News from the Node

Bangor, Maine — Noah Nesin, MD, Vice President of Medical Affairs, announced that Penobscot Community Health Care (PCHC) will provide a prescription for Narcan for any person in Maine who requests it, at the pharmacy of their choice.

Narcan, the brand name for Naloxone, is a safe, highly effective life-saving medication that can reverse the effect of an opioid overdose.

Given the ongoing threat to the life of Mainers that opioid overdoses represent, the 11 % increase in overdose deaths in 2017 compared to 2016, and in consideration of the very significant delays in making the lifesaving medication Narcan available directly from pharmacists in Maine, Penobscot Community Health Care (PCHC) feels that we must step forward as a leader to make this life-saving medication readily available to our friends, families, communities, and state.

Nesin said, “The threat of overdose is immediate and widespread. As a leader in addressing the health needs of our communities PCHC is compelled to act. We hope other health care agencies will follow our example and we hope that pharmacist-dispensed Narcan will be available soon (without a prescription).”

To request a prescription for Narcan for yourself or a loved one, please call (207)404-8000 ext 2232 or 1157. You will speak with a PCHC staff member who will collect the information necessary to process your prescription at the pharmacy of your choice. The cost of the prescription may be covered by patient insurance or is available at a cash price. PCHC patients seeking assistance affording their medications may talk with a PCHC Prescription Assistance Technician.

PCHC currently offers a quality Medication Assisted Recovery (MAR) program integrated with robust psychotherapy, safe and effective chronic pain management, and social work support services at our family medicine practice sites.

To learn more about treatment and recovery options available at PCHC, please call (207) 404-8000 or learn more at www.pchc.com/recovery