BASTROP, Texas — Bastrop County now has more resources to save lives from opioid overdoses.
UT Health Houston recently helped place a naloxone vending machine outside Bastrop County Cares, located at 806 Water St. in Bastrop. Anyone can pick up the free Narcan, the medication that can reverse an opioid overdose.
UT Health said the local poison center in Bastrop County received nine opioid overdose calls in 2023.
The new vending machine comes as overdose deaths have been occurring more frequently in Central Texas. Just this past week, the Williamson County Sheriff's Office responded to two overdose deaths – both of which had fentanyl involved.
A group of advocates also hosted a rally at the Governor's Mansion on Thursday to highlight overdose deaths.
According to a study from Rice University, from August 2022 to August 2023, more than 5,500 Texans died from overdoses, for an average of about 13 a day. Roughly 45% of those, or more than 2,000, were caused by fentanyl.