Cook County Jail is Giving At-Risk Inmates Narcan Upon Their Release


In Illinois more people died from opioid drug overdoses than all gun-related causes in 2014, according to the Illinois Department of Public Health. 

Health officials at the Cook County Jail are addressing the problem by distributing an overdose-reversing drug called Narcan to at-risk inmates when they leave the jail.  

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The Cook County Health and Hospital System, which provides health care for the jail's nearly 9,000 detainees, began the program one year ago this month.

Dr. Connie Mennella, the medical director at the Cook County Jail, joins host Phil Ponce.


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