A company that owns over a dozen Delaware restaurants is rewarded for training its employees on how to recognize and respond to an overdose.
The Delaware Division of Substance Abuse and Mental Health presented its Gold Restaurant Accolade Program Award to High 5 Hospitality.
High 5 Hospitality owns 15 First State restaurants, and they are the first restaurant group to achieve the Gold level.
That means putting into place policies and procedures to support staff who struggle with substance use, training staff to recognize and respond to an overdose, and providing local resources to those who need them.
124 restaurants are at Bronze level where they can recognize and respond to an overdose, while 33 restaurants at Silver level are prepared to link staff to local treatment and harm reduction services.
Anne Carr is the project manager for community projects for the Delaware Division of Substance Abuse and Mental Health.
"High 5 Hospitality has been so committed and such a good partner to work with in being on board with training their staff in a different areas and then that their management and their ownership recognized what a big issue it is especially in Delaware with overdose deaths and that they had the ability to have an impact a positive impact on not just their staff but on the community," said Carr.
And this training helps beyond the restaurants, according to Carr.
"They reported back to us they had somebody that used the narcan on a patron that overdosed, and they also had somebody that was trained at one of the trainings and used it on their neighbor had overdose and they were able to use that narcan on their neighbor,” said Carr. “So just like you said not just in their place of business but also out in the community."
Restaurants that have not taken part can contact the Division of Substance Abuse and Mental Health to schedule training.
The focus on restaurants is important because it is an industry where the workforce has historically had a high incidence of overdose.
In Delaware, 549 restaurant staff members have been trained to recognize and respond to an opioid overdose.
Narcan kits to use and keep on site have been given to staff and restaurants.
