Pitt’s Student Health Services installed four Naloxone dispensers across campus last week, providing free access to the life-saving opioid overdose reversal medication in high-traffic locations.
Naloxone, commonly known as the brand name Narcan, works by rapidly blocking opioids from affecting the brain and restoring normal breathing in someone experiencing an overdose. The medication can reverse an opioid overdose in minutes and is safe to administer even if opioids are not present in the system.
The cabinet-style dispensers, each holding approximately 14 Narcan kits with two doses per kit, are now operational on Posvar Hall’s second floor, Litchfield Towers lobby, the William Pitt Union and the Fitzgerald Field House. Each location features QR codes that connect students to Narcan educational resources.
“The providing of this medication lowers the barrier of access,” Charles Guthrie, executive director of Student Health Services, said. “The safety and well-being of our students is our first priority.”
The Allegheny County Health Department (ACHD) will provide and replenish the Narcan supply for the dispensers, which Student Health Services will regularly check and restock. Students can access the dispensers whenever the buildings are open, and in case of after-hours emergencies, University Police carry Narcan and can respond 24/7.
“The beauty of this project is that it allows people to access Narcan on their own terms in a relatively stigma-free way,” Otis Pitts, deputy director at ACHD, said. “Unlike having to call a pharmacy or present yourself at one, these dispensers allow people to do it without having to request it or admit anything.”
The initiative emerged from a partnership between the University administration and ACHD, supported by CDC grants that will run from 2023 through 2028. It aims to address growing concern about the presence of fentanyl, a synthetic opioid up to 50 times stronger than heroin that is increasingly being found in counterfeit pills sold as other medications.
“We haven’t heard of any cases here locally, but nationwide, we’ve certainly heard cases where college students are experimenting or using illegally manufactured pills, thinking that the pills are one thing, when in fact, they contain fentanyl,” Pitts said.
The installation marks the culmination of over a decade of advocacy efforts by groups like Prevention Point Pittsburgh, a local harm reduction organization that provides health services and resources to people who use drugs. Since 2012, advocates have faced significant institutional barriers, including concerns about liability and skepticism of the need for such resources on campus.
“There was pushback about perceived liability, whether or not the Good Samaritan Law was enough to cover the University,” Julia Hilbert, Prevention Point’s Pennsylvania technical assistance coordinator, said. “We also encountered a smaller group of people who seemed to maintain that there were no people who used drugs on Pitt’s campus, so this was just not an issue that they felt we needed to address.”
The timing reflects broader cultural shifts and new state support. Since 2021, Pennsylvania’s Overdose Prevention Program has provided free Naloxone in bulk to organizations that distribute it, removing a major financial barrier to programs like Pitt’s.
For Hilbert, the installation of Narcan dispensers represents a dramatic shift in campus culture. When Prevention Point first advocated for harm reduction at Pitt in 2012, the University would not allow Naloxone training on campus. By 2021, she said those same training sessions had become a frequent request.
“This represents probably the longest game win that I’ve been a part of in drug policies,” Hilbert said.
Mary Hawk, professor and chair in the Department of Behavioral and Community Health Sciences at Pitt’s School of Public Health, sees the program as particularly effective because it relies on students helping their peers.
“It’s a moment where we have this opportunity to get the attention of a generation where they’re maybe thinking about public health in new ways,” Hawk said. “In addition to reducing overdose, I think getting in front of college students and having them think about how they can make sure they have Naloxone in their own lives, even when they leave campus, is pretty important.”
According to Guthrie, the initiative is supported by Panther Well peer educators, who received specialized training to discuss Narcan access with fellow students. Student Health Services said it will launch a targeted marketing campaign to raise awareness about dispenser locations and proper usage.
Students interested in learning more about overdose prevention or requesting training for student groups can reach ACHD’s Overdose Prevention Program at 412-209-2274. The program offers educational resources and training sessions for university groups interested in learning more about the crisis and available resources.
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