Gundersen to carry Narcan behind the counter

Customers will have to request it by name

It’ll cost $80, but Narcan is now available at Gundersen Health System in the area.

Monday, Gundersen pharmacies in La Crosse, Onalaska and Holmen began carrying the medication that counters a drug overdose.

The medication will be offered behind-the-counter. Customers will need to ask for it by name. Gundersen clinicians may also prescribe the medication to patients.

“We keep a supply, obviously, on hand,” Gundersen executive vice president and medical chief operating officer Michael Dolan said, “but we’ve increased that supply knowing that once this is made public, that, certainly, there may be a greater demand from patients and family members.”

Dolan added people should still call 911 after they administer Narcan, because the drugs can still be powerful to cause another overdose.

“Narcan is not a silver bullet for the devastating opioid overdose epidemic, and our intent is not to enable those who abuse opioids,” Dolan said. “Our intent is to save lives by improving access to Narcan and supporting the comprehensive efforts to fight this epidemic in the communities we serve.”

Walgreen’s, CVS and other pharmacies are selling or will soon sell the medication in the same manner as Gundersen.

In 2014, the CDC reported that 47,055 drug-overdose deaths occurred in the U.S., including 853 in Wisconsin. In Minnesota, that number was 517, while it was 264 in Iowa – the second-lowest adjusted rate (8.8 percent) to North Dakota (6.3%).

Wisconsin’s percentage is 15.1 and Minnesota’s is 9.6. 

The state with the highest percentage, by far, is West Virginia (35.5%). After that, it’s New Mexico (27.3%), New Hampshire (26.2%), then Kentucky (24.7%).

The percentage of drug-overdose deaths by race is led by whites (19%). Black, non-Hispanic are at 10.5%, while Hispanics are 6.7%.

Dolan also pointed out the Narcan will come with a pamphlet, for those who seek treatment.

“Although this saves lives, and that’s really what it’s about,” Dolan said, “what we really want, is people to have the resources so that they can seek out recovery help along the way. 

“So we’ve made that available in the pamphlet that we’re distributing with the Narcan.”