Partnership will provide valuable trainings to HPP members, employees and community members on opioid overdose prevention and the proper usage of Narcan 

Philadelphia, PA — Health Partners Plans (HPP) announced a partnership with the City of Philadelphia Department of Behavioral Health and Intellectual disAbility Services (DBHIDS) to provide free opioid overdose prevention and Narcan rescue trainings. Through this innovative community partnership, the City of Philadelphia and HPP are fighting back against the opioid epidemic, improving access to help and equipping people to ultimately save lives.

Monthly opioid overdose prevention and Narcan rescue trainings will teach participants to recognize harm-reduction approaches to high-risk behaviors, as well as explain protocols for administering Narcan, the life-saving medication developed to prevent fatal opioid overdoses. This training offers information, skills and a tool (Narcan) to the communities HPP serves to help them respond to opioid overdoses. The training program also outlines The Good Samaritan Act and its impact on providing assistance to those in need.

“The collaboration between HPP and our neighbor DBHIDS is a display of our continued efforts to be deliberate about integrating physical health and behavioral health,” said Health Partners Plans President and CEO Denise Napier. “The Narcan training partnership will not only help improve health outcomes but will enhance the educational awareness of the community and those we serve.”

HPP has already trained 20 employees via the train-the-trainer model across their community engagement, marketing, health and wellness, learning and development and clinical teams.

Philadelphia neighborhoods are being hit hard by the opioid crisis. In 2018, there were more than 1,000 overdose deaths in Philadelphia, and approximately 84% of those overdoses involved opioids. Increased access to Narcan and proper training on how to administer it are key tools for addressing the ongoing opioid crisis and preventing opioid deaths in Philadelphia and surrounding areas.

“The Department of Behavioral Health and Intellectual disAbility Services is committed to reducing opioid overdose in Philadelphia,” said DBHIDS commissioner Jill Bowen, Ph.D. “The impact for those struggling with opioid use disorder can have a devastating effect on these individuals and on their families. We are proud to have partnered with Health Partners Plans to train trainers to promote and spread lifesaving information about the opioid epidemic. It is our hope that many lives will be saved and many family relationships will be mended through this partnership.”

To request a training, please email hppevents@hpplans.com or visit www.hpplans.com/in-the-community/community-wellness-center/virtual-cwc.

ABOUT HEALTH PARTNERS PLANS

Health Partners Plans is a not-for-profit managed health care organization serving more than 259,000 members in Southeastern Pennsylvania. It provides a broad range of health coverage options through Health Partners Medicare, Health Partners (Medicaid) and KidzPartners (Children’s Health Insurance Program). Founded more than 30 years ago, Health Partners Plans is one of the few hospital-owned health plans in the country. Learn more about how to PartnerUp with Health Partners Plans, visit HealthPartnersPlans.com, twitter.com/HPPlans and facebook.com/healthpartnersplans.

ABOUT DBHIDS

The Department of Behavioral Health and Intellectual disAbility Services, part of the City of Philadelphia’s Department of Health and Human Services, offers behavioral health care, intellectual disability supports and early intervention services in one comprehensive integrated system. For more information about DBHIDS, visit DBHIDS.org.