, NAGS, Green Earth, Chabad of Oneonta, The 6th Ward Athletic Club and in Oneonta city and town halls.

"The prevalence of opioids and opioid addiction means that any one of us might find ourselves unexpectedly in a position of real consequence in a life and death of a neighbor," Mayor Mark Drnek said. Knowing how to administer Narcan quickly with the help of the box can make anyone a lifesaver.

"There's no doubt this is a lifesaver," Oneonta Town Supervisor Randal Mowers said. "I've seen the change, I've seen what's going on. I sit at town hall. I work there and I go to watch the court and I've seen some amazing things on Tuesdays and Thursdays. We're going to have one of these in our courtroom because there is absolutely no doubt it's going to come in need."

Oneonta Police Chief Christopher Witzenburg said overdoses in the city have been pretty consistent over the past year, however, there are "far fewer fatalities" because officers carry Narcan and there is more public information about it and availability to it for members of the public. "The more visible things are, it becomes less of a stigma," he said. "Just like AEDs and fire extinguishers, this will be another tool to save lives."

Vicky Klukkert, staff writer, can be reached at vklukkert@thedailystar.com or 607-441-7221.