Ryan Partners with SAFE Project to Combat Overdoses on Project Sites with Naloxone and Response Training

Safety is one of our core company values and that is why we’ve partnered with SAFE Project to take on the White House Challenge to Save Lives from Overdose.  This commitment signifies our efforts to respond to the opioid epidemic which has adversely impacted and continues to impact many in our line of work. According to a CDC study, the construction industry has experienced the highest death rate of drug overdoses.

“At Ryan we are committed to making sure that all of our employees and subcontractor partners make it home to their families safely at the end of the day,” said Brian Murray, our Chief Executive Officer. “Our team is taking initiative to ensure we are prepared, educated and willing to intervene to save someone’s life.”

We plan to make naloxone available on more than 100 project sites and in all our offices by the end of summer. In addition, overdose response training will be made available annually to employees through online courses and in-person demonstrations. These programs are being coordinated in partnership with SAFE Project, a national nonprofit that has provided naloxone training to 10,000 people nationwide.

“The opioid epidemic has severely impacted the construction industry in recent years, and we realize it’s more important now than ever for our teams to have access to life-saving opioid reversal medication,” said John Gaddini, our Corporate Safety Director. “Our hope is that employees will never have to administer naloxone but with the training they will receive, they will be ready to act in the event of a life-threatening scenario.”

Overdose deaths in the construction industry increased nine times from 2011 to 2018, according to the CDC. Research from the CDC shows that one out of three construction workers have suffered soft-tissue injuries such as carpal tunnel syndrome, tendinitis and rotator cuff injuries, and prescription opioid use is three times higher among construction workers with these ailments.

Naloxone is a life-saving opioid reversal medication. Last year, the Food and Drug Administration approved naloxone for non-prescription, over-the-counter use for the first time.