Pubdate: Wed, 14 Dec 2016 Source: Daily Courier, The (CN BC) Copyright: 2016 The Okanagan Valley Group of Newspapers Contact: http://www.kelownadailycourier.ca Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/531 Author: Ron Seymour Page: A1 DRUG SITES SET TO OPEN DOWNTOWN, IN RUTLAND 2 overdose prevention sites aimed at saving lives Overdose prevention sites, where people can use drugs in what's said to be a safe environment, will open Friday in downtown Kelowna and Rutland. The provincial government says it is opening the sites to try to reduce the number of people dying of overdoses, particularly during the current cold snap. "It's difficult to know how many people will use the sites, but I think the uptake will be pretty strong," Clare MacDonald of the Living Positive Resource Centre, which will help operate the sites, said Tuesday. "At first, the people coming into the sites will probably be those who would otherwise be using drugs in alleyways or going into private businesses to use the washroom," MacDonald said. Health-care workers will not assist people in using drugs, nor offer one-on-one supervision. But they will be nearby in the two buildings to offer immediate help in the event of an overdose, MacDonald said. The downtown site will be located in an Interior Health building at 1340 Ellis St., recently vacated with the opening of a larger IH complex at the corner of Ellis and Doyle Avenue. A similar site will be run out of the Living Positive Resource Centre, 168 Asher Rd., in Rutland. MacDonald said she believed the sites would be open daily from 12-4 p.m. but added these and other details must still be confirmed before the service begins on Friday. "We're scrambling to get everything in place," she said. In addition to the two overdose prevention sites in Kelowna, similar facilities are being opened in Kamloops, Prince George, Victoria and Surrey. "In the wake of a spike in overdose-related 911 calls, and in light of the current cold snap across the province, health authorities are moving quickly to set up overdose prevention sites in communities where a significant number of people have been suffering overdoses," Health Minister Terry Lake said in a government press release. "We needed to act quickly with this emergency measure to help save people's lives, which is our foremost concern as we continue our work to combat the overdose crisis," Lake said. Interior Health is reporting a "dramatic increase" in both fatal and non-fatal overdose events, chief medical health officer Dr. Trevor Corneil says. An overdose prevention site does not offer drug users any of the harm-reduction or addictions-care services found at a safe injection site. Their purpose is only to increase the likelihood that trained medical staff are able to intervene with the anti-overdose drug naloxone and perform other medical procedures to prevent catastrophic brain injury or death in the event of an overdose. - --- MAP posted-by: Matt