American Addiction Centers on Aug. 24 launched a weeklong campaign drawing attention to the fact that someone dies from an opioid overdose every 11 minutes in the U.S.
The "11 Minutes and Counting" campaign offers an informative video series and a downloadable overdose toolkit. It will end on Aug. 31, International Overdose Awareness Day, with a Facebook Live interview featuring television sports reporter Lauren Sisler, who lost both of her parents to opioid overdoses when she was a teenager.
"We are losing far too many people to overdoses and many are unintentional," Lawrence Weinstein, MD, American Addiction Centers' CMO, said in a news release. "The pandemic has only made matters worse because people are turning to substances to cope. We also know fear, isolation, stress and anxiety are also all triggers for a relapse. Health officials are reporting as much as a 30 to 40 percent increase in overdose deaths during these unprecedented times. In some states, overdose deaths are surpassing COVID deaths."
During the campaign's run, four of American Addiction Centers' facilities will provide free virtual training on how to properly administer Narcan, a drug that treats opioid overdose in emergency situations.