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Naloxone opioid antidote now available without prescription at Associated Food Stores retailer’s pharmacies

Naloxone will be available to guests without a prescription

Salt Lake City, UT, 2016-Mar-30 — /EPR Retail News/ — Life saving medication is now available in your local grocery store’s pharmacy. Naloxone, an opioid antidote, will be available without a prescription to guests at participating Associated Food Stores retailer’s pharmacies. The medication is used to reverse the effects of opioid overdoses including heroin and painkillers through a nasal spray.

“Our pharmacies care for many patients and families who have been devastated by the unintended effects of opioid use. As pharmacists, we are trained to provide Naloxone, along with the necessary education and training that may save a life,” said Denise Kunkel, AFS Pharmacy Operations Manager. “We take this opportunity very seriously and are honored to better serve our communities.”

AFS has developed protocols and procedures to ensure Naloxone is available to guests 18 years old and older as part of a larger Opioid Overdose Rescue program. The program and newly available medication comes at a time when prescription drug abuse continues to be a public health and safety risk. According to the 2014 National Survey on Drug Use and Health, an estimated 6.5 million Americans misused a prescription drug in 2014. The Centers of Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reported a total of 47,055 drug overdose deaths, which include prescription and illicit drugs, during the same year, a 6.5 percent increase from 2013. Utah ranks fifth in the nation in opioid related deaths, with 21 deaths each month.

Each pharmacist at participating pharmacies has been trained to provide medication counseling and guidance to patients. Naloxone is currently available at the following pharmacies: A&W, Bowman’s, Cecil’s, Dan’s, Davis Food & Drug, Day’s Market, Dick’s Market Centerville, Ephraim Market Fresh, Fresh Market, Harmon’s, Kamas Foodtown, Kent’s Market Brigham City, Kent’s Market Clearfield, Lee’s Marketplace, Lin’s Market, Macey’s, Payson Market, Peterson’s Fresh Market, Ridley’s, Stewarts Basin Family Pharmacy, and Winegar’s Bountiful.

 

Media Contact:                                                                      
Rachael Wabel
rmwabel@afstores.com
801-978-8913

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