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A new overdose prevention initiative encourages students, staff and faculty to “Be The One,” to save a life.
The initiative was launched in early 2022 by West Virginia Drug Intervention Institute, the West Virginia Collegiate Recovery Network and Marshall University. The initiative distributes and installs ONEbox™ at the state’s public and private four-year colleges and universities, and on the state’s community and technical college campuses, totaling twenty-nine schools.
Susan Mullens is the Program Coordinator for the West Virginia Collegiate Recovery Network. She said associating the ONEbox with other life-saving measures like CPR and the Heimlich maneuver helps reduce stigma around opioid overdoses.
“The box makes it very easy, similar to the way an AED works, the audio comes on and walks you through step by step and with the ONEbox, it not only has audio, it has video so you have that visual demonstration,” Mullens said. “With the ONEbox, it has a video screen embedded so when you open the box, it automatically starts a video of Jan Rader walking you through, step by step, what to do to be able to use the naloxone that is in the box to reverse an opioid overdose.”
As of Dec. 7, all West Virginia colleges and universities, either already have the ONEbox on campus, or are committed to the installation of the boxes prior to 2023.
These resources, along with naloxone, have been provided at no cost to the schools through grant funds.
By placing ONEbox devices on West Virginia’s campuses, the “Be The One” initiative is not only able to reach those most vulnerable to overdose, between ages 18 to 45, but also help reduce stigma around opioid overdoses.
“Our campuses are also anchor points and examples for broader communities and so we feel like if the campuses are supporting it, which they are, we have all 29 institutions that are affiliated with the West Virginia Higher Education Policy Commission and community technical college system on board with this, that really helps reduce stigma in the broader community,” Mullens said.
