LAS VEGAS (KTNV) — The Southern Nevada Health District launched its Linkage to Action mobile outreach unit on Thursday.
L2A is funded through the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Overdose Data to Action program to prevent drug overdoses through education, surveillance, and assistance with accessing services to prevent overdoses.
L2A staff members work in collaboration with community providers to link people who are struggling with substance use disorder to necessary services. These include sterile syringes, wound care, medication-assisted treatment or other treatment needed for recovery from substance use disorders. In addition, this team provides overdose education and Naloxone, a life-saving medication used to reverse an opioid overdose, to community members at greatest risk of overdose.
L2A also provides referrals to other essential services such as housing, mental or behavioral health care services, medical care, and transportation. The L2A mobile outreach unit will allow staff to prioritize locations where resources are most needed, including homeless encampments, tunnels, areas where overdose spikes have been identified, and rural Clark County.
The launch of L2A and its mobile unit coincide with a nationwide increase in opioid overdoses, specifically due to illicitly manufactured fentanyl. In Clark County, 166 residents died from fentanyl overdose in 2020 compared to 64 in 2019; an increase of 159 percent.
Information provided by the Southern Nevada Health District. Learn more at snhd.org.
