Everyone’s seen a fire extinguisher or defibrillator hanging on the wall in case of emergency, but a recent Medical Daily article reported on a new wall-mounted box that can save lives: NaloxBox. NaloxBox is a plastic kit containing 4 doses of naloxone, a drug used to block or reverse the effects of opioids, as well as a mask for administering rescue breaths and information on how to obtain personal naloxone and information on where to seek help for addiction.
The product is the brainchild of Dr. Geoff Capraro of Brown University who created the box with the aid of designer Claudia Rébola at the Rhode Island School of Design (RISD). Since naloxone is only available via prescription, the team saw the potential to make it more easily accessible, so that bystander good Samaritans can assist someone experiencing an overdose.
A grant from the Rhode Island Department of Health has funded 48 pilot units to be installed in locations around Rhode Island, a state that’s struggled with the opioid epidemic. Once the Velcro latch on a box is opened, a text message is automatically sent to the person in charge of the box, notifying them that the box needs to be replenished with equipment.
