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3d ago

UT San Antonio’s Be Well Institute Launches Campus Narcan Initiative Across Texas

Backed by state funding, the effort targets rising fentanyl risks with free kits, on-demand training, referrals to care.

Veronica Kaprosy feeds her granddaughter Italee in the family’s living room. Covering their table are photos of Kaprosy, her husband Daniel and their daughter Danica, who died of fentanyl poisoning in 2022. She was 17 years old.
Naloxone Texas, a program of UT Heath at the newly merged UT San Antonio, is launching an initiative to provide life-saving medication and training to prevent opioid-related deaths at colleges, trade schools and universities in Texas.   
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Narcan nasal spray at an opioid educational training class with Callie Crow, the founder of Drew's 27 Chains, on March 31, 2022, in Caddo Mills.

Overview

  • Naloxone Texas will provide free Narcan nasal-spray kits and overdose-response training to students, faculty and staff at public and private colleges, community colleges and trade schools statewide.
  • The rollout begins with campus outreach events, including a session at San Antonio College on Thursday by the Moody Building and a visit to Huston‑Tillotson College in Austin on Sept. 23.
  • On-demand virtual modules teach participants to recognize and respond to opioid overdoses, and campuses can request kits and schedule trainings through the program’s website.
  • Kits are prioritized for higher-risk counties based on overdose data, with referrals available to treatment and recovery through the Be Well Clinic and the Be Well Texas Provider Network.
  • Funding comes from the Texas Health and Human Services Commission with support from the Texas Legislature, responding to state data showing a nearly 75% rise in overdose deaths from 2018 to 2022.