News Releases

Naloxone Toolkit Released to Help Nursing Homes Address Opioid Overdoses

IPRO QIN-QIO, a Quality Innovation Network – Quality Improvement Organization, recently released its Nursing Home Naloxone Toolkit to assist nursing homes with the creation of policies and procedures for the administration of naloxone to individuals in their facilities experiencing an opioid overdose.

Created with help from The Center for Health Affairs and others from the Northeast Ohio Hospital Opioid Consortium as part of the Nursing Home Naloxone Workgroup, the toolkit is in response to a change in the State Operations Manual, which declared that nursing homes must have a written policy to address opioid overdoses. Consisting of policies and procedures that facilities can easily implement, the toolkit is a resource for any nursing home needing to improve its emergency response to opioid overdoses.

The objective of the Nursing Home Naloxone Workgroup was to provide easily accessible, customizable, naloxone policies, procedures, and education resources in the form of a toolkit. Featuring evidence-based recommendations for responding to opioid-induced respiratory depression and examples of policies and procedures that can be edited to meet the needs of a nursing home facility, the toolkit includes suggested policies that facilities can select or modify.

Containing many useful resources, such as drills for suspected overdoses and a naloxone administration competency assessment, the toolkit also includes:

• A risk index for overdose or serious opioid-induced respiratory depression
• Opioid Induced Respiratory Depression Probability based on Calculated Risk Index
• Naloxone Education and Competency Policy and Procedures
• Naloxone Use for Opioid-Induced Respiratory Depression Policy and Procedures
• Standing order for use of naloxone for residents, staff or visitors policy and procedures

Provisional data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s National Center for Health Statistics indicates there were an estimated 75,862 deaths nationwide attributable to opioid overdose from Oct. 2021 through Sept. 2022.

As part of the ongoing effort to stem opioid-related overdose deaths, on Feb. 15, expert advisors to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) voted 19-0 to approve a non-prescription version of naloxone. This change would allow the overdose antidote to be sold in venues outside of pharmacies, including convenience stores and gas stations. The FDA must decide by March 29 if they will follow the advice of their advisors and adopt the recommendation.

You can view the Nursing Home Naloxone Toolkit by clicking here.