Intermountain Health Distributes Record Number of Naloxone Kits, Helping to Reduce Opioid Deaths

Intermountain Health set a record in 2024 for distribution of naloxone kits, through Intermountain’s Opioid Education and Naloxone Distribution program in Utah. The program collaborates with the organization Utah Naloxone, which provides naloxone kits used to educate and distribute in our communities.

Intermountain is working to reduce opioid deaths, along with addressing the stigma and barriers that often prevent people from seeking help. Recognizing this as a key issue facing our communities, it is part of Intermountain Health’s Community Health Needs Assessments.

Opioid deaths continue to be a significant public health crisis with devastating impacts across the country. This is why Intermountain Health has implemented community-based strategies and collaborated with outside organizations and clinical teams in effort to reduce opioid misuse and overdose deaths.

“We know that health systems can play an important role in preventing opioid overdose deaths,” said Lisa Nichols, vice president of Community Health at Intermountain Health. “The work we do toward community education campaigns, stigma reduction, naloxone distribution, and prescribing practice changes is crucial.”

Utah Naloxone, a nonprofit organization, has been furnishing life-saving naloxone rescue kits broadly in community spaces since 2015, and we are so proud of the work to decrease opioid overdose deaths statewide, said Nichols.

Utah has gone from 4th (2014) to 42nd (2021) for overdose death rates in the nation due to the tireless efforts of many.

“Intermountain Health has been onboard and eager to aggressively address the opioid overdose death crisis in Utah for over a decade. Within months of naloxone access laws being passed, Intermountain joined forces with Utah Naloxone to spread education, awareness, and access to this life saving tool,” said Jennifer Plumb, MD, MPH, medical director of Utah Naloxone. “There have been over 12,500 life-saving reversals reported since that time.  Thousands are alive thanks to these efforts, and we are so grateful for this vital partnership.”

Dr. Plumb said Intermountain Health has worked to become a crucial partner from the beginning when Utah first legalized naloxone – becoming a critical piece of the culture shift that has changed the way Utah sees and treats individuals struggling with substance use disorder.

The Intermountain Health naloxone program also includes a speaker’s bureau of Intermountain caregivers in Utah and Idaho who volunteer to attend community events and provide training on how to recognize and respond to an opioid overdose, and how to use naloxone.

Intermountain has included naloxone distribution as part of its new On-Demand services. To learn more about Intermountain’s naloxone distribution in Utah, Idaho, Montana, and Nevada visit the naloxone on demand site.

About Intermountain Health

Headquartered in Utah with locations in six states and additional operations across the western U.S., Intermountain Health is a not-for-profit system of 34 hospitals, approximately 400 clinics, medical groups with some 4,600 employed physicians and advanced care providers, a health plans division called Select Health with more than one million members, and other health services. Helping people live the healthiest lives possible, Intermountain is committed to improving community health and is widely recognized as a leader in transforming healthcare by using evidence-based best practices to consistently deliver high-quality outcomes at sustainable costs. For up-to-date information and announcements, please see the Intermountain Health newsroom at https://intermountainhealthcare.org/news.