Oldham County detention center begins giving leaving inmates a one-box opioid kit

Oldham County Judge Executive David Vogel and jailer Jeff Bridal onstage at the Oldham County Detention Center announced that every person leaving the jail will receive a one-box opioid response kit intended to reduce the risk of fatal overdose after release. Kentucky Attorney General Russell Coleman attended and called Oldham County the first detention center in the Commonwealth to issue the kits to inmates and visitors.

The kit, Bridal said, contains two doses of Narcan and protective equipment, along with instructions and training materials for people who do not know how to use the device. "In this kit, it has 2 doses of Narcan. It also has PPE," Bridal said, adding that community partners provided materials and support. The event highlighted partnerships among the detention center, the health department, the Healthy Oldham County Coalition and other local organizations.

Officials framed the distribution as a pragmatic step to prevent deaths in the high-risk period immediately after release. "The days immediately when they leave are some of the highest risk times for fatal opioid overdoses," Bridal said, urging that the kits give people "one more chance" to survive and enter treatment. Coleman described the jail as a distribution point that can push life-saving devices into the community beyond the facility.