Forest hills Hospital and Urgent Care Distribute NARCAN Kits, Expand Overdose Education
Forest Hills, NY – Long Island Jewish forest Hills (LIJFH) and the Northwell-Go Health Urgent Care site at 98-81 Queens Blvd. held a community outreach event on thursday, providing free NARCAN overdose rescue kits and education about substance misuse. The initiative aims to combat rising overdose rates and support New York StateS harm reduction programs.
Dr.Christopher Calandrella, chair of emergency medicine at LIJFH, emphasized the importance of community education. “It’s incredibly crucial to educate our community about substance use disorder and provide resources for people who might potentially be dealing with this or know someone who is,” he said. “our goal for these events is to support narcotic rehabilitation programs, which are part of a New York State-sponsored harm reduction program.”
The effort comes as national overdose statistics remain alarmingly high.The Department of Health reported over 80,000 fatal overdoses across the United States in 2024. New York City saw 3,046 overdose fatalities in 2023, with disproportionately higher rates among Black and Latino New Yorkers and residents of high-poverty neighborhoods.
Each NARCAN kit contains two Naloxone devices, along with gloves, a facemask, an infographic, a New York State Overdose reporting form, links to relevant phone apps, and informational cards. Naloxone is a life-saving medication used to reverse opioid overdoses.
“Substance use disorder is still a serious public health challenge,” Calandrella added. “While we are starting to see a slight decrease in the number of cases coming into our hospitals,we must continue to inform the public about the dangers associated with opioid misuse and overdose.”