BALTIMORE, MD (August 22, 2018) - Baltimore City Health Commissioner, Dr. Leana Wen, issued the following statement about the Baltimore City Biennial Performance Audit released to the Board of Estimates today.

The number of overdose reversal drug kits distributed and overdose reversals reported in Baltimore both increased between 2015 and 2017, according to data from the city's health department.

A city audit of the department presented Wednesday found the Staying Alive Drug Overdose Prevention and Response Plan has been successful in its goal to reduce the rate of deaths from opiate-related overdoses in Baltimore.

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U.S. Surgeon General Jerome Adams made a plea in April for more Americans to be prepared to administer naloxone, an opioid antidote, in case they or people close to them suffer an overdose.

We wondered how many people know about naloxone and the fact that someone doesn't have to be a medical professional to administer it. Fifty-nine percent of respondents said they were aware of the antidote and that it could be given by laypeople; 41 percent said they weren't.

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