URI's Naloxone Push Aims to Slash Rhode Island Overdose Deaths

KINGSTON, R.I. — The University of Rhode Island's College of Pharmacy launched the Community First Responder Program (CFRP) to tackle Rhode Island's opioid epidemic head-on, distributing about 50,000 intranasal naloxone kits annually at the request of the Rhode Island Department of Health since fall 2021. Naloxone, the overdose reversal medication also known as Narcan, is provided free at markets, events and through direct orders, alongside education on recognizing and responding to overdoses. The program has trained over 1,050 law enforcement officers and 1,800 educators including teachers, nurses, counselors and administrators via webinars and in-person workshops.

Rhode Island's overdose deaths have surged since 2014, prompting state goals of a 12% reduction by 2025 and 30% by 2030 compared to recent baselines. CFRP seminars have reached more than 1,600 community members statewide, with additional thousands engaged at events from Providence to rural areas. A 2022 $1.3 million federal grant from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration expanded the model regionally, partnering with institutions in Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire and Vermont to share URI's online training modules.

URI continues bolstering Rhode Island's response through research leadership. In December 2024, psychology Associate Professor Nicole Weiss and pharmacy Clinical Professor Jeffrey Bratberg were named director and deputy director of the Community-engaged Research Core within Rhode Island Hospital's Center of Biomedical Research Excellence on Opioids and Overdose. The core recruits underserved participants and fosters community partnerships to strengthen studies preventing misuse and fatalities across the Ocean State.