Overdoses Reversed Daily At Wash Heights Injection Site: Data

WASHINGTON HEIGHTS, NY — A first-of-its-kind injection site has reversed an overdose a day on average since opening in Washington Heights a little more than a month ago, new data show.

The Washington Heights safe injection center reported Wednesday it had reversed 47 overdoses since opening 35 days ago on Nov. 30, a spokesperson told Patch.

This means staff reverse about 1.3 overdoses a day.

The West 180th Street site and an East Harlem branch made history in 2021 when they became the first supervised injection sites ever to open in the U.S.

The staff at the two sites provide clean needles and administer naloxone to reverse overdoses and offer users options for addiction treatment amid a devastating spike in opioid-related deaths.

The two sites are run by New York Harm Reduction Educators and Washington Heights Corner Project, which merged to create OnPoint NYC.

A spokesperson from OnPoint NYC spoke to Patch about the results from the two sites a little over a month after they opened.

At the East Harlem site, staff has reversed 29 overdoses since opening, the OnPoint NYC spokesperson told Patch.

In total, the two sites have had 473 total participants use the two centers 3,316 times in 35 days.

The OnPoint NYC spokesperson did not have the total participant and usage numbers for the two sites separately.

Read More:

• First Of Its Kind Injection Site Opens In Wash Heights: Report
• Supervised Injection Site Opens In Harlem In Historic Move