On Tuesday, August 29th, the Southern Virginia Higher Education hosted an American Red Cross blood drive from 10am to 2pm. The blood drive was held in the SVHEC’s Center of Nursing Excellence located within the 820 Bruce Street Building. Seventeen people donated blood during the CNE’s first blood drive in several years. CNE Manager Kimberly Throckmorton said, “Hopefully, this will address the blood shortages while giving people an opportunity to give back to their community. You can help save a life, and donating blood is really necessary.” She hopes to host many more blood drives in the future.
To find a blood drive or make an appointment to givce, visit https://www.redcrossblood.org/give or call 1-800-RED CROSS.
On Thursday, August 31st, SVHEC’s Center of Nursing Excellence and Southside Area Health Education joined with the Southside Behavioral Health and the Southside Wellness Coalition to offer a free Rapid REVIVE! training. The event was strategically held on that date because it was International Overdose Awareness Day.
Nearly 100 individuals received training and now have the tools to respond to an opioid overdose.
“We’ve lost almost half-a-million people due to opioid overdoses,” said Beth Englehorn, Southside Behavioral Health’s executive director, underscoring the need for community trainings like this one.
REVIVE! is the Opioid Overdose and Naloxone Education program for the Commonwealth of Virginia, and provides free training on how to recognize and respond to an opioid overdose emergency using naloxone. Naloxone, also known by the brand name Narcan, is a prescription medication that temporarily reverses an opioid overdose by blocking the effects of opioids. If given in time, naloxone can save someone’s life by temporarily reversing the overdose and allowing the affected person to breathe again.
“REVIVE keeps people alive, and you can’t get treatment if you’re no longer here. This training helps us provide treatment following an opioid overdose,” Englehorn stated.
Rapid REVIVE! was held in the SVHEC’s parking lot from 11am until 3pm, with training occurring in 15-minute intervals. Anyone 18 and older was eligible to participate, and everyone who completed training received a free dose of Narcan. In addition to the Rapid REVIVE! training, SVHEC, its partners, and Southside Behavioral Health provided information about available programs, and Southside VA Community College Nursing students offered free blood pressure checks.
For information about future Rapid REVIVE! trainings or resources for opioid addiction, visit www.southsidebh.org