A Franklin health center is among 10 New Hampshire providers receiving naloxone atomizers from a local health insurance company to be used in the event of a drug overdose.
New Hampshire Healthy Families announced Tuesday that it would be shipping more than 200 free atomizers – or nasal spray devices – to administer the liquid form of naloxone, an opioid-reversal drug. Health First Family Health Center in Franklin was a recipient as well as neighborhood health centers and providers in Portsmouth, Berlin, Gorham, Keene, Hudson, Merrimack, Nashua, Manchester, Milford, Somersworth, Raymond and Newmarket.
In addition, New Hampshire Healthy Families has launched a resource line for providers to connect with addiction treatment experts. Using the phone number, doctors can learn about the different options available for patients struggling with drug addiction, and physicians can also create direct referrals to addiction treatment providers.
“We hope the atomizers will help families be prepared to take life-saving action if and when a crisis occurs,” Jay Gonzalez, president and CEO of New Hampshire Healthy Families, said. “The new Provider Resource Line will give doctors another tool to give the best care to our members.”
Through Health First Family Care Center in Franklin, residents of 24 towns in Central New Hampshire will have access to these resources. Health First, which also has an office in Laconia, sees about 6,000 patients, 27 percent of whom have no health insurance.