In 2018, almost 70,000 people died from drug overdoses in the United States. It was a leading cause of injury-related death. Two out of three overdose deaths involved an opioid such as prescription opioids, heroin, or synthetic opioids (fentanyl).
The opioid crisis is not a crisis of the big city. It is hitting very close to home and it has directly affected our company and our teammates.
On January 18, McCarthy Tire Service hosted Margaret Carter from the Philadelphia Department of Public Health, Office of the Health Commissioner, for a training session on opioid overdose awareness and overdose reversal using Naloxone. The training was held at McCarthy Tire’s corporate office. More than 35 department heads, managers, supervisors, and human resource teammates attended the session.
The training included information about the current state of the opioid crisis, potential risk factors for opioid overdose, signs and symptoms of an opioid overdose, information about naloxone (Narcan), the medical protocol for responding to an opioid overdose, and information about Pennsylvania’s Standing Order for Naloxone, Act 139, and the Good Samaritan protection.
Meg Carter is an Urban Health Policy Fellow working within the Health Commissioner’s Office of the Philadelphia Department of Public Health (PDPH). Her present work focuses on Philadelphia’s response to the opioid epidemic. Earlier in her fellowship, she organized and evaluated LGBTQ and racial health equity initiatives within the PDPH AIDS Activities Coordinating Office.
ABOUT MCCARTHY TIRE SERVICE
Founded in 1926, McCarthy Tire Service is a family-owned and operated tire dealer headquartered in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania. The company has more than 60 service locations and 10 Bandag retread tire manufacturing plants along the east coast of the United States. McCarthy Tire is the sixth largest independent commercial tire dealer and one of the top 50 retail tire dealers in the country. The company offers tire sales and service; automotive mechanical services and repairs; fleet services; truck mechanical services; 24-hour commercial roadside assistance; and retread tire manufacturing. For more information, visit www.McCarthyTire.com.
MEDIA CONTACT
Amy Cameron, 800-724-3506, acameron@mccarthytire.com