this is zoe's story
Zoe's Story
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Supporting Second Chances
Zoe Kellner died of an accidental drug overdose in 2007.
She was misusing drugs, thought she could manage them and made a fatal and terrible mistake one night.
Tragically, when she died, she had just come to realize that she needed help to resume her life -- a wonderful life -- without drugs. She had agreed to get treatment. But an accidental overdose intervened and robbed her of that second chance.
Zoe's Story was established in her memory.
People make mistakes. People do misuse drugs, and too many get into trouble. But those mistakes should not end a life, figuratively or literally, when someone wants a second chance.
That is what Zoe's Story seeks to do: support and facilitate second chances.
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Naloxone Training and Distribution. We have worked with, and supported programs at, New York Presbyterian Hospital, ranked among the best hospitals in the nation by U.S. News & World Report.
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In 2015, we learned that New York-Presbyterian was outfitting its ambulances with an important, life-saving medicine called naloxone and training their EMTs in its usage. We partnered together with the hospital to partially fund their efforts. Naloxone is a drug which reverses the often-fatal results of an opioid overdose. It is available as a nasal spray under the brand name “Narcan.”
We would like to see Narcan available to everyone, everywhere, because overdoses can happen to anyone and can occur almost anywhere. We are working on training and distribution with New York Presbyterian Hospital and Weill Cornell Medicine in New York. Training takes just minutes.
Narcan does not treat opioid misuse or addiction. It treats opioid overdoses. It offers a second chance, a chance for someone who has overdosed to live and get treatment.
There were nearly 70,000 overdose deaths in the U.S. in 2018. The majority from opioids. Each one of those opioid overdose deaths could have been prevented, had Narcan been administered. The link below is to information about naloxone:
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Breaking Down Stigma. All too often, stigma shames people with substance misuse disorders, and they don't seek help and treatment. We have tried to put a face onto this health issue, so that everyone can see this can happen -- and it can happen to us.
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We also learned that there is a serious problem with stigma in the medical profession. We have supported programs to combat that, as it can be a hindrance to those with substance use disorders from getting the treatment they need. The link below is to a video addressing that:
Video -- Stigma in the Medical Profession
The benefits of giving second changes accrues not just to those who get them -- but also to the communities that all of us call home.
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